Charging a School Shooter’s Parents

On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss charges in Michigan against a school shooter’s parents, ...

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On today’s podcast, David and Sarah discuss charges in Michigan against a school shooter’s parents, the possible demise of a key Supreme Court precedent (not Roe), and an intriguing new appeal to the Supreme Court. At the end of the podcast, Sarah answers her critics. Does she get as spicy as Alito?

Show Notes:

–Timeline of Michigan school shooting

–NPR: “Parents of Michigan school shooting suspect are charged with involuntary manslaughter”

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  1. Gabriel Salas

    I would've loved a lot more discussion about the GOP rush to legislate for constitutional carry + take ridiculous gun pics to pander to the gun nuts. Outside of being absolutely ridiculous - I don't think Massie has the onions to engage a 70 year old nun in a fist fight - this cultural fight leads to to armed militias taking over state government buildings, 1/6, and school shooting. Yes, there are gun nuts and militia types that worship the Oklahoma bombers and the South Carolina church shooter. That particular cultural battle ends up in actual violence.

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    Onefear

    So much for the étouffée and graduation. Sigh.

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    BrettH

    Hallelujah, new intro music is coming! I do believe David is correct in his observations regarding the GOP having a gun fetish. It's just weird and I've owned guns my entire life (took my first hunter's safety course at the ripe old age of 10).

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  4. Rodney Rubert

    David French comes very close to suggesting that subsidizing irresponsible behavior will reduce irresponsible behavior. I say this as I consider having children without the resources to support them irresponsible. I suggest he read some Thomas Sowell on the effects of the welfare state.

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  5. Rodney Rubert

    David French seems to be in favor of the 2A as long as there is no evidence it exists. Bearing arms is fine as long as they are beared out of site. Pictures of families with guns are beyond the pale. He seems to defend civil rights as long as no one has to see something (someone?) they are scared of. I suppose there is a history of this approach.

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    Philbnichols

    Love the AO, but Jonah describing AO as 'the least dented can on the 50% off shelf' is a great dig.

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    TJ

    David, I am basically with you on all aspects of this, but I quibble with your terms. Specifically, I have reservations about your use of “obligation”.

    “If you have an environment where abortion is banned by force of law, isn’t there also an obligation to ease the conditions we know lead to abortion? Doesn’t that obligation exist if you’re pro-life regardless of whether abortion is banned?”

    This is theological. I see two parties to which a human being has obligations, God and neighbor. If I steal from you, I owe what I stole. That is a both a horizontal and vertical obligation.

    To God I owe everything. God commands forgiveness. Therefore, I have an obligation to God to forgive those who have wronged me (only vertical). That isn’t the same kind of obligation as restoring what I stole.



    “If you know that improved economic security reduces abortions, what is your responsibility?”

    Is it an obligation or responsibility to ease the conditions that lead to abortion?

    I don’t think it is in the same way other horizontal obligations exist. Is it something I want to do though? Yeah.

    If I have wronged someone, I need to fix it. If I can help someone, it would be good to do so. But good cannot be mandatory in every circumstance because there are competing goods. David doesn’t need to support those in distress until his family is in poverty.

    It’s a subtle equivocation on the word “obligation”. People can be rightly obligated to restore what they stole and rightly obligated to lose their eye if they’ve taken some else’s.

    Instead, of “responsible for” or “obligated to” I would say, “if you know that improved economic security reduces abortions, what kind of policy might you be for?”

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    TJ

    Thanks Sarah and David for your clarifications. I am a little late to the convo this week...


    Regarding (the hydrogen bomb grenade) reparations…

    It was an example of how ending slavery doesn’t require some other policy related to ethnicity. I don’t want to get super hung up on reparations. It is very apparent to me that there is a massive gap in the analogy regardless.

    -In slavery, there were parties who were wronged and could have been compensated.
    -In abortion, the wronged party is dead.

    A better example would have been to compare slave owners getting subsidies to economic support for the abortion minded.

    Monetary support would have made a slave holder’s decision to free slaves much easier. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t his moral obligation to free his slaves. It was. It may have been the country’s obligation to abolish slavery, but it wasn’t the country’s obligation to make it an economically easy choice for those who owned slaves. This isn’t all directed at women. I think men are often at least as, if not more, responsible when their wife/girlfriend has an abortion.

    The comparison isn’t meant to be offensive. In my view, slavery and abortion are similar in that the denial of full humanity is central.

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    Charles

    Sarah, I wish my daughter was older so as can listen to your stories together. My wife and I teach high school mock trial and we are frequently dismayed by how many brilliant female students seem to lose all of their sense when it comes to boys. Wonderful girls settling for dead beat boys drive us crazy. Thank you for proving to the world that someone can be brilliant and female and know her own worth when it comes to who deserves to date her.

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      Charles

      (So we* can listen to your stories together… darn swipe typing)

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  10. Kelly Sparrow

    I'm just here to say thanks for the Chevron explanation in the greater context of the growth of the administrative state. I was busily scribbling notes at my desk while listening so that I can supplement my Intro American Government lecture when we hit the chapter dealing with bureaucracy and the administrative state. Super helpful as always!

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