In recent years, there have been several seemingly random acts of violence committed by young males in the US – shootings in Aurora, Colorado and Sandy Hook, Connecticut and the bombing at the Boston Marathon. There has been heated discussion about how these acts should be interpreted. Was there a political dimension? Were the killers following the well-established script of high school shootings by disaffected teenagers? Is it a mental health issue? Is gun control the answer? What these acts have in common is seemingly nihilistic and motiveless suicidal violence we learn and gun control may be popular in the UK but among the speakers it’s a different story. Arranged by the New York salon and filmed at the Battle of Ideas this terrific debate goes beyond the normal rhetoric and may take you out of your comfort zone.
