GUN FIGHT (TV)
Summary
This documentary film explores the fight for – and against – gun control in America, particularly in the aftermath of the April 16, 2007 massacre at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, VA that claimed 33 lives. The shooting, which took place eight years almost to the day after the infamous Columbine High School attack, is depicted via witness footage and news reports, and survivor Colin Goddard describes witnessing the sudden deaths of many classmates and taking four bullets himself. Many in the community note that perpetrator Seung-hui Cho purchased his firearms legally, strongly suggesting a need for stricter gun laws, though VA Tech student Bradford B. Wiles opines that an armed student could have stopped the massacre and saved others' lives. New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg tries to crack down on the problem by suing a number of firearms dealers, to which gun-rights groups in Virginia defiantly respond by holding a "giveaway" in which participants win various guns in a raffle.
Members of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, named for White House Press Secretary Jim Brady, who was seriously injured in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, butts heads with the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups in protests in Washington, D.C. The "Brady Bill," which enforced more thorough background checks for gun buyers, was only officially signed by President Clinton in 1993 and then "quietly" expired in 2004, much to the delight of NRA executive vice-president Wayne LaPierre. Former NRA education director John Aquilino describes how former regional director Richard Feldman, who memorably defended so-called "subway vigilante" Bernhard Goetz when he shot four teen assailants in 1984, changed the NRA's public image and aggressive "hardliner" attitude regarding gun laws. At a 2007 Gun Rights Policy Conference, various speakers warn attendees that they are "one election away" from losing all rights to own firearms, with one guest even suggesting that Jesus Christ (symbolically) supported gun rights in the Gospel of Luke. Feldman compares gun ownership to keeping a fire extinguisher in one's home in case of emergency, while elsewhere Goddard teams up with the Brady Campaign and highlights a 2009 experiment performed on "20/20" in which even trained gun owners are unable to quickly and safely discharge their weapons when confronted with an active shooter.
In Philadelphia, the so-called "murder capital" of the U.S., two masked men boast about having weapons "in every room of the house," explaining that it is easy to buy guns on the street. At the Freedom Theatre, however, teens decide to put on a play about the dangerous "Journey of a Gun," and Temple University Trauma Outreach Coordinator Scott Charles explains the societal "hopelessness and hurt" that contributes to gun violence as he gives some visiting teens an alarming look into the grim experience of treating a real gunshot victim. Timothy Wheeler of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership, however, tries to argue that gun violence is caused by a very small majority of cruel, amoral individuals. Many examples are given of accidental shootings within families and abrupt road-rage and workplace incidents, and Dr. Garen Wintemute describes the "pain and terror" of the one-third of gunshot victims who live long enough to be treated in a hospital, adding that those with lifelong complications from long-ago gunshots are often left out of the conversation. Wintemute treats a teenaged football player paralyzed by a stray bullet as he notes that he "never gets used to" the experience of treating such patients.
Goddard then covers the much-discussed gun-show loophole and wears a hidden camera as he attends a gun show and explores why "private sales" of guns between individuals are "cash-and-carry" exchanges with no legal requirement for paperwork or background checks. Goddard and his parents comment on the difficult emotional aftermath of the Virginia Tech shooting, and Wintemute begins giving public presentations on the dangers of gun shows and their connections to right-wing extremist groups. He explains how a convicted felon can simply recruit a "straw buyer," a friend with no criminal record, to buy a gun for them, thus easily bypassing any required checks, adding that he is "wanted" by several pro-gun groups and is fully aware that his activism puts him in great personal danger. Goddard works on recruiting politicians to co-sponsor bill H.R. 2324, which would close the loophole, while elsewhere Feldman infuriates his former NRA allies by publishing a book, "Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist" (2011), in which he exposes how the association uses a manipulative "us vs. them" attitude to raise money, adding that the group became "unglued" when Clinton passed a law regarding child safety locks in 1997.
At the S.H.O.T. (Shooting, Hunting, Outdoor Trade) gun show in Las Vegas, Feldman is quickly nabbed by security and questioned about the "angle" of the documentary being filmed. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's opinion in 2008's District of Columbia v. Heller affirms citizens' right to own guns for self-defense "unconnected with militia service," and Feldman explains how the NRA uses scare tactics and aggressively recruits – and demands money from – the most extreme "crusaders," specifically conservative white men who feel that they are being gradually outnumbered within the U.S. NRA members are pleased in June 2010 when a 5-4 SCOTUS decision strikes down a proposed handgun ban in Chicago, and Dennis Henigan of the Brady Center explains the dangers of the "insurrectionist theory of the Second Amendment," in which anti-government extremists – such as Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh – consider themselves entitled to enact violent measures to prevent certain federal oversights and involvement in citizens' lives.
Goddard addresses Congress about H.R. 2324, describing his harrowing experiences at Virginia Tech and adding that he will speak out about gun laws "a million times" if necessary. Despite the Brady Center's efforts, however, many more mass shootings occur after Virginia Tech, including the January 2011 incident in which Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords – "targeted" on failed Alaska politician Sarah Palin's Facebook page because of her strong positions on gun control – narrowly survived an assassination attempt in Tuscon that claimed six other lives. Back in Virginia, Goddard visits the memorial honoring his many slain classmates.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: November 30, 1999 9:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:28:01
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 131913
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Public affairs/Documentaries; Gun control; School violence; Firearms; Politics
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV, 2011
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Sheila Nevins … Executive Producer
- Lisa Heller … Senior Producer
- Williams Cole … Producer
- Marc N. Weiss … Producer
- Barbara Kopple … Producer, Director
- David Cassidy … Co-Producer
- Ashraf Rijal … Associate Producer
- Kelly Brennan … Associate Producer
- Suzanne Mitchell … Field Producer
- Maureen Dougherty … Line Producer
- Bob Eisenhardt … Writer
- Music Box, LLC … Music by
- John Aquilino … Interviewee
- Garen Wintemute … Interviewee
- Colin Goddard … Interviewee
- Richard J. Feldman … Interviewee
- Bradford B. Wiles … Interviewee
- Scott Charles … Interviewee
- Timothy Wheeler … Interviewee
- Dennis Henigan … Interviewee
- Michael Bloomberg
- James Brady
- Seung-hui Cho
- Bill Clinton
- Gabrielle Giffords
- Bernhard Goetz
- Wayne LaPierre
- Timothy McVeigh
- Sarah Palin
- Ronald Reagan
- Antonin Scalia