Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

MSNBC Reporter Unwittingly Discovers the Importance of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Friday, May 3, 2019

MSNBC Reporter Unwittingly Discovers the Importance of the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Sometimes even the worst of the media inadvertently stumbles upon the truth.

On April 30th, MSNBC reported that the socialist government of Venezuela was running over its citizens with armored vehicles amidst protests of the government’s ongoing tyranny.

MSNBC reporter Kerry Sanders, seeking to explain how the government could oppress the population to this extent, invoked the disparity of power between the government and the people. In doing so, he unwittingly managed to explain why America’s founding fathers saw fit to enshrine the right to keep and bear arms within the Bill of Rights.

Sanders noted: “You have to understand, in Venezuela gun ownership is not something that is open to everybody. So if the military have the guns, they have the power and as long as Nicolas Maduro controls the military, he controls the country.”

The result, particularly when coupled with socialism’s contempt for individualism and self-determination, is the unchecked abuse of authority at the cost of innocent lives.

It was a connection so obvious that even MSNBC couldn’t miss it.

These admissions, however unwitting, were a refreshing contrast from the usual MSNBC rhetoric, which tends to favor the most far-reaching forms of gun control. Even gun control advocate Bernie Sanders – who favors a nationwide ban on America’s most popular rifles, as well as on the standard capacity magazines Americans rely on for self-defense –isn’t anti-gun enough to avoid MSNBC’s criticism on the issue.

But while the political elite hide behind the guise of “common-sense gun laws,” in reality they believe that they should be the only ones protected by guns. The rest of the population, in their view, is not to be trusted.

Now the world is being forced to confront the reality of how that has worked out in Venezuela.  

After years of pushing anti-gun rhetoric, MSNBC accidentally made one of the most powerful cases for the Second Amendment, showing that without it law-abiding citizens will not have the means to protect themselves from criminals or from the most blatant forms of government oppression.

The men and women of the National Rifle Association have understood this since 1871.

And while it’s taken MSNBC a while to catch up to the rest of us, we hope it’s a lesson they won’t soon forget.

For the people of Venezuela, unfortunately, the lesson arrived too late.

TRENDING NOW
U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

U.S. Court of Appeals Backtracks on Adverse Suppressor Ruling

In a single sentence, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit added to the high-profile and consequential national conversation on firearm suppressors.

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

2A News Out of New Jersey You Won’t Believe: It’s Actually a Good Thing!

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

2A News Out of New Jersey You Won’t Believe: It’s Actually a Good Thing!

The Garden State is not where most seek positive developments regarding our right to arms, so we were pleasantly surprised when Englishtown, N.J., recently made a move to support the Second Amendment.

Switched Off: A Case Study on Minnesota’s Illegal Machine Gun Law

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

Switched Off: A Case Study on Minnesota’s Illegal Machine Gun Law

There’s been a lot of noise of late about auto sears or so-called “Glock switches” – devices to convert a semiautomatic firearm into an automatic weapon. 

Update: Washington Post Fact Checks Misleading Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Talking Point

News  

Monday, June 23, 2025

Update: Washington Post Fact Checks Misleading Ad Council “Children” and Firearms Talking Point

Last week, NRA-ILA explained how a recent public service announcement campaign from the federally-funded Ad Council, and the gun control lobby more broadly, manipulates statistics to create misleading talking points about “children” and firearms.

DOJ Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA-Backed Challenge to IL’s Ban on “Assault Weapons” and “Large-Capacity Magazines”

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

DOJ Files Amicus Brief Supporting NRA-Backed Challenge to IL’s Ban on “Assault Weapons” and “Large-Capacity Magazines”

Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief in the Seventh Circuit supporting an NRA-backed challenge to Illinois’s prohibition on so-called “assault weapons” and “large-capacity magazines.”

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Friday, June 20, 2025

Ninth Circuit Strikes Down CA’s One-Gun-A-Month Law

Today, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that California’s law prohibiting people from buying more than one firearm in a 30-day period violates the Second Amendment.

Gun-Control Window Dressing: Chicago Inspector-General Calls Out Futility of Gun Offender Registry

News  

Monday, June 16, 2025

Gun-Control Window Dressing: Chicago Inspector-General Calls Out Futility of Gun Offender Registry

Fifteen years ago, the City of Chicago adopted a “gun offender registry” ordinance that requires convicted gun offenders to register with the police and have police monitor anyone listed in the registry. 

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

Friday, June 20, 2025

Minnesota: Shotgun-Only Hunting Zones Repealed

On Monday, June 9th, outside of regular session, the Senate passed the Environment Omnibus bill, removing shotgun-only hunting zones in the state. 

Rhode Island: Legislature Passes Semi-Auto Ban

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Rhode Island: Legislature Passes Semi-Auto Ban

After years of showing up at the Statehouse in huge numbers fighting against a drastic semi-auto ban, gun owners were rightfully upset when the Legislature finally pushed an amended version across the finish line to ...

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.