Gun Control

But what’s the real purpose of the show?

A new Democrat administration and two recent mass shootings mean it’s time for another episode of the gun-control melodrama that’s been running for decades. We all know the scenario: an obviously deranged person murders several people, Dem pols and pundits start fulminating about our lax gun control laws and gun-obsessed white males, followed by a bunch of ineffective proposals and policies that will do nothing about crime, but will annoy law-abiding gun-owners, which is ultimately the real purpose of the show––demonizing a political enemy.

As Ed noted earlier, Joe Biden announced plans for a big push on gun control today. Biden’s approach was full of holes and obvious whoppers. He also called for a revival of the assault weapon ban. But over at the NY Times, there’s an interesting op-ed by a former president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. What’s surprising about it is that author Dan Gross admits the usual left-wing rush toward things like the assault weapons ban after every high-profile mass shooting makes no sense if your real goal is to reduce the bulk of gun violence.

On Tuesday’s Amanpour & Co., the PBS show not only did its part to spread anti-gun misinformation, but also to demonize Republicans who dispute the value of more gun control. Host Christiane Amanpour and her guests made several blatantly false claims about the significance of background checks and the prevalence of so-called “assault weapons.” She also allowed one of her guests to sneer that Republicans “don’t have a conscience” when it comes to guns. 

Cassy Parker owns many guns.

One that is near and dear to her heart is her Ruger Mini-14 Ranch rifle, a lightweight, semi-automatic gun, which her husband and five kids got her a couple of years ago for Mother’s Day.

Parker, who co-owns a gun shop called K.K.S. Tactical Supplies in a small strip mall in Prince George in northern British Columbia, says she has used her Ruger both for recreation and as part of her community-sanctioned “predator-management” efforts — killing some of the wolves and coyotes that prey on livestock animals, such as calves, and wildlife, including caribou, deer and moose.