DETROIT – This week's episode of Flashpoint began with a conversation about gun control in America. Four experts joined Devin Scillian to talk about the issue that's hit the United States after another shooting on a college campus.
Stephen Henderson of the Detroit Free Press said the same thing happens every time after a shooting: The president says something and the public can't agree on any steps to improve the problem. He said the second amendment shouldn't hold us back from regulation of guns, calling them "part of the problem."
"Lots of countries have gun violence," said Nolan Finley of the Detroit News. "This idea that we're the only country that has multiple shootings is just not true."
Finley said gun violence in the country has declined, so the idea that shootings are getting worse isn't true. He said the shootings are a tragedy, but he hasn't heard a proposal that would work to regulate guns because there are so many of them out there.
Nancy Kaffer of the Detroit Free Press said it's not as easy for people to get their hands on guns if there are strict regulations on them.
"The second amendment is there so that the citizens of the United States can protect themselves," said Randy Richardville, former Michigan Senate Majority Leader. "To regulate or somehow diminish that doesn't make any sense."
He doesn't think regulations will stop outlaws from using guns illegally.
You can watch the entire debate in the video posted above.
The conversation turned to the Flint water crisis in the second segment as the experts talked about where things went wrong.
Kaffer said the issue happened immediately after Flint stopped using Detroit water and started pumping its own water. She said that's when citizens started to complain and, eventually, when high lead levels were detected in the water.
She said the lead levels in children, which had been declining for a decade, saw a sudden reversal when the water crisis began.
"I think Rick Snyder is maybe the best problem solver I've ever worked with," Richardville said. "This is obviously a big problem."
Richardville said he trusts Snyder to fix the situation.
"It's a colossal screw-up on the part of the governor and his administration," Henderson said. "Essentially you allowed kids in a major city in your state to drink water that's poison with lead for (so long)."
This mistake would hurt Snyder in his political career going forward, according to Henderson.
Finley said when Snyder found out about the water problems he acted, but Kaffer said it took him too long to start acting.
Click on the video below to watch the full second segment.
In the third segment, Devin talked about the efforts to save the school system in Newark, New Jersey, which were expected to be so successful, they would be a model for struggling school systems around the country.
But the efforts of many well-intentioned people weren't enough to make the movement a success.
Devin talked with Dale Russakoff, author of "The Prize," about the process and what went wrong.
Russakoff said Newark isn't a model for anyone around the country. She said her access was limited after the people involved realized it wasn't going the way they intended and they weren't as intent on having the process chronicled.
She talked about some of the points in her book and why the efforts fell short of the high expectations.
You can watch the conversation about education with Russakoff in the video posted below.
The panel returned after the show to continue its debate about guns in America in a web-only segment. You can watch the rest of that debate in the video below.