right now there are 40 clinics operating in texas this bill would cut that to five clinics serving a population of 13 million women spread out over 72,000 square miles. that would mean women in he el paso would have to drive over 500 miles to get to the nearest clinic. nearly 200 people signed up to testify, but before they got a chance to speak state legislation got into a debate among themselves. a texas sized whoop she argued that her bill would not force clinics to close and even if it did, that would be good for women. sylvester turn turner challenged her on that. any challenge to that would be foolish. she then faced questions from jessica ferrar. >> did you look at the potential for clinic closings. >> you asked what my intention was? it is for the health. >> that wasn't my question. did you look at capacity? can you answer that? yes or no. >> it's for the health and safety. >> you're not going to answer. >> michael: it's amazing when they don't answer those questions. they know they're wrong. the debate is heated and almost out of hand. according to the "national review," democratic legislatures are getting death threats were fromfrompro-lifers. 45% approve of davis' filibuster filibuster. 40% disapprove what she did with the bill. there has been speculation about her challenging rick perry for next year. he said he'll make a statement about his future next monday. the majority of texans, 60% of them don't want him to run again. unfortunately they would still vote for him over davis. a new poll has perry with a 14 point over her. turning now to another fiery up and coming politician hoping to unseat a republican fossil, allison lunder green grimes said shellsshe would challenge mitch mcconnell in 2014. she was democrats' top pick but she did not get reviews for her performance yesterday. it was pointed out that she reused a barn from her 2011 campaign and she still doesn't have a campaign website. and team mitch released this attack against grimes. >> i want to thank me, me, me i want to thank me, me, me. >> allison. ♪ what, what, what ♪ what rhymes with allison. ♪ what, what, what ♪ >> michael: there is no way that mcconnell supporters think that is an ad for grimes. that's just me saying that. we move from one desperate republican ad to others. the koch brothers are now urging republicans to back marco rubio and his immigration plan. >> this is the tough border security america needs. call senator rubio. thank him for keeping his promise and fighting to secure the border. >> michael: the message there essentially is to fall in line or the party will get left behind. case in point as conservatives continue to bemoan the supreme court doma ruling, the rest of the country is moving ahead. bulgarian graduate student will now be able to apply for a green card and eventually u.s. citizenship. he and his american husband julian marsh were married in new york last year. joining us is karl frisch. welcome back to "the war room" as always. >> thanks, michael. >> michael: so tell me about the progress that is made even in this one week before the ruling. talk to us about that a little bit. >> i think we're beginning to see the very real and tangible thing that it this marriage equality fight is all about. whether its people who are married and from different countries, being able to take part of this truly american right, or people getting their benefits from the federal government or social security benefits all those things are real and tangible. what we haven't talked much about is the message that it sends gay kids in a are being born today. when i was growing up, michael a closeted gay kid i never once thought about having a husband one day. i never once thought about having a family one day. i thought those things were off the table, and i always there would never be a discussion about it. i thought the best i could do is have a job and have a reasonably happy life if i was happy. there are generations of lgbt people who grew up without even having a thought that that kind of a dream would be possible. gay kids being born today and perhaps even gay kids as old as 12 or 13 years old will never live in an america where that idea is not something that comes right to mind. >> michael: you know, that's something that most americans don't think about. it's about the american dream. well, the american dream doesn't exist for some people in our society or didn't exist until last week for some people in our society. >> and there were no images of it. i grew up before ellen degeneres. before she came out on national television, and you know, even as recently as five or seven years ago there weren't a lot of lgbt images in movies and television that were in married committed relationships. we were always the best friend of the bride, the hairdresser or the campy companion to the lead character. now that's changing greatly, and i think we're giving kids an opportunity to dream and reach their full potential. a kid growing up today would have the same thoughts that their peers do. one day i want grow pup i want to go to college. i want to start my career. i want to fall in love, i want to marry and have a family. that'sthat's a big deal. >> michael: civil rights makes everybody happier, not just the people that it effects at the moment. the council is you organizinga call 2 fall rally. do they understand how ridiculous the call 2 fall and the graphics are? >> no, they called it m-for-m not knowing that it was online slang for "man-for-man." it's not going to save them. i did hear, for example you know, michele bachmann said this was an affront to god how horrible it was. she's leaving congress. i heard when these decisions came down, marcus baucus was on theata truck stop, and he dropped on the side of the road to pray. >> michael: you know where i was going to go. >> sure. >> michael: a poll finds of the majority of americans think that the supreme court was actually right. have you been surprised in an ironic way about how little push back there has been? >> lafayette people just need to be affirmed that what they're feeling in their heart is true. you remember when president obama came out and said he had evolved to a point where he believed in marriage equality. all of a sudden you had big swath of the african-american community, and other holdouts saying i can believe in marriage equality too. i saw the first poll about americans for marriage equality. i have a feeling that we're going to see sometime this week or maybe monday a poll that shows increase and sport by 5 to 10 points. by the time that this goes to the supreme court again in three to five years i'm confident we will be approaching two-thirds if not more support for marriage equality and that will have a big impact on the court. >> michael: it's important to know, and we've talked about this before, but in the continuum of american politics and policy how quickly this all happened and how encouraging that is for civil rights going forward. >> it has moved so quickly. if republicans want to have a scale of context for it, it's moved as quickly forward as marco rubio as immigration reform has moved backwards. >> michael: karl, let's go back to people also moving backwards rick perry. you know, we talk to you about politics all the time. do you think he'll run again both for governor and for president? >> i don't know. i think he probably will. i don't know what he would do in the interim. i think rick perry without the pedestal of the governorship to run from is not a viable candidate. and i think democrats need to do a gut check. beating rick perry is not easy, and it's difficult. many candidates have tried to beat him. this is still texas despite what is happening in austin right now. wendy davis could raise $70,000 and still lose. there is still a lot of work to be done in texas. we have a lot of great mayors and state legislature in texas and elected officials. the demographics are changing there it's going to take time to change things around, but we can't get discouraged. it means that we need good candidates statewide to start greasing the ground, greasing the pavement so when the right time comes we're able to take the state capital back from the crazy radical right republican party there. >> michael: you're right with jeremy bird, and those people there to turn texas blue, that's what they're calling it, and it will take a bit of time. i'm not so sure that i agree with you, that perry is not held from leaving that pulpit in texas, because he can get out and not just be a texas governor if he wanted to run around the country. >> the texas governor doesn't have much responsibility at home. >> michael: but he has a little bit of freedom to run differently. i don't think it matters because i don't think he will appeal nationally at all. i think his appeal will diminish in texas as well. >> probably true. >> michael: you brought up marco rubio another republican with presidential aspirations. willwill the republican party doom that aspiration? >> yes. when you look at marriage equality and immigration the republican party is softening in marriage equality. they're instrumental in getting to about we are whether it's more and more senators or state legislators helping to pass it in the state they're uninstrumental. but the way we're seeing republicans handle immigration reform they hate brown people a little bit more than they hate gay people. you cannot appeal to hispanic votevoters just because you have a person of cuban descent pushing immigration reform. >> michael: especially when it's not defined by the cuban american experience heater. that's something that the republicans are naive to, as well. >> if you're going to push immigration reform just so you can get hispanic voters, hispanic voters will know that's exactly why you're pushing reform. and all the other crazy things onon the reform. next they'll want to build a dome over the house. >> michael: and then sell the naming rights. they want to put the dome up. exxonmobil on the side. >> i can only imagine marco rubio saying that every child born to an illegal citizen in this country would will have a path to citizenship if they change their name to reagan. >> michael: while much of america has moved on from the gun debate, gabby giffords has not forgotten and nor is she likely to forget. plus we cannot believe that voting rights is still an issue in 2013. therein lice the importance of reflexion on that meaning. roberts is wrong. later a new book asks what if sarah palin became president. a better question, listed his torecal fiction or vampire horror. we'll be right back. if you believe in state's rights but still support the drug war you must be high. >> "viewpoint" digs deep into the issues of the day. >> do you think there is any chance we'll ever hear the president even say the word "carbon tax"? >> with an opened mind... >> has the time finally come for real immigration reform? >> ...and a distinctly satirical point of view. >> but you mentioned great leadership so i want to talk about donald rumsfeld. >> (laughter) >> cutting throught the clutter of today's top stories. >> this is the savior of the republican party? i mean really? >> ... with a unique perspective. >> teddy rosevelt was a weak asmatic kid who never played sports until he was a grown up. >> (laughter) >> ... and lots of fancy buzz words. >> family values, speding, liberty, economic freedom, hard-working moms, crushing debt, cute little puppies. if wayne lapierre can make up stuff that sounds logical while making no sense... hey, so can i. once again friends, this is live tv and sometimes these things happen. >> watch the show. >> only on current tv. >> michael: here on this show we'll never stop talking about guns and especially not today. 200 days since the sandy hook massacre. in those 200 days, guns have taken the lives of at least 5,669 people in the united states. put another way that's 218 newtowns since newtown. it's obvious the gun control debate needs a leader, and we have often turned to gabby giffords. the congresswoman who survived a gun assault two years ago. she began by doing something shocking shooting a gun. >> michael: there she is. her rights and responsibilities will take her to states where democratic lawmakers voted against background checks, including north dakota and alaska. so senators heidi heitkamp, giffords is coming for you. in illinois another leader emerged. pat quinn rejected the bill. >> there are serious flaws in this bill that jeopardize the public safety of the people of illinois. i've used my power under the constitution of our state to make important changes common sense changes to protect the safety of our people. >> michael: the governor's proposed changes are that a person may not carry more than one concealed gun, a person may not carry more than ten rounds of ammunition, and no concealed weapons in bars. believe it or not even those no-brainers remain controversial. joining us now with more on the gun debate is john rosenthal founder and chairman of the group "stop handgun violence." thanks for being with us, john. >> thank you for having me. >> michael: this conversation seems like it goes on and on, no more guns in bars. why is this controversial? >> i think that governor quinn's suggestion that people not care more than ten rounds makes a lot of sense as well. because in most cases there is no limit on the number of magazines or the amount of ammunition in each magazine and these high-capacity ammunition magazines and high power assault-type weapons are the common denominator in all of these mass shootings. whether it's newtown and the list goes on and on. i'm glad you continue to follow this. every single day the equivalent of three newtown-type massacres. 87 americans will be bury today from gun violence, including eight kids under 19 years old and it happens every single day. >> michael: it's shocking, and congress isn't doing anything. who do we put that on, john? do we put that on the president and vice president? do we see a renewed effort coming around the corner where they gear up and go after guns? where do we go from here in a legislative way? >> we put it on ourselves honestly. we're allowing this. we still live in a democracy. we still elect these people. when they go to washington we don't hold them accountable. there couldn't even be 60 votes to limit background check only at gun shows and the internet. terrorists can buy guns on the grounds of a gun show, congress couldn't even enact that. i fear 87 dead americans a day isn't enough. 30,000 a year on average every year. that's more americans killed in the last 35 years from gun violence in the united states than all u.s. service men and women killed in all wars combined, and there is no background checks for criminals and terrorists in the u.s. >> michael: that's an unbelievable way to frame it. we find ways to compare it, this is more than, larger than, but when you say all foreign wars that's extraordinary to hear it that way and it's really shocking. shocking, too, seeing gabby giffords fire a gun. i've never seen a pr stunt like that. why do you think she did that? >> well, she's been a gun owner her whole adult life, like me. and we're not talking about banning guns. we're simply talking about accountability and responsibility on the part of gun owners to lock their guns. gun dealers to operate out a bona fide store versus a car trunk or backpack. gun manufacturers who are uniquely unregulated and thanks to congress cannot be sued are allowed to market guns directly to criminals. and duck hunt he's are limited to three rounds in the duck hunting rifles to protect the duck population. but criminals and terrorists can have hundreds of runs of ammunition. >> michael: tell me that again. that is a federal law or a state law or what is that, three is the maximum number of rounds you can keep in a duck gun? >> that's exactly right. federal law when you get a duck-hunting license. even when you have a five-round magazine, you have to put two plugs in two of the holes to limit the round to three to protect the duck population. but there is no limit on the amount of magazines you can carry or the ammunition in the magazine to kill people. these are the weapons used in all the mass shooting. shame on congress and shame on us to let congress get away with murder at the rate of 87 people every day in this country. >> michael: shame on us for not doing more. and shame on them for not listening to what we want. i worked on a television document called "hitting home" which profiles the boston street violence that young people face every day. i want to live to some of their stories right here. >> my friend yeah. >> a couple of people got shot over something like it can be something so petty like stepping over he somebody's shoe. >> many young people talk about what they want their shrines to look like when they're nine and ten years old. >> i could hear the gunshot and he falls and he died in my arms when i was 14. >> michael: talk about our efforts to bring violence down. >> as a gun owner and a business person i started looking at gun violence in 1995 and made massachusetts the model for the nation. we're an urban industrial state, and we have the lowest firearm fatality rate in the nation. we've done it through common sense gun laws and consumer standards. also police, good community policing and job creation programs in our poorest neighborhoods. what this video is about and we did it why convert with the justice department. while americans pay attention to mass shootings like at sandy hook every single day kids die from largely preventable gun violence. what is really criminal is that we don't pay attention to it. as a result we deregulate the gun industry. they can't be suited. they can market directly to criminals, and there's this price that every family pays. we as parents don't have the gene to bury our children. we wanted to make this video about the every-day gun violence. and it's easier in our poorest neighborhoods to get a gun than to buy a job. and those families love their kids just like we do. >> michael: of course, we do. >> and they need the opportunity. >> michael: you see the efficiency of this, and it's a 50-straight strategy that a lot of us would get behind. hopefully you'll take that show on the road. john rosenthal the founder of the group "stop handgun violence." up next is the anniversary of the signing of the civil rights act. and we get to celebrate by reminding supposedly smart people why we need to protect the right to vote. >> michael: imagine this, it's 1964, and you're registering to vote in louisiana. you can't prove at least a fifth grade education you must pass a literacy test. grab a pencil, take a seat, and do what you're told, nothing more, nothing less. but be careful as one wrong answer denotes failure of the test. question number one. write every other word in this first line and print every third word in same line original type smaller and first line ended at comma but capitalize the fifth word that you write. what? try this one. write right from the left to the right as you see it spelled here. these are actual questions from an actual test administered before the voting rights act were passed in 1965 incomprehensible mind-bending tests like these were used throughout the south and they were pretty effective in doing what they were designed to do limiting african-americans' right to vote. fast forward toin 1965 only 32% of african-americans in louisiana were registered to vote. fast forward 40 years to 2004 that number ballooned to 71% in mississippi the increase as even more dramatic rising from 7% in 1965 to 76 percent in 2004. last week the secret effectively killed the voting rights act in his majority opinion chief justice john roberts used th