When Adulthood Leaves the Room traces a culture that traded responsibility for excuses. From school and church safety to the collapse of moral authority, the conversation challenges soft thinking and manufactured victimhood. Voices of experience call for guardianship, discernment, and the courage to defend liberty without apology.
A studio lights up after days on the run, and Peter Vazquez comes in with a question that does not care about your politics: when did we start confusing adulthood with age? Somewhere along the way, a paper cut became a lawsuit, a feeling became a policy, and disorder started wearing a halo.
Stephen Williford joins the line like a man who has seen what evil looks for. He does not sell fear. He argues for guardianship. If we can post armed protection over money and politicians, why do we leave children and worshippers as the softest target in town?
Trained, concealed staff. Church safety teams. Deterrence that forces a predator to reconsider. The conversation walks through North Carolina’s HB193 revisions, the tug-of-war with anti-freedom governors, and the larger fight: reciprocity, constitutional carry, and dismantling the ancient tricks of the NFA that turned rights into paperwork.
Then the tone shifts from bullets to beliefs. DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot of Project 21 enters with a different kind of warning: a nation cannot survive on grievance as a personality. She names the new religion plainly, performing trauma, outsourcing responsibility, medicating pain instead of treating the wound.
From the arguments around Dr. King’s legacy and Chad O. Jackson’s documentaries, to marijuana policy and the quiet money-machine behind “compassion,” she calls for something unfashionable: a moral center.
Christmas is near. Noise is everywhere. Discernment is rare. This hour insists on one idea: liberty survives only where responsibility still has a home.
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The Next Steps Show
Host: Peter Vazquez
Guests: Stephen Williford, DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot
Opening
Peter Vazquez:
Look to the left. Look to the right. What do you see? Where are you standing? In a world that changes daily, the question remains simple: what will you do next?
I have been on the move lately, broadcasting wherever I can, because there is a lot at stake right now. A lot of people need clarity. We are living in a society that has lost its bearings. Responsibility has been replaced with grievance. A paper cut now demands a lawsuit. Discomfort is treated like oppression. Speech is punished, disorder is excused, and accountability is treated as cruelty.
What is missing is not policy. What is missing is adulthood. Not chronological adulthood, but real adulthood. People who say, “I will take responsibility for my life.”
If the Vanboolzalness Crisis is collapsing anything, it is our constitutional ability to protect ourselves from those creating the chaos.
Segment One: Safety, Schools, and the Second Amendment
Peter Vazquez:
To continue this conversation in an area many avoid, I am joined by someone known nationally as the “good guy with a gun.” Stephen Williford stopped one of the largest mass shootings in American history by exercising his Second Amendment rights responsibly. He is the author of A Town Called Sutherland Springs and a national spokesman for Gun Owners of America.
Stephen, thank you for being here.
Stephen Williford:
It is good to be back. I appreciate the invitation.
Peter Vazquez:
You have spoken extensively about protecting students where they study and people where they worship. Why is the idea of armed, trained adults in schools treated as controversial when we protect banks and politicians the same way?
Stephen Williford:
The best way to protect schools is exactly how we protect banks and elected officials. Trained, armed adults who are prepared to act. Teachers and faculty who volunteer, receive training, and are willing to stand between evil and innocent life.
Churches should have safety response teams. Volunteers who understand the responsibility and are prepared to act.
Peter Vazquez:
Critics argue that armed staff create a hostile environment and teach children that violence is the answer. How do you respond?
Stephen Williford:
What does it teach a child when they walk into a bank and see armed security protecting money, but we refuse to protect children the same way? In Texas, we have the Guardian and School Marshal Programs. Teachers and staff carry concealed. Students do not know who is armed. Law enforcement does. These educators train with police during the summer.
And we have never had a school shooting at a school participating in those programs.
Peter Vazquez:
A 2025 Gallup poll shows 40 percent of families regret college choices due to campus instability and safety concerns. Some private and faith-based schools argue arming staff violates Christian principles.
Stephen Williford:
Jesus told His disciples, “If you do not have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one.” There is a Christian school in Texas that hires combat veterans for security. They wear body armor and carry rifles. I would send my children there without hesitation. Evil avoids resistance.
Peter Vazquez:
In Parkland, police stood down. Courts later ruled law enforcement has no duty to protect unless someone is in custody. If I put my child on a school bus, that child is in your custody. Protection is not optional.
Free Speech, Violence, and Cultural Collapse
Peter Vazquez:
Recent studies show rising acceptance of shutting down speech, even through violence. Critics claim armed defense perpetuates this mindset.
That is a lie. Violence against speech is already being normalized. Charlie Kirk was murdered for expressing his beliefs. If disagreement now means annihilation, we are sliding into something dangerous.
The Second Amendment is not about aggression. It is about deterrence.
Policy and the Law
Peter Vazquez:
Stephen, explain North Carolina’s HB193 firearms revision.
Stephen Williford:
It was enacted after a veto override in July 2025 and takes effect December 1. It updates carry permit processes, firearm storage, and reflects a broader push toward constitutional carry. Governors blocking freedom are the problem. That sounds familiar to New York.
Peter Vazquez:
Indeed.
Stephen Williford:
New York is aggressively anti-self-defense. Look at Buffalo. The shooter chose that location because of strict gun laws. He planned around them. Criminals study vulnerability.
Peter Vazquez:
Would laws like HB193 help New York?
Stephen Williford:
Absolutely. Texas allows campus carry. Students 18 and older may carry on public universities. Those campuses are safer. Predators seek defenseless zones.
Peter Vazquez:
What about national reciprocity?
Stephen Williford:
We are fighting for constitutional carry nationwide. The Second Amendment is everyone’s permit. You are born with it.
Segment Two: Culture, Identity, and Responsibility
Peter Vazquez:
Joining me now is DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot, Project 21 Ambassador and founder of An Uncommon Voice Coaching & Consulting.
DawnMarie, thank you for being here.
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
Thank you. I appreciate what you do.
Peter Vazquez:
You reject victimhood as identity. When did overcoming get replaced by performing trauma?
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
Trauma has always existed. What changed is how it is marketed. Today, trauma is a currency. If you convince people they cannot overcome, you control them. It becomes a justification to avoid responsibility.
The Bible says a double-minded person is unstable. You must choose who defines you: God or grievance brokers.
Peter Vazquez:
There is renewed debate around Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., including work by Chad O. Jackson. Does personal failure negate public achievement?
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
It matters because the social gospel differs from the Gospel of Christ. When trauma becomes politicized, it teaches dependence on government instead of moral responsibility.
Peter Vazquez:
You have written about marijuana legalization as institutionalized neglect.
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
Yes. We replace healing with sedation. Whether marijuana, alcohol, food, or shopping, self-medication avoids root causes. Legalization is driven by revenue, not compassion. Responsibility is still required.
Peter Vazquez:
Is substance targeting disproportionately affecting Black and Brown communities?
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
It targets everyone, but Black and Brown communities are constantly told what they cannot do. At some point, biology and behavior matter. Culture does not excuse self-destruction. Responsibility is not oppression.
Peter Vazquez:
Final advice?
DawnMarie Alexander Boursiquot:
You were endowed with power and creativity. Do not allow anyone who did not create you to define your limits.
Closing
Peter Vazquez:
Discernment comes through practice. You do not need faith to see when a city council gives itself a 25 percent raise while the city collapses. You just need eyes.
Be a leader. Be responsible. Be a voice for liberty.
God bless the United States of America.