All language subtitles for S01E02 - Making America Safe Again

Let's go to Leeds,
where the count is taking place

for the seat for Ed Balls.

I was in politics for 20 years.

In 2015, I received a shock
when I lost my Parliamentary seat.

In the week I was swapping
my suit and briefcase

for sequins and dancing shoes...

..Donald Trump,
an entertainment heavyweight,

became the leader of the free world.

To understand how this happened,
I'm travelling to Trumpland,

America's Deep South...

Could you shout really loudly
if you voted for Donald Trump?

CHEERING

..to meet his supporters and walk a
mile in their shoes

to learn how
the president won them over.

If you're going to come all this way
to hang out with the Southern boys,

you've got to learn the ways
of the Southern boy.

It's always dangerous to start from
the assumption

that voters are wrong.

You've got to get on the inside.

Can you see the world through
their eyes, rather than yours?

How does Trump tap into the US
psyche?

And what does his popularity tell us
about today's American values?

LOUDSPEAKER: Hands up!

My search for answers will take me
to some extraordinary places.

Let me tell you, President Trump has
done more for America in one year

than Barack Obama did in eight.

What was it that Trump supporters
thought he could fix about America?

We were heading into the pits of
socialism.

After the chaos and controversies of
Trump's administration so far,

do they still believe this reality
TV billionaire is the man to do it?

We will make America wealthy again.

We will make America proud again.

We will make America safe again.

HE GROANS IN PAIN

And, yes, together,
we will make America great again.

CHEERING

I'm in Louisiana, a state with
the highest crime rates in America.

Hi.

Sergeant Savoie? Good to be here.

I'm getting you the vest
out of the back.

You're going to feel a little
special wearing it.

OK. If you think I'll need it,
I'll wear it.

Blimey, it's heavy.
No, that's our light one.

Ready to go and see the parish?
Let's go.

Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Savoie has
promised to show me

the realities of a night shift
policing St Landry Parish,

one of
the state's most dangerous areas.

Probably every house here
has a weapon in it.

Every house? Every house.

How many people have got a weapon

because they think they need it to
keep themselves protected?

Probably everybody that has one.

Everybody?

I've got to say, for me being in the
dark, in a patrol car with you,

in a place where, you know, last
night there was a shooting...

It means that I'm slightly on edge,
or at least I'm concentrating...

Whoo, dog there!

DOG BARKS

As I was saying,
I'm slightly on edge.

Are you ever thinking to yourself,
"Am I safe?"

I think it all the time.

I'm always worried about it.

I just try to be as safe as
possible,

because we want everybody
to go home at the end of the night

and we ultimately don't want
anybody killed.

In his inaugural speech,

Donald Trump promised to be tough on
crime and make America safer.

The crime and the gangs and the
drugs

that have stolen too many lives

and robbed our country of so much
unrealised potential.

This American carnage stops right
here,

and stops right now.

Trump won more votes here than any
other candidate

in Louisiana's history.

I want to find out if his promise to
be the law and order president

is what made him so
popular and if he's delivering.

Did you vote in the election?

I did. Who did you vote for?

The current president, Donald Trump.
I voted for Trump.

Did you vote in previous elections?
No.

So there was something about
Donald Trump which

turned you on to politics in a way
that hadn't been the case before?

I've actually went to one of the
rallies. A Trump rally? I did.

What was it like at the rally?

It was just energetic.

It felt as if he was talking to you
and just not talking to the crowd.

He would talk about police officers
and how they need the support.

At the time, officers were getting
murdered.

You heard about the big shooting in
Dallas, where five,

six officers got killed in one
night.

It's comforting from somebody that
high in power to say,

"Hey, I have you guys' back."

So, Ed Balls Day.

I have to hear it from the horse's
mouth.

You have not heard of Ed Balls Day.

That's why they call it
the World Wide Web.

I did a search on my name
by mistake.

I tweeted my own name

and I think it's now been re-tweeted
100,000 times.

That is awesome. It's ridiculous.

RADIO BEEPS

RADIO: A neighbour shooting a pistol
in the air.

Tell her we're coming over.

What's happened? We have a neighbour
shooting a pistol in the air.

Louisiana has some of the most
lenient gun laws in the US.

It also has the highest number of
gun homicides in the country.

We've been called to investigate

a neighbour shooting his gun
late at night.

I'm not sure I can do that.

DOGS BARK

Got it?

Yeah.

Sheriff's Office.

It's the second report of shots
being fired in the parish tonight.

You didn't shoot a gun? No, sir.

There's gunshots around here all the
time.

I mean, maybe...

We didn't hear anything.

But it wasn't you, because you
own the gun? No, sir.

I'm going to let the people that did
call know that I found no evidence

of you firing a gun out here, OK?

No evidence, no crime, right?

All right, look, I went to talk to
him.

He looked like he woke up out of a
dead sleep.

I did walk around his yard, but I
didn't find any bullet casings.

If we can't find any evidence to
prove that he's shooting

or if you didn't physically see him,
or get us a video,

then it's harder for us to prove
that he's doing it.

I don't know, it's...

When you killed the man, was that
an offence? Self-defence?

Was it self-defence? Yeah.

If it's self-defence, you're not
going to get charged or spend time.

You don't even get charged?
Nope. That's how I got him to leave.

I didn't mean to hit him.

He shot at me and I just shot.

What was he coming for?

