SHOW AUDIO: Link is usually posted within about 72 hours of show broadcast. We take callers during this show at 713-526-5738.

Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio), a listener call-in show  airing live every Monday night from 9-10 PM (CT) on KPFT-FM 90.1 (Houston). My engineer is Bob Gartner.

Listen live on the radio or on the internet from anywhere in the world! When the show is live, we take calls at 713-526-5738. (Long distance charges may apply.)

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For the purposes of this show, I operate on two mottoes:

• You’re entitled to your own opinion, but not your own facts;
  

  Houston Mayor Annise Parker [L] with Mike, just before the show. (Dec. 7, 2015)

• An educated electorate is a prerequisite for a democracy.

SIGNOFF QUOTE[s]:

 

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GUEST: Dr. Melissa Hamilton is a Senior Lecturer in Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Surrey in England. She holds a law degree and a doctorate in criminal justice from the University of Texas at Austin. She lectures and publishes on criminal justice issues. (You can learn more about Dr. Hamilton here and  here.)

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1. Are you ready for the runoffs? Make sure you are registered to vote.
   1. Make sure you are registered:
   2. HarrisVotes.com
   3. VoteTexas.gov
2. Who’s on the May 22 Texas primary runoff ballots?, By Ryan Murphy March 14, 2018
   1. Early voting for the May 22 runoffs begins on May 14 and ends on May 18.
   2. More than 30 Texas primary races are headed to a runoff. Here’s what you need to know.
3. District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) was when the Supreme Court first recognized some individual right under the Second Amendment to have a handgun in the home for the purpose of self-defense. Then in City of Chicago v. McDonald (2010) the Court applied the right to the states.
   1. Justice Stevens recently said there should be a constitutional amendment to repeal the Second Amendment. See his op-ed: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/27/opinion/john-paul-stevens-repeal-second-amendment.html
   2. Review history of Second Amendment
      1. The issue of the interpretation, e.g., the commas and connection to the militia
      2. Review the transformation from DC v. Heller (2008) in terms of the newly recognized individual right to handguns in a home for self-defense
         1. The issues not covered by that case that lower courts are handling with mixed results (concealed carry outside home; types of weapons covered; age, mental illness, prior conviction status)
      3. Is this a transitional moment?
         1. NRA versus optics of teenagers recently
         2. Former Justice Stevens’ comments (repealing 2^nd Amendment)
   3. The possibility that the Supreme Court reverses Heller
   4. The U.S. as an outlier among Western advanced democracies (could lend insight as living in Britain the past year as to Europe’s perspective on the US as odd in respect of guns—i.e., they think the US is crazy about guns)
   5. Chipping away
      1. Restrictions for domestic abusers
      2. Mentally disturbed
         1. Recent state law provisions on seeking court orders by family/doctors when individuals appear at risk
         2. Recent episodes of suicide/homicide connections with guns
         3. Review additional legislative acts in play (bump stocks, background checks, increasing age limits, sale by licensed dealers)

TOPICS FROM PREVIOUS WEEKS:

1. What do belts around Proxima Centauri mean for exoplanet research?, By John Wenz  |  Published: Friday, November 03, 2017 [http://www.astronomy.com]
2. TV Talk:
   1. “The Good Place”
   2. “The Orville”
   3. “Adam Ruins Everything”

LINKS:

 SOURCES WHICH MAY BE RELEVANT TO OTHER DISCUSSION:

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