In a clear push for gun control, CNN and MSNBC yesterday hyped false claims by an al-Qaida spokesman that America is awash with easily obtainable, fully automatic "assault rifles."
The networks played an al-Qaida propaganda video from June 2011 that until now has received little news media attention.
In the video, American al-Qaida spokesman and operative Adam Gadahn urged jihadists to obtain automatic rifles at U.S. gun shows, wrongly claiming those weapons are sold without background checks.
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Stated Gadahn in the video: “America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms. You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle without a background check and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?”
The video was aired yesterday by CNN as part of a two-day report on gun background checks.
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CNN’s Brook Baldwin introduces the video by stating: “Al-Qaida already thinks America’s gun control system is weak. An Al-Qaida spokesman says it is so easy to get guns in America that wannabe terrorists should take advantage of it.”
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The segment went on to claim that gun legislation being proposed is not strong enough to stop al-Qaida from obtaining firearms.
The video was used yesterday by MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough to push for gun control.
After the video was aired, co-host Mika Brzezinski stated, “Yeah, we’ll show you something and then we’ll let you talk. You know your background check system is weak when even al-Qaida makes a video pointing out how easily attainable guns are in the U.S.”
Neither CNN nor MSNBC pointed out that the al-Qaida claim about obtaining fully automatic assault rifles is false.
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When the al-Qaida video was first released, National Review deputy editor Kevin D. Williamson debunked the claim.
He noted that if that civilian is not a federally licensed firearms dealer, “owning a fully automatic weapon manufactured after 1986 is categorically illegal.”
Scarborough discussed the video again today:
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Continued Williamson: “Fully automatic weapons that were legally owned and registered with the federal government before 1986 may be transferred to a qualified buyer with the approval of federal and local law-enforcement authorities, a rigorous background check, and, of course, a sign-off from the U.S. Treasury Department: there’s a couple hundred bucks in fees and taxes involved."
Williamson warned that selling a fully automatic weapon to an unlicensed party, at a gun show or anywhere else, “is a very excellent way to land yourself in prison for a good long while.”
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., discusses the video on "Morning Joe":
With research by Joshua Klein