It's a tale as old as time. Whenever the debate of gun control versus gun rights enters the forefront of the news cycle, the mainstream media does a terrible job explaining what a firearm is and on Tuesday, CNN was the latest outlet to do just that.
In a segment attempting to explain what an "assault rifle" is, it ended up applying to the vast majority of firearms that are on the market today.
"Some general characteristics, they’re semi-automatic firing. That means every time you pull the trigger, you get a bullet. So as fast as you can pull it, you can get shots out of it. Many, many weapons are semi-automatic, not just assault rifles. Often they have detachable and possibly large-capacity magazines that clip on there so you get a lot of bullets. A pistol grip or something else for better control so it doesn’t walk away from the power of the shooting of it. All of this comes together in a package that frankly, looks more like a military thing than most people would expect," CNN correspondent Tom Foreman explained.
On the screen Foreman was standing in front of, the following bullet points were listed:
- Semi-automatic firing
- Detachable and possibly large-capacity magazines
- "Shootings involving these weapons result in more shots fired, more people wounded, and more wounds per victim compared to attacks with other firearms."
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Based on the vague definition given by CNN, handguns could easily be included.
CNN had a similar gaffe in 2018 when contributor and former Army General Mark Hertling said AR-15s can be fired "on full semi-automatic," which is not a thing.
FLASHBACK… 2018… CNN shows viewers the super secret trick to firing an AR-15 “on full semi-automatic” pic.twitter.com/gTDafKg5yZ
— Vince Coglianese (@VinceCoglianