gun control debate

Today we’re talking about the weapon we seem to talk about after every mass shooting in the United States: the AR-15.

The AR-15 is the most popular rifle on the consumer market. An estimated 1 in 20 American adults owns at least one.

But, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, the AR-15’s rise in popularity is pretty recent, and when the gun first became available to consumers, it was something of a black sheep.

On the show today, Washington Post reporter Todd Frankel walks us through how the AR-15 went from military weapon to consumer product, the marketing that boosted its appeal and what the AR-15 signifies to a country plagued by gun violence.

In the News Fix: Finland is the newest member of NATO. We’ll get into what that means for Russia’s war in Ukraine. And, some news you can use: There are significant delays for passport processing at the State Department. If you’re planning an international trip, renew your passport ASAP!

Later, one listener shares a piece of trivia about cherry blossom trees in Tokyo. Plus, another listener sent us a stunning photo of cherry blossoms in Seattle. And, this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question comes from NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, commander of the Artemis II mission to the moon.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• • “How the AR-15 became a powerful political, cultural symbol in America” from The Washington Post

• • “Analysis | Decades of marketing reinvented the AR-15 into a top-selling firearm” from The Washington Post

• • “Nashville attack renews calls for assault weapons ban – data shows there were fewer mass shooting deaths during an earlier 10-year prohibition” from The Conversation

• • “The Rifle That Ruined America” from The Atlantic

• • “Hoping to Travel Abroad? Don’t Put Off Your Passport Application.” from The New York Times

• • “Passport Processing Times Just Increased Due to Summer Travel Demand” from Thrillist

• • “Finland joins NATO in major blow to Russia over Ukraine war” from AP News

• • “Why did Sanna Marin lose Finland’s election?” from The Guardian

What have you been wrong about lately? We want to hear it. Leave us a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART, and your submission may be featured in a future episode.

In today's episode, Andy & DJ discuss Biden potentially jeopardizing national security with a document stash from his time as VP, the new stabilizer brace rule that means the registration of millions of guns, and the new woke $10M MLK ‘penis’ statue insulting the black community.

Today on the Matt Walsh Show, the Navy puts out a new instructional video teaching sailors and other military members how to use and respect a person’s preferred pronouns. We have the actual instructional video, which you have to see for yourself. Also, Republicans sell out on gun control. But did they actually sell out or are they simply doing exactly what we expect them to do and what they always do? And a mother raises a quarter of a million dollars based on a horrific story of her son being bullied. The only problem is that the story doesn’t seem to be true. When will people stop falling for these scams? And in our Daily Cancellation, the Left is justifying child drag shows by comparing them to 90s cross dressing comedies like Mrs. Doubtfire. But this argument actually undermines and destroys their own premise. I’ll explain why. 

Join us for Backstage Live At The Ryman on June 29th. Get your tickets now: https://utm.io/uezFr

Watch my new Daily Wire original documentary “What Is A Woman?” at whatisawoman.com, and pick up your copy of the “What Is A Woman?” book here: https://utm.io/ueFMe 

Watch our Summer blockbuster “Terror on the Prairie” with Gina Carano: https://utm.io/ueFOe 

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As three analysts, we explore the archetype of “the gun” from a Jungian psychological view and seek to understand it’s influence in the collective psyche of Americans. Guns play a big role in American mythology from the American Revolution to cowboys and first-person shooter games. Guns are symbols of heroic power—but mythology also sounds a cautionary note about what can happen when humans arrogate super-human power to themselves.

The dream: 

When I was a child, around ages 7 to 8, I would dream that my bedroom was covered in lizards. I’d wake up and jump to the floor, run to my parents’ bed, and climb in between them. Sweating, I’d look up to see the eye of a red dragon. Suddenly I was in an old-time saloon and the dragon would just be staring at me. That ‘s all there was to it, but it was repetitive.