What was the dispute?

I never want to do it again.

Never.

That's something to live with the
rest of your life. It sucks.

And then my kid seeing it, that's
what hurt me the most.

Are there too many guns in America?

I think there's too many stupid
people with guns, maybe!

Blimey! What, his story?

I mean, when you think of gun crime
in America,

you think of somebody going into a
store to rob it for money,

or you think of the
mentally-deranged person

going into a school and shooting.
But, actually, what you realise is,

it could also be two neighbours who
have a dispute about $100 and a boat

and it escalates into a death,

because guns changes the whole
dimension.

Suddenly the guns means if
somebody's frustrated next door,

they can come and shoot you.

I still can't believe you tweeted
your own name!

The thing that's shocking about it

wasn't that somebody should use a
gun in self-defence

to defend his family.
It was just...it was so blase,

it was so mundane,
so matter-of-fact.

"Oh, yeah, some guy came into my
yard last year, complaining.

"And he threatened my
family, so I shot him".

It was just like, normal.

You realise for the first time that
with the deputies on patrol,

it wasn't that they were armed

in case there was some terrible
incident,

the reason they were armed is
because...

..at every call,

things might get violent, somebody
might pull a gun and shoot them.

Ryan's invited me to join some new
deputies

who are learning how to defend
themselves in such a situation.

The criminal is going to put it to
your head or to right here

and you lock up.
You get the statue syndrome.

We're going to use these to get out
of the way.

The Sheriff's Department struggles
to attract rookies,

because the area is so dangerous.

Step in, bring it to them.

Drive, push them to the ground.

Are we good with it?

OK. Partner up and get some reps in.

Ah, I'm now dead.

I'm in a little trouble.

When you start running and he's
still got the gun,

you keep running! Yeah.

BLEEP.

I've now died twice!

On my second death, second death of
the afternoon.

Shit! Ready?

Good job.

I'm too old for this!

Are all you guys new?

Yeah. What's the pay like coming in
doing this?

15.29.

We're just starting out.

And that's starting out. New people.

For £10 an hour, $15 an hour, you're
going to go out,

risk your life every night? Yeah.

So why are you doing it, then?

Just to make sure someone can sleep
at night, just for one night.

Did ever any of your family members
say, "Don't do it?"

My mom said this was the second
worst mistake

I've ever made in my life!

The first one
was marrying my ex-wife!

Tasers have been introduced to the
parish in the hope that the deputies

don't have to resort to their guns.

Before they are allowed to use their
new weapon,

they've got to experience what it's
like to be on the receiving end.

Taser, taser, taser.

HE GROANS

Took the ride of my life.

How many times have you had the
taser?

Just once. In the police academy?

Yes. A five second ride is what they
call it.

The policy is, you have to have one?

You have to have one. If a defence
attorney takes you on the stand

and says, "Do you know what you put
my client through,

"do you know what kind of pain you
put him through",

we can say, "Yes, we have".

GROANING

Are you all right? Yeah.

As an honorary rookie, I had agreed
to have a go, but...

Now I'm having second thoughts.

Can we... Can we just get mine done
quick and then come back to you?

Yeah. He's ready to go.
The anticipation is...

Just get it done.

Do you want to do the darts?

I don't care, whatever you've got
to do.

Darts is fine. Just do what you've
got to do and let's get it done.

Spotters ready.

Aaaagh!

CHEERING

Nice.

Everything came out
that's supposed to.

Woo!

You're done. What do you feel like
now?

I feel I've got a real pain in my
arse.

Yeah? And I have got a big one in my
back.

You took one right on the
cheek? I took it right on the cheek.

I can totally see why you make it
part of the training,

because you never forget it.

Now we're members
of the five-second club,

Ryan is taking us all out for drink
to celebrate.

Oh, my goodness. That is an angle

I never thought
of the Balls I'd see.

Can you not do that while I'm
trying to play this shot?

Oh, shit, what am I doing?

Ed, what the hell...?

Ed! Against the rules.

After spending time with Ryan,

I'm keen to know what attracted him
to such a dangerous job.

As you saw on your patrol, it is
not about putting people in jail.

I mean, that is literally the last
thing I want to do.

But you talk to them, you find out
what the underlying issue is.

It's helping the community,

it's making a promise to do the
best you can,

to make where you live and where you
serve a better place.

I can see why Ryan voted for someone
who was so outspoken in his support

for the police.

But Trump also joked about law
enforcers roughing up criminals.

I can't imagine Ryan ever doing
something like that.

You keep talking about the way you
treat people.

You're talking about respect.
But this guy who's been elected,

he's got 20 women making
complaints about him,

he makes fun of disabled people
on stages.

He doesn't show a tenth of the
character that you show every day.

My thing is, you have had Democrat,
Republican, Democrat, Republican,

Democrat... That is how the
presidential elections fall,

whether anybody likes it or not.

And you have promise, broken
promise, promise, broken promise.

And now you have this guy,
Donald Trump,

that the Democrats hate and the
Republicans hate.

So, hey, the two people who have
been failing me my entire life,

hate this guy,

because he is not going to do what
they have been doing.

Let me give him a try.

Yeah. You know, give him a shot,

give him a shot.
Give him four years,

let's see what he does. And if not,

business as usual, I guess.

The brilliance and the horror of
Donald Trump

is that he persuaded a
bunch of people here...

