On the Monday edition of Fox News’ “The Five,” commentator Juan Williams intimated that gun owners supported expanding background checks to rein in phantom gun owners who are supposedly brandishing fully automatic weapons.
“… [M]ost gun owners are in favor of stronger background checks [and] do not see the need for people going around the country with tremendous automatic weaponry.”
Whoa, Juan: Full-auto firearms are very rare in civilian hands, requiring additional background checks, a $200 fee to BATFE and a fat checkbook to afford a $20,000 firearm. Perhaps Williams is referring to the AR-15, which Americans have made the most popular rifle in America. Mr. Williams, none of those are automatic, and according to the FBI, they’ve been used in less than 2 percent of crime.
Williams’ careless use of language diminishes the quality of the argument; it’s no wonder that trust in the media is at historically low levels.
