Hollywood Gets It Wrong, Again

by
posted on February 5, 2023
hollywood.jpg
Topher courtesy of Flickr

A recent episode of ABC’s “The Rookie” put a law-enforcement officer and a legally armed citizen in a tense debate over what should be done in a robbery situation.

“Why aren’t you doing anything?” asks the citizen. The officer refuses to intervene. The armed citizen then decides to do something. Despite his best intentions, the armed citizen’s actions manage to get himself and another civilian shot by the machine-gun wielding robbers who then escape.

“Leave it to a good guy with a gun to really screw things up,” the officer later says.

Reality, however, tells a different story for armed citizens.

The 2021 National Firearms Survey, conducted under the supervision of Georgetown professor William English, found that there are roughly 1.67 million defensive gun uses a year, most of which take place without the armed citizen firing a shot.

Unfortunately, “The Rookie” isn’t the only show trying to portray lawfully armed citizens as a problem in society. “Law & Order,” “Blue Bloods,” “FBI: Most Wanted,” and other shows have recently labeled armed citizens as “vigilantes” and “idiots,” or contrived a plot that involves an armed citizen making matters worse.

“[T]elevision shows have begun to demonize concealed-carry permits,” wrote Dr. John Lott, founder of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC).

Data from the CPRC shows that more-than-21-milllion Americans carry concealed, and that these individuals are among the most-law-abiding citizens in the country.

Unfortunately, many Americans are unaware of just how common defensive gun uses are, or how safe armed citizens typically are. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention actually suppressed a study that shows this. And, as politics is downstream of culture, it’s important to call out these untrue narratives when they are presented.

The NRA maintains the Armed Citizen column to highlight just how prevalent defensive gun uses are.

Latest

Dean Cain
Dean Cain

Shooting Straight with Dean Cain

Dean Cain cares about our freedom, and he isn't the least bit aggrieved about any work he may have lost for being a vocal supporter of our rights.

10 Things the Mainstream Media Doesn't Want You To Know About Concealed Carry

The "mainstream" media likes to place the blame for violent crime on guns, not criminals. The truth about concealed carry, however, is very different from how man in the media frame in.

The Armed Citizen® March 24, 2023

True stories of the right to keep and bear arms.

Special Report: The NRA is Fighting Back

To undercut the Second Amendment, New York officials attacked the NRA's First Amendment rights. To stop this, the NRA has asked the U.S. Supreme Court for redress.

From the Editor: Maybe They Just Don't Understand

Hollywood does, in fact, have some social responsibility, but getting there just takes more thought than some of them can manage.

Did Biden Really Expand Background Checks?

Here's what President Biden's recent executive order actually does.

Interests



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.