..that there was an easy way for
things to be better.

But a year and a half into his
presidency,

Trump's words haven't materialised
into any extra funding...

..or new policies
to help law enforcers.

If you are somebody like me who, in
politics,

tried really hard to do the right
thing and make long-term decisions

and build a consensus...

When you see people winning over
hearts and minds of people like Ryan

simply by populism,
it's depressing.

I mean, it does make you think,
well,

why did we get it so wrong?

I am off to meet Ryan's boss,

Sheriff Bobby Guidroz, who,

as well as being the man in charge
of local law enforcement,

also runs the local
jail.

There has been a massive explosion
in America in the prison population

in the last 40 years.

America now has 5% of the world's
population, but 25%,

a quarter of all people in the world
locked up in prison,

are here in America.

And they are hugely
disproportionately men,

rather than women.

And black and Hispanic rather
than white.

But Louisiana is the worst.

I am keen to find out from the
Sheriff

why there's so much crime here.

Sheriff Guidroz. Ed Balls.
Ed, my pleasure, my pleasure.

Thank you for having me to come to
visit.

Absolutely. You're welcome.

The Sheriff has offered to take me
to his jail, which is in Opelousas,

one of the most dangerous cities
in America.

They had to close this place down
because of the drug activity

and the violence that was occurring.

Prostitution going on in this motel
here.

This is a dangerous area? This is.

Would you walk around here?

I would with a gun, yeah.

If you were me, without a gun?

I wouldn't, I wouldn't do it without
a gun.

You see this guy right here? He's a
drug dealer.

Is he? Yes. He doesn't have
his stash on him,

he has got it hidden somewhere,
around the corner.

Right. Because if the police come
and jump out

and they want to search him,
he doesn't have anything on him.

Poor people live here.

Many don't have education.

Many are into the drug business,

so they are defending their
territory

and they will do it with a gun.

When Donald Trump talked about
American carnage,

this is what he meant. Yeah, that's
exactly what he meant.

Almost half the people here live
below the poverty line.

I want to meet those that have
turned to crime

to see if they think Trump

can stop the American carnage
the Sheriff is describing.

This is the jailhouse. When was this
built?

1979.

He has agreed to let me spend a
night in the cells, on the condition

that I adhere to all the prison
rules -

including wearing the uniform.

What is your name?

Ed. Surname, Balls.

B-A-L-L-S. Any contraband going into
the jail?

No. Thank you. Lift up your tongue.

All right, sir.

I'm feeling rather nervous to be
joining the 7 million people who are

currently in America's criminal
justice system.

Just keep on walking.

All right, gentlemen,
put that TV lower.

Hi, everybody. You are going to be
assigned to 4B.

Cool. Worried about my safety,

the Sheriff has only allowed me to
stay the night

with the low-risk inmates, called
trustees.

There's a long list of things I
can't do.

Attempting or planning escape.

Too many rules in jail, all right?

Too many rules. Engaging in sexual
acts with others.

That kind of thing doesn't happen in
prison, does it?

It happens in here all the time.

Does it?

Everything flows through me.

Is that right? You need drugs,
cigarettes...

Fine. Anything, me and this guy
here, we got you.

Was it your first time, this time?

No, no. No? You have been around a
few times?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Most of us... Most of us in here are
well-known here.

I just did two years and I'm right
back in here

doing another two years.

You'd think you'd learn your lesson,
but...

What was the thing, when you went
out,

which got you back into it
again?

It is not an addiction to the drug,
it is an addiction to the money.

Were your previous offences drug
offences?

A couple of theft of motor vehicles
and...

for people that owed me for drugs.

See, I used to have a real good job
running boat jobs

offshore in the
Gulf of Mexico in the oilfields.

And that's what I did most of my
life, until I got hooked on drugs.

How long have you been in here?

Oh, I've been in here going on
seven months.

Right.

Right. So there's too many people
being locked up...

For nothing.

Right.

Like Mike and Daryl,

almost all of the jail's 234 inmates
are in for drug-related crimes.

So, we're on camera... Where are
the cameras?

Oh, right there, right there.
We have only got one in here.

Oh, I see. Many haven't been
convicted of anything yet,

and some have even been stuck here
for an astonishing two years,

awaiting trial for minor charges.

Did anybody vote in the presidential
election?

You did? Who I voted for?

Yeah. Clinton. Clinton?

Mm-hmm. How did you vote?

Trump. For Trump?

Did you? How did you vote?

I didn't vote for nobody.

You didn't vote for anybody? No.

Trump. Trump, Trump, Clinton.

What did he actually say
he was going to do?

Because it's more...
To me, it's...

Does he need more time?

Daryl might be a Trump supporter,

but he's clearly disillusioned with
the president's lack of action.

Other prisoners here think he'll
solve crime another way.

Did you work in the oil industry
before? Yes, sir, I did.

So he's had a positive impact on
the oil industry?

Right, right.

A lot of people complaining about
high gas prices,

but when gas prices are high,
everybody is working.

We all going through this jail time,

but we all talking about going to
work when we get out of here,

a lot of us.

Trump is looking at the bigger
picture than, you know,

what we're looking at.

There is quite a few people, a
surprising number of people here...

..were positive about Donald Trump
when he was elected,

thought he could make a difference.

His unusual kind of "I am the
outsider,

"I'm not the establishment,"

you know,

"I'm going to shake things up,"

I think that probably appeals to
quite a few people in here.

