Posted on 09/09/2004 3:13:14 PM PDT by Richard-SIA
NEWS RELEASE
SAF CONDEMNS ABC NEWS FRAUD IN REPORT ON SUNSET OF 'ASSAULT WEAPONS' LAW The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) today called on ABC News anchor Peter Jennings and correspondent Bill Redeker to admit the network distorted fact during a report on the end of the so-called "assault weapons" ban that aired Wednesday evening, Sept. 8.
During that segment, video footage from the North Hollywood bank robbery shootout in March 1997 showed the robbers firing full-automatic weapons, suggesting that this type of firearm will be legal when the ban expires at midnight Sept. 13. These guns had been illegally modified, yet ABC News left the impression that such rifles will be available to the general public.
"Such firearms were illegal prior to the ban, and will be illegal after it sunsets, and ABC knows it," said SAF founder Alan Gottlieb. "ABC's research on this story was either incredibly poor or deliberately distorted. There is no other explanation. It's the same distorted reporting we saw in 1994, prior to the ban, in which the press faked footage in an attempt to portray ammunition from these guns as explosively lethal.
Reporter Redeker made an issue out of certain cosmetic features that were affected by the ban, specifically folding stocks and flash suppressors. He lamented that folding stocks make these rifles more "concealable" and the flash suppressor makes it harder to spot a shooter at night.
"These cosmetic features have nothing to do with how a particular firearm functions," Gottlieb stressed, "or how lethal it might be. That is why the 1994 ban - which only affected the appearance of these guns, not their operation - was nonsense to begin with.
"Rather than explain the law, or note federal studies that have determined this ban, as well as other gun control laws, were ineffective in reducing crime, ABC News sensationalized, and as a result fictionalized, what this ban did and what will result from the law's sunset," Gottlieb concluded. "That's not simply irresponsible reporting. It's journalistic fraud, and ABC News, Jennings and Redeker should apologize for it."
The Second Amendment Foundation is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 600,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers & an amicus brief & fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.
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Copyright © 2004 Second Amendment Foundation, All Rights Reserved.
Second Amendment Foundation James Madison Building 12500 N.E. Tenth Place Bellevue, WA 98005 Voice: 425-454-7012 Toll Free: 800-426-4302 FAX: 425-451-3959 email: info@saf.org
Ongoing thread here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1211339/posts
But this does need to be seen! :)
I watched Fox News at 10 on Channel 11 in Los Angeles and they did the same thing. I think the media flacks are locked in on disarmament of the public and do not question anything that comes from higher up the news chain. I switched to Channel 5 amd observed the same thing. Just another chapter in the liberal-left hysterical meltdown. What will they do when Bush wins? Will there be riots? It seems to be "Apocalypse Now" for the comrades.
You know, I used to hate how they started implementing laws with 'sunset' clauses -i.e. the law expires after a certain number of years.
That is the bad part (I thought) about Bush's tax cuts, they are set to expire.
But now I think this might be a good thing- the politician have to come out and vote again and again on whether they are going to allow taxes to go up or stay down- a good thing if it happens right before elections.
Also, if they keep voting on the same things over and over again we dont have to suffer any NEW bits of idiotic legislation they come up with.
Today, Wolf Blitzer said the AWB sunset would allow Uzi submachine guns to be sold.
The question is, are they ignorant or intentionally lying?
You can CC: LAPD Police Chief Bratton on you letter...he made the same representation several weeks ago.
If they are so sure of their (anti 2nd Amendment) position, why do they lie about it?
The AWB never affected Machine gun regulations since they are seperate class. Right?
The assault weapons ban had nothing whatsoever to do with any sort of automatic weapon of any type.Not Uzis, not M-16s, No 50 caliber machine guns, no sawn off shotguns, no rocket launchers. These sorts of arms have been heavily regulated since 1934. One can theoretically own one, but the paperwork and the costs tend to make it prohibitive for anyone except the wealthy.
The gun grabbers show films of cops shooting long bursts from machine guns and don't say that these sorts of guns are still illegal and would remain so even after the death of this unconstitutional abortion next week.
If someone makes a blanket statement about this..make sure and correct them. If they are a squishly liberal it probably wont matter because these sorts of folks don't let pesky things like the truth get in the way of their prejudices.
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