CNN Host Illustrates How Little Media Understand Gun Laws

Photo by Josh Hallett

Despite the plain text of the Second Amendment, there are a whole lot of laws on the books regarding guns. That’s something most who consider themselves pro-gun control on a casual level never really understand. They hear about “gun show loopholes” and talking points about how it’s more difficult to buy cough syrup than to get a gun, and they buy it.

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But it seems the media doesn’t have much of a clue either.

On the Sunday episode of GPS on CNN, Fareed Zakaria proposed America pass certain gun laws in response to the Las Vegas shooting without realizing those laws already exist.

While chastising the country for not more quickly adopting gun-control measures he favors, Zakaria said a ban on gun sales to domestic abusers or illegal drug users could make a big difference. “Given the Second Amendment, given America’s gun culture, given the influence of the gun lobby, there isn’t any simple answer but there are many small fixes that might make a big difference. Universal background checks. Restrictions on military-style weaponry—of which banning bump stocks would be a tiny first step,” he said. “A ban on selling to people with a history of domestic violence or substance abuse.”

Under federal law, it is already illegal to sell a firearm to anyone who has been convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense or an illegal drug user. It is also illegal for any user of illegal drugs or person convicted of a misdemeanor domestic violence offense to own or possess a firearm. The prohibition extends to users of drugs that are legal at the state level but still illegal under federal law.

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Whoops.

It’s also worth noting that despite the reportedly pro-gun party having control over both chambers of Congress and the White House, there was no effort to change this bit of legislation even before Las Vegas. In other words, it’s not likely to go away anytime soon.

 

Further, he proposes other things that are just stupid. Universal background checks? The Las Vegas killer passed background checks. There was nothing in his history to bar him from buying a gun. Nothing at all.

But what can we expect from a man calling for laws that are already in place?

As for his idea of banning “military-style weaponry,” he simply illustrates his irrational fear and lack of understanding about guns. There are multiple guns that would be immune to almost any ban on “military-style weaponry” that basically function the exact same. The internal mechanisms may be different, but they can accept a detachable magazine and are semi-automatic. Yet they aren’t technically “military-style” in any way, shape, or form.

Zakaria is merely wetting himself over something that looks scary but he knows remarkably little about. He’s not familiar with the laws surrounding firearms, he’s not familiar with firearms themselves, and yet he’s pontificating on the subject like he’s someone who simply should be taken seriously because he’s wearing a suit and sitting in front of a camera.

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Yet his knowledge of not just guns but gun laws are so laughable as to render his opinions pointless.

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