INTERCOM: It's time to go to bed.

ED GROANS

All right, fellas, we will see you
in the morning.

The alarm's going off at five
o'clock.

Doesn't feel like a long night.

Despite my friendly welcome
yesterday,

I wake up to a stark reminder of
where I am.

I've no idea where my stuff out of
my locker's gone.

Just not there any more.

My toiletries have disappeared.

They're in here somewhere.

Where do you get a spoon from?

Usually, you just have to find or
buy one.

Oh, do you?

GUARD SHOUTS NAMES OF PRISONERS

Ed Balls!

Six days a week, the trustee inmates
are selected to do different jobs

for the Sheriff's Department in the
local community.

I'm being sent out to earn my keep,
which means another terrible outfit.

Unless you think I should wear a
bigger one?

Nah. Turn around. It's good to get
the whole experience.

Nahh! I love it.

These kind of jobs, litter and
maintenance,

wouldn't they normally be done by
proper public employees?

Not in Louisiana. It is all
prisoners and community service.

Cheap labour. Yeah.

Cheap labour. But if you had the
choice,

spending the next seven hours...

I'd rather be out here picking
trash.

Would you? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Absolutely.

After spending a night in the cells,

I'm not surprised the inmates are so
keen to get outside.

Don't go beyond the fence?

Even if it does mean working for
free for the man who locks them up.

Look at the balls on this thing, Ed.

Make a man jealous, right there.

It's a wild boar.

Oh, it smells.

After release, half of America's
prisoners end up back behind bars.

But Trump now has a plan to invest
millions of dollars into retraining

federal prisoners for work, with
incentives for drug rehabilitation.

This year, we will embark
on reforming our prisons,

to help former inmates

who have served their time

get a second chance at life.

Before turning to crime,

most of these guys worked in
Louisiana's

unpredictable oil industry,

where a lack of regular work led
many to get involved with drugs.

If a man doesn't have a job, well,
he's going to do what he has to do.

He's got a lot of free time.

That's why I support Trump, because
he's a businessman,

he is all about putting people to
work.

You know, because, obviously, this
country has a lot of problems,

and I am not going to say politics
can fix it,

because I don't believe they can. It
is a morality issue

and a lot of people just, you
know...

..don't have morals any more.

But when you got, when you got done
for burglary, that was...

That was the bad morality, wasn't
it?

Oh, yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

And I mean, it was, it was all the
result of being hooked on heroin.

Right, OK.

And that is not a thing I

see Donald Trump trying to get grips
on.

When you say, Trump is getting a
grip of it...?

I think the best that he can do is
create a strong economy

and put people to work. Right, and
give them the chance?

Give them a chance and hopefully...
And then it is up to them?

Then it is up to them.

If Trump delivers on federal prison
reform

and local jails
eventually follow suit,

I am hopeful guys like these could
break the cycle they're stuck in.

But I believe he'll need to
drastically overhaul sentencing

and address the huge racial
inequalities in the system

if he really wants to make a
difference.

The one thing I think Donald Trump
could do to make America safer

is gun control.

But firearms are a way of life here.

There are more guns than people in
the States.

I'm heading to gun-toting Texas,

where a fifth of all America's
firearms are owned.

I'm off to see a guy called
Michael.

This is a guy who does training
courses

for ordinary American citizens

who want to carry a handgun when
they are driving around Austin.

You can't imagine a Saturday morning
in Britain,

going with a bunch of ordinary
people to a handgun class,

you just can't imagine it,

so I am really interested to see who
they are and why they're there.

Morning, morning. Good morning.
Good morning.

Good morning.

How is everyone doing this morning?

All right, so my name is
Michael Cargill,

the owner of Central Texas Gun
Works.

I want to ask you, you know, why are
you here?

What made you, at this point in your
life,

decide that you want to get a
handgun licence?

Ma'am? I run a lot by myself, so
personal safety.

Sir? Same thing, and I'm on the
security team at our church.

Nice. I love "Praise the Lord and
pass the ammunition,"

I'm all about that.

There is a school shooting going on
and here's shotguns...

OK. Or, you know, shootings.

OK. In the school. OK.

I'm going in there. Why?

LAUGHTER

Why?

Well, don't you want to...? No.

Because police are responding,

they're going to be there within
three minutes

and then you just have
that handgun out,

they're going to
confuse you with the shooter

and they're going to shoot you.

So we don't run to danger, we're
civilians.

Police run to danger.

We run from danger.

We're going to talk about pulling
that trigger.

All the things that you can and you
cannot do.

My parents were victims of a home
invasion.

My parents were sleeping.

My dad, he hears a noise, so grabbed
his 40 calibre.

He saw a little light, there was a
guy crawling through the window

on the second floor of the master
bathroom.

He fired one single shot, shot him
in the face, killed him.

Dropped him right there.

Oh... My mother, when she was on the
phone, 911,

she walked over to the bathroom, she
looked at the window, she say,

"You know what? You shot a hole
through my blind -

"you're going to fix that first
thing in the morning."

Someone tried to pick the lock.

Anything from their body is sticking
through that door, that's burglary.

You can use force to stop
them, daytime or night-time.

Michael, it must have been really
traumatising

for your parents right then.

What's the effect been
over time for them?

I had my parents go through
counselling.

