Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Another Gun Control Claim Bites the Dust

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

Another Gun Control Claim Bites the Dust

If it sounds like we’re repeating ourselves, it’s because we are. For the proverbial umpteenth time, Fact Checkers at a prominent newspaper have denounced a lie being told by a supporter of expanded background checks on gun sales.

On Monday, the Washington Post gave Four Pinnochios to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) for repeating a claim originated by Michael Bloomberg’s Everytown for Gun Safety group, that there has been an average of one school shooting per week since the December 2012 crime at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

“Applying a reasonable person standard” to what should be considered a “school shooting” in the context of the Sandy Hook crime, the Post concluded that of 126 incidents on Everytown’s list, most were suicides or attempted suicides, accidents, or shootings resulting from arguments between individuals, and perhaps only 10 were crimes in which someone intended to shoot multiple people.

The Post, saying “lawmakers need to present information—especially for such a controversial topic as gun control—in a clear, responsible and accurate way,” considered Sen. Murphy’s lie particularly egregious in view of the fact that Everytown’s claims about school shootings have been so widely discredited previously. As examples, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution first rated Everytown’s claims about the number of school shootings since Sandy Hook mostly falseback in June 2014. Three months later, John Lott released the result of research that found that some of the persons involved in the incidents cited by Everytown weren’t even associated with the schools and/or the incidents didn’t occur during regular school hours.

The Washington Post gave Four Pinnochios to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) for repeating a claim originated by Michael Bloomberg's Everytown for Gun Safety group.

Maybe Murphy can take comfort from the fact that he’s not the only anti-gunner that has been taken to task for telling lies. In 2013, the Post rejected former Pres. Bill Clinton’s claim that half of all mass killings in the United States had occurred since the September 2004 expiration of his “ban” on “assault weapons” and “large” magazines. The newspapersaid, “the available data show that Clinton was way off base in his assertion, making an exaggerated claim—which his office would not even defend.”

The same year, the Post gave Pres. Barack Obama Three Pinnochios for repeating Everytown’s claim that 40 percent of firearms are sold without a background check. (And even if Obama had been telling the truth, it would only have been an endorsement for checkless firearm sales, given that the nation’s murder rate is at or near an all-time low.)

In December, the Journal-Constitution gave a mostly false rating to Everytown’s claim exaggerating school shootings in Georgia. In March, the Post gave Pres. Barack Obama Three Pinnochios for his “odd series of exaggerated gun claims,” including the claim that the U.S. has the world’s highest murder rate, the claim that it’s easier to buy a handgun than a vegetable, and the claim that gun control opponents want laws to allow “firearms in kindergartens and machine guns in bars.”

In April, the Richmond Times-Dispatch gave a mostly false rating to Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for repeating the “40 percent” claim that Pres. Obama was faulted for previously, but which Everytown continues to use every chance it gets. Also in April, Everytown was caught trying to exaggerate the size of their miniscule anti-gun demonstration during the NRA Annual Meeting in Nashville.

In May, the Journal-Constitution rated as “mostly false” Everytown’s claim that weak gun laws were responsible for a gun being stolen in Georgia and later used in a crime in New York City.

And last week, the Tampa Bay Tribune rated as mostly false Obama’s recent claim comparing multiple victim shootings in the U.S. to those in other countries.

But when have the facts had any bearing on what gun control supporters say?

TRENDING NOW
Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Firearm Turn-ins, Worse than Useless?

Once again, Chicago has provided a cautionary tale in gun control. This time the city helped to illustrate the futility of gun turn-ins – sometimes incorrectly termed “buybacks” by those under the misimpression that all ...

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

On April 16, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made good on a promise to expose the ways in which the Biden administration had weaponized the federal government against its political adversaries by releasing the Biden-era “Strategic Implementation Plan ...

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Decision Recognizing Young Adult Carry to Stand

On Monday, April 21, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review an appeal from the state of Minnesota in Worth v. Jacobson, allowing to stand an Eight Circuit ruling declaring that a ban on obtaining carry permits by ...

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

News  

Monday, April 28, 2025

Australian Gun Regime Exposes the Fallacy of “Red Flag” Laws

As we wrote about last week, a cornerstone of the Biden administration’s “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism,” a plan aimed at curtailing Second Amendment rights under the guise of fighting domestic terrorism, was ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

News  

Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

Monday, April 21, 2025

Legal Update: April 2025 Litigation Update

In the first quarter of 2025, the National Rifle Association filed three new lawsuits and five amicus briefs, while continuing to litigate dozens of ongoing lawsuits across the country.

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Today, companion bills Senate Bill 952 and House Bill 6025, protecting our Second Amendment Rights during a state of emergency, received final passage from the legislature and will now head to Governor DeSantis's desk for his consideration.  

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

Monday, April 21, 2025

Vermont: Committee Approves Burlington Gun Ban

On Friday, April 18, the Vermont Senate Government Operations Committee approved S. 131, a change to the Burlington City Charter that would allow the city to ban firearms in establishments that serve alcohol.

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

News  

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Rep. Feenstra Reintroduces Legislation to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Tenants

On April 17, 2025, Representative Randy Feenstra (R-IA-04) reintroduced the Preserving Rights of Tenants by Ensuring Compliance to the Second Amendment Act, or the PROTECT the Second Amendment Act. 

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

It has happened before in Massachusetts: A small, hardy band of armed Americans faces off against elements of the most powerful military in the world and commits a revolutionary act that paves the way for ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.