This week, in the wake of the horrific mosque shootings in New Zealand that left 50 people dead, the prime minister of that country banned all assault rifles and military-style semiautomatic weapons.
The move by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern prompted Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to suggest the same be done in the United States:
This is what real action to stop gun violence looks like. We must follow New Zealand’s lead, take on the NRA and ban the sale and distribution of assault weapons in the United States. https://t.co/lSAisDG9Ur
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 21, 2019
Thursday morning on “Fox & Friends,” co-host Jedediah Bila referenced the tweet from Sanders and asserted that the “vast majority” of Americans use assault weapons:
“Let me just jump in and say that term ‘assault weapons’ offends many Second Amendment advocates across the country. Semi-automatic weapons are used by a vast majority of people in this country to protect themselves.”
In wake of New Zealand’s gun ban, Fox’s Jedediah Bila complains that @BernieSanders‘ use of the “that term, ‘assault weapons’, offends many second amendment advocates around the country.” pic.twitter.com/8h5Q3uHOlL
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) March 21, 2019
The vast majority of Americans own assault weapons? Really? Um…no. No they don’t. As a matter of fact, the population of this country is 327 million people. There are an estimated 15 to 20 million assault weapons in the country. Does that sound like the “vast majority” to you?
It should also be noted that the terms “assault weapons” and “assault rifles” were actually created by gun manufacturers decades ago for one reason: To sell more weapons:
Calling certain firearms “assault rifles” or “assualt weapons” was a trend started by the fireamrs industry decades ago, in order to sell more guns. https://t.co/m10t0CTGP0
— Bobby Lewis (@revrrlewis) March 21, 2019
Here’s the real problem: The Republican Party and its chief propagandists at Fox News are beholden to the gun lobby because they accept millions of dollars from them annually.
The only people who need assault weapons are professional soldiers engaged in battle. And most Americans agree, with a Gallup poll showing that 56 percent of Americans say they support “Banning the sale of semi-automatic weapons such as the AR-15.”
Perhaps it should come as no surprise that Fox is willing to lie for the gun industry, but those lies wind up costing thousands of Americans their lives each and every year.
Featured Image Via Screenshot