For about the first 30 days, they
couldn't eat,

couldn't keep anything down. It took
a while for them to get back to some

type of normalcy. When you pull that
gun out and use it,

your life is going to change.

That is going to be ten seconds that
will change your life for ever.

I promise you. Let's go and take a
break, get some pizza.

Got pepperoni, got sausage, got
cheese.

Before I came here, I couldn't
imagine ever wanting

or needing a gun.

And after hearing that story,

I'm not looking forward to firing
one later.

I think we created our own monster,
because if there would be no guns,

period, I think this would be a
safer world.

You know... So guns are a monster,

but you don't feel like you have
any choice but...

I don't have a choice. I am forced
to come here and get,

feel like I need to protect myself,
because, you know,

there's always some maniac that's
going to have it

that is not supposed
to have it. All right.

If you have any questions or
problems at all on the firing line,

stop firing immediately.

Right, keep the gun facing
downrange,

raise your non-shooting hand and
we'll come and assist you.

Typically what people will do is

they'll point the gun downrange,
raise their non-shooting hand,

then they'll turn to see where I
am standing.

Guns facing where?

ALL: Downrange. Yeah.

Here's why.

GUN FIRES, THEN FAILS TO FIRE

ALL: No!

WOMAN SCREAMS

Oh, my God.

Let me tell you something.

Whatever happens, if you look down
the barrel of a gun,

here is what you're going to see.

Jesus or the other guy.

That's it.

Don't look down the barrel of a gun.

GUNSHOTS

Stop. Fire.

GUNSHOTS

I've never fired a gun which could
kill before.

It's time to shine. But to try and
understand

why so many Americans are
obsessed with their firearms,

I'm reluctantly going to give it
a go. You're in.

I'm not nervous. More apprehensive.
Well, Sir...

Apprehensive. All right.

Hi, there. Just remember to breathe.

That's the most important
thing, just breathe. To breathe?

Breathe. OK.

Make sure the gun is
always facing where?

Shooters, go ahead and face the
target.

Get ready, Ed. Ready?

One shot, ready! Fire.

GUNSHOTS

Stop.

Load five.

Ten seconds. On five.

For someone who hasn't shot before,
you're doing good.

It was OK. It's actually quite
calming,

because you just think about the
site and the target.

And it is quite Zen-like.

It brings out the man in you,
that alpha dog side of you,

and you get to taste what Americans
feel.

I think half of the people
here are women.

What are you talking
about, Michael?

It's nothing to do with being a
man. It's calm...

It brings out that inner woman. Look
at her. That inner woman!

That's Wonder Woman, right there.

Not being a man! Woo! That's what
I'm talking about,

that's what it brings out. It's
quite stressful, actually.

Now you know why we love it.

Yeah... Now you can go home, you'll
sleep great tonight.

I think, actually, the shooting of
the gun to a target,

I really enjoyed.

Yeah. But the handling of the gun...

It was nerve-racking... ..is what I
don't like.

Because, actually, you think to
yourself,

this thing is so dangerous.

Want to grab your target? Yeah.

President Trump's a staunch
supporter

of pro-gun lobbyists the NRA

and the Second Amendment, Americans'
constitutional right to bear arms.

So I'd be surprised if Michael
didn't vote for him.

You don't always know when you meet
people.

I thought, Michael...

..probably voted for the president.

I didn't vote for him. Didn't you?

No. I didn't vote for him.
But now I am a Trump supporter.

Listen, Mr Balls, if you want to
talk politics,

come to my house for dinner, we'll
talk politics. I'd love to.

Michael lives in Austin with his
partner, Bernard.

After dinner, he has offered to take
me for a night out,

so in return I've said I'll
cook.

See, I am a Republican Conservative.

Bernard is a Democrat. Oh, is he?

Yeah, so he is... So you are a
cross-political couple.

Yes. So you voted Libertarian.

Yes. And you have now come in
behind Trump,

which is because you really think
he's delivering.

What is the important thing he's
delivering on?

He's stood up very
strong for the Second Amendment.

Yeah. We're all about freedom here,

and that's a hard thing for the
Brits to understand.

It's about freedom. It's about,
you know,

the reason why this country was
formed is so that...

..we, you know, take our own
personal safety in our own hands.

If you said to me, "I'm Michael, and
I think the Second Amendment

"is the most important thing

"in the world," I can understand
why you're a Trump supporter.

But if I am Michael, the black gay
guy with a Mexican partner,

supporting Trump is quite a leap.

I never thought at all
that he was racist.

There are people that are racist
people actually supporting him...

He always gives the impression that
crime is caused by immigrants

and Mexicans and outsiders or
blacks, whereas, in fact, you know,

most crime is happening because of
American citizens,

and rather a lot of it is white
people. And he doesn't say that,

he always gives the impression that
it's the outsiders.

I disagree.

In that case, thank goodness...
the souffle has cooked.

Oh, wow.

I think Michael and millions of
Americans believe Trump

is making the US safer simply by
defending their right to carry guns

and protect themselves.

But I'm keen to know

where his personal passion for
firearms comes from.

Did your parents own guns when you
were young?

She always had a gun in the house.

She just hid it from us, we just
never knew.

So I never knew she had a gun in the
house.

What was the turning point for you,

from somebody who grew up not
seeing guns,

to such a strong advocate now?

My grandmother, when she was 70,

she felt that she wanted to become a
nurse.

