It should be more difficult in the Google age to declare false data to score political points, but far too many people take the mainstream media at its word and never double-check.
Take the controversy surrounding so-called “assault weapons.” These ubiquitous firearms are undoubtedly common and massively popular, so why would journalists understate the tally of modern sporting rifles (MSRs)?
According to the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), this misrepresentation of facts is both purposeful and easily verified.
Controversy continues as more states impose restrictions on MSRs
Larry Keane is the NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel. He wrote in a report that not only does Virginia’s current attack on MSRs rely on incorrect and outdated numbers, but it is being copied elsewhere.”
“Virginia’s not alone,” Keane declared. “Other anti-gun state legislatures are proposing bans on so-called ‘assault weapons’ too, but as [the] media continues to cover these bills, are they purposefully low-balling just how extremely popular, and commonly owned, they’ve become? Simple internet searches seem to show the answer is ‘yes.’”
Media critics may be downplaying the number of MSRs in circulation
The most recent NSSF figures showed that the number of MSRs in U.S. circulation totaled 32,091,000 since 1990. How does that compare to numbers bandied about by the media?
The Washington Post cited only 20 million of these popular firearms in citizens’ hands. NBC News and the Washington Examiner quoted 24.4 million, and Google AI responded with 16 to 24.6 million.
All in error.
Anti-gunners may be purposefully understating ownership figures to damage the argument that such weapons are “common.” The Supreme Court determined in 2008’s District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects the right to keep and bear arms that are in common use for lawful purposes.
Thus, lowering that number could be an attempt to deflect from the true pervasiveness of MSRs in modern America.
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