At 70? At 70 years old.

"I'm going to go to college and
become a nurse".

It so happened that one day when she
was leaving the library,

a guy came along while she was
sitting at the bus stop, grabbed her

and pulled her into the bushes

and mugged her and raped her.

You know, who does that to a
70-year-old woman?

A right little scumbag...

..you know?

Until then, you'd never really
been a gun advocate?

No.

Never had a gun. After that
happened,

I went and got my handgun licence,

became a Texas handgun licence
instructor

and started teaching my
family and neighbours.

Did you feel guilty that you weren't
there to support your grandma

when that happened? Yes.

And that's the thing. And you're
trying to make it right.

Yes, because I felt that I was
not there for her

when she needed me.

And I feel that, by doing this,

I can make sure that that does not
happen to some other lady.

In a controlled environment with you
standing next to me,

I enjoyed firing that gun.

But do you want ordinary citizens
out there

trying to deal with all of that on
their own?

Welcome to America.

MUSIC: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
by Whitney Houston

When Michael said he'd take me
for a night out in Austin...

..I wasn't quite expecting this.

But being in a gay club with a Trump
supporter

is a unique way to
spend my 51st birthday.

Is there no other birthdays?

Who? Yeah, young man in the red
shirt, come on, sir.

Anybody else?

CHEERS

So, you have rhythm?

You do? We are about to find out.

Can I have a little bit of
booty-popping music, please?

We're together. Oh, you are?

Sir, what is your name? Come here.
Come here.

Oh, my God. You are brothers,
cousins, neighbours, friends, what?

Friends. Friends. Hi, Sir. What is
your name again? Michael.

Hi, Michael. Kelly. Pleasure to meet
you.

We're about to find out who
has the rhythm out of both of you.

Make some noise, boys and girls!
Come on, boys.

MUSIC PLAYS

You show them some love, boys and
girls.

I appreciate you, gentlemen,
thank you, thank you, thank you...

This morning, it's a more sobering
day.

Before I leave Austin,

Michael's invited me to appear on
his gun-themed radio show

to talk about one of the most
shocking illustrations

of American carnage.

Just as I was starting my trip,

a 19-year-old murdered 17 students
and teachers

with a semi-automatic assault rifle
at a school in Parkland, Florida.

Walks right into the school,

knocks down the window of my child's
door and starts shooting her

and killing her!

I can remember

the very first time we took our
first daughter to school,

aged at four and a half

and you drop her off at school and,
as a parent,

it's really stressful.

That children aren't safe going into
school

just feels like quite a big
shock.

But, of course, you know, there's
been,

there's been hundreds of these
events.

How have we not stopped this after
Columbine, after Sandy Hook?

I'm sitting with a
mother that lost her son.

Through their grief, the students
and parents

have become a political
force.

Donald Trump, for the first time,

is suddenly having to answer big
questions about gun control

not put to him by CNN anchors,

not people he can dismiss as the

"fake news White House
correspondents,"

by 17- and 18-year-olds in a
school

whose friends died and who want
change.

And he can't brush them aside.

The students want Trump to raise the
age that you're allowed

to buy an assault rifle to 21.

And despite opposition from the
NRA, he appears to be listening.

We have to act.

We can't wait and
play games and nothing gets done.

I'm a fan of the NRA.

I mean, these are great people,
these are great patriots,

they love our country.

But that doesn't mean we have to
agree on everything,

it doesn't make sense that I have to
wait until I'm 21 to get a handgun,

but I can get this weapon at 18.

I don't know.

What shall we do? We just had this
school shooting in Florida.

Some of our legislators,

what they're suggesting is that we
actually raise the age limit

from 18 to 21 for long guns.

Some people are recommending that we
arm teachers.

But I'm going to ask people in the
audience,

what do you think we should do?

What should we do to solve this
problem that we have?

Or is it a problem? Can we really
legislate crazy?

Are there any things that they're
suggesting right now

that would have stopped this
shooter?

I'm going to ask you. This is
Michael Cargill,

and you are listening to
Come And Talk It.

Hi, there. Hello. It's time for
Come And Talk it, with your host,

Michael Cargill.

So I'm going to walk around,

and I'm going to ask you what you
think we should do.

What do you suggest we do?

In my mind, the best solution would
be to offer perhaps a pay raise

for teachers that are willing to
have a concealed carry permit

and to carry in the school.

I also think that it should be
on-body if they're carrying,

to avoid some sort of tragedy
where a kid gets a hold of it.

But, yeah.

Ed Balls, so tell me, what are your
thoughts?

I've got people saying
arm the teachers.

If you give guns to teachers,

there will be more shootings in
schools.

Of course, you have to have
security, but in the end,

if it's as easy as it is in America
to get guns,

especially when you're young, then
you'll have more shootings.

President Donald Trump is right

when he's been saying in the last
few days

that we need now to debate how we
have more controls on guns,

because unless you have more
controls on guns,

you're going to carry on having
these horrific levels of shootings.

Let me go back to my audience here.

Cos I actually, I disagree with you
on that, 100%.

Does that mean that you disagree
with the president as well?

I'll tell you what, if this
President of the United States,

who is Republican, if he decides to
actually restrict firearms,

he will be a one-term president,
and you can say c'est la vie.

Because one thing about me is, I'm a
one-issue guy,

that is the Second Amendment.
And even though he's a conservative,

if he does anything to restrict
firearms,

he will not see another term in
office.

But he's also a politician, Michael,

and there has been a huge public
outcry

in the last week since Parkland,

and we're now in a position where a
majority of people are saying,

let's have controls. These kids are
actually complaining right now.

These kids that are actually in
shock

are the ones that you're
actually seeing on the news.

And you have CNN and someone else
who is backing them up,

paying for their
transportation to go

from South Florida to North Florida
that is actually doing this.

How would your gun control measures
stop a shooting?

If the shooter comes through the
door right now, what do we do?

What's your answer, Sir?

The issue is whether there's things
you can do

to control the kinds of
guns, or who has them.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Those semi-automatic weapons you're
so afraid of,

how would your gun control stop
that?

The reason why somebody might come
through that door right now

and start shooting is because this
is America

and you've not got a control of
guns.

And the idea that you want to live
in a society

where a 19-year-old can own not just
a gun

but a semi-automatic kind of
weapon of mass destruction,

I'd vote to raise the age limit
because I'd want to keep kids safe.

Donald Trump, he's going to get one
more chance to correct what he said

this past week, so that way we can
still stand by him.

We're saying, arm teachers,

we're saying we need to empower
ourselves

to protect ourselves, as always.

More guns equals less crime.

Go out and buy yourself a gun.

You've been listening to
Come And Talk It,

with Michael Cargill.

Good job, sir. How was that? That
was great. Good job.

You think that there's this
huge cry for more gun laws -

there is not. Michael's right.

Not in Texas, certainly.

What I do know is that a significant
number of people,

hundreds of thousands, if not
millions,

if they start trying

to take semi-automatic rifles
from Americans,

and especially from Texans, it will
start a civil war.

It would kill many more Americans

than have ever died in the history
of the United States.

So if the law was changed, people
would then rise up against the law?

Yes, they will. Yes. They're not
taking our guns.

They're not doing it. We will kill
to stop people from taking our guns.

Fundamentally, I think this society
is absolutely,

totally screwed up on guns.

It's a catastrophe.

People can buy killing machines in
shops.

18-year-olds can buy semi-automatic
weapons.

It is bonkers.

They have an epidemic of guns and
gun violence which is catastrophic,

and they can't see it. At least,
these guys can't see it.

Under Donald Trump,

the US has endured three of the
worst mass shootings

in modern history - in Vegas,
Sutherland Springs and now Parkland.

If he wants to start making America
safe again, this is his chance.

Part of the reason why this feels
different is that...

..the gun lobby feels on the
defensive.

People saying, "Ah, these students,
they're reading a script,

"and CNN's paying their transport.

"It's all a set-up."

It's been just a fortnight since the
Parkland tragedy.

I've come to Florida to meet some of
the victims who are appealing

directly to Trump for gun control.

I feel nervous about coming to
Parkland

and having that conversation with
them, because you know...

Yes, they're making an argument for
change, but they're also people...

..dealing with, you know, a
trauma...

..a loss...

..which you can't really imagine
from the outside.

One of the teachers from the school
has agreed to meet me.

Ernie, Ed Balls.
Ed. Good to meet you.

Pleasure. Thank you for offering
to show me around.

No worries. Really appreciate it.
No worries. Are we driving?

Yeah, let's go. Great.

History teacher Ernie Rospierski

lost pupils and colleagues in the
tragedy.

This is about as nice of a community
as you can get.

Last year, we were voted the safest
city in Florida.

People move here for the schools.

Ernie was teaching his last class of
the day when the shooting began.

Every year, we're supposed to have a
code red drill.

You'd been thinking about this,
then, as a school, in the past?

Oh, yeah. Honestly, when I first
heard the shots,

I thought it was the police coming
in and doing a drill.

I started yelling at the kids to get
into your room, go to your room.

All of a sudden, there's a guy at
the other end of the hallway...

..shooting.

One of my kids, Peter Lang,

that kid's a hero, because he was
holding the door open

while getting shot at,

and pushing kids through the door to
get them out of the hallway.

Did you yell to him? I said, "Run".

But he was holding the door so
other people could get out.

Unfortunately, him doing that
it's the reason why he isn't here.

He was shooting at me,

and he grazed me on my cheek here

and then I caught a fragment off
where he hit the wall,

because I was
pushing the kids in, in my hip.

And I yelled at my kids to run,

and all the kids that were with me
ran out in front of me,

and then I followed them. Did they
all make it?

All the kids that were with me made
it out.

Was there a moment, in the hours
afterwards,

where the magnitude of
what had happened hit you?

It wasn't until I got home...

..and picked up my kid.

That's when I realised that I almost
died.

If I would have been two inches or
three inches in the other direction,

I wouldn't be there holding him.
That's also when I realised,

there's going to be a lot of dead
kids.

I sat on my porch and just cried.

I'm interested to know what Ernie

thinks of Trump's latest plan to arm
teachers.

President Trump said first
that he would look at control,

and then within hours, he said

if the teachers and the school had
been armed...

Had I had a pistol on me, could I
have shot him and killed him?

Maybe, because I'm proficient with a
firearm.

So you'd be the kind of guy

Donald Trump would want to
have a gun in school.

But I would be the guy who would
never carry a gun in school,

because that's not where guns
belong.

I wouldn't be safer with more guns
in the school.

I don't believe that at all.

Has it surprised you that the pupils
should go on the television

and advocate the way they have?

I was worried about them more than
anything else,

because unfortunately,
I know what people can be like.

I've had people in the last four
days over in Texas say to me

they're reading from a script
written by CNN,

bussed in, they're actors.

People have this... This idea that
if you don't agree with me,

there must be something more
sinister behind it.

The kids, what they're asking for
isn't actually all that much.

And they're asking for common-sense
reform.

And the kids who are asking for it
come from the political spectrum.

That alone, honestly, if you're a
politician and not on board with it,

should scare you.

The reform students are asking for

includes more thorough background
checks

and ultimately a ban on
assault rifles

like the AR-15 used
in the shooting.

One of the survivors asking for gun
control

is 18-year-old Samantha Fuentes.

While she was in hospital recovering
from her injuries,

she received a call
from the White House.

I got shot in both of my
legs. No, it was...

Yeah, but I was so lucky.

Like, I got shrapnel in the back of
my eye.

I was so close to losing my legs and
my eyes, but I'm...

It's a miracle.

Yeah, I saw the shooter. I saw
when he...

I saw when he shot my friends.

I saw, he was aiming through the
window and everything.

Yes. Yes.

Sam's invited me round for pancakes
with her mum and boyfriend.

Just going to make some more, all
right?

This is dangerous. It broke, but
it's OK.

It looks real. It is real.

It's not scripted. It's not
scripted!

So tired of people saying that!

Like, people are not only saying I'm
scripted,

but they're saying I'm not a student
at the school,

that I wasn't actually injured,

that I'm a crisis actor.

I'm like, how are you coming to
these conclusions?

I have never met you in my life.

It's like people are believing the
fake news

and then the real news is fake,

so everything is so backwards in
this country.

It's like anything you don't like
when people say,

these days, you can just say,
"Fake news". Yeah.

Mom, breakfast is ready.

OK. I don't have a lot of control in
my hands these days.

There you go.

My 18-year-old daughter, back in
London,

she was saying at the weekend

that watching the TV, maybe it's
going to change this time.

Maybe Parkland and the way in which
people have spoken out,

parents and students, maybe, maybe
this time it's different.

It's ridiculous that we've let it
happen for so long and we've become

so complacent and so comfortable
with things like this happening

that we'll talk about it for a few
days

and then it's just missed in
the next week's news,

like it never happened.

And I don't want people to forget
this,

I don't want people to forget this
happened.

Is it different this time?

It's different for me. I mean,
personally.

It's ridiculous that it's harder to
get like a driver's licence

in this country than it is to get a
gun.

More guns doesn't equal less
violence.

It equals more violence.

Trump, he said a year ago

in his inaugural address,
"the American carnage ends now."

I think he's realising he hasn't
been fulfilling his promises

and I think he realises that, like,
these are children.

Because, like, what business do
people need

with semi-automatic weapons?

Like, you don't need a
semi-automatic weapon to go hunting

and if you do, you're probably not a
very good hunter.

Can we go back to the start?

Talk about that day.

Where were you when the call came?

I had just come back from lunch at
work.

I was standing at my desk, about to
log on to my e-mail,

and I got a strange number.

And I answered it.

And I could hear noise in the
background,

and then whispering and...

..as well.

How did you know it was her?

Because I could hear her crying.

And you could recognise...?

She's crying, I know my daughter's
crying.

And she's like "Mom, I've been shot.

"I'm OK. I love you."

Click. I started calling the number
back, nothing.

We started texting the number.

And then we get responses.

And I show my co-worker the text.

What did the text say?

"There's been a shooting."
I said, "Where?"

"At school.

"Samantha's been shot".

"She's OK".

Silence.

It's not what you expect when you
send your kids to school.

You expect them to come back home.

And I... I was blessed that she did.

But some did not.

It's just really hard to listen to.

It's just your absolute worst
nightmare to get that call,

and for it to be your kids.

And as a parent, you're there to
protect them, and at that moment,

she didn't know

what was going on and what to do.

That's just... The hardest thing.

In his inaugural address, the
president said,

"I'll end the American carnage".

In Louisiana, nobody I spoke to

thought the terrible circling
tragedy of guns, gangs, drugs

could be solved by a single act,

one president, one term,

but actually...

..one president can make a
difference to this.

This is the American carnage he
could do something about.

Amongst the suffering and the pain,

and the grief of parents and
friends,

the students here have had the
bravery to speak out.

And President Trump
is on the back foot.

Maybe there's a glimmer of hope.

Maybe not before there's more
killings and more death.

But maybe, maybe...

You have an administration
fighting to protect

your second amendment and we will
protect the second amendment.

CHEERING

Your second amendment rights

are under siege.

But they will never, ever

be under siege as long as I'm your
president.

It's the beating heart
of Donald Trump land.

If I threw a stone, I could break a
window.

Do you think most people at
Mar-a-Lago have spray tans?

I think Donald does a cream.

Together, we will make America
wealthy again.

It's fabulous.

I want to find out whether Trump
really can bring wealth

to all Americans.

Our country is experiencing some of
the greatest economic boost,

because Donald Trump loves
Americans.

You're not from around these parts,
so you got...

I'm not from around these parts.

The British are coming,
the British are coming.

# Sling your red clay
on everything. #

You're so stupid.

You see what's going on in
Washington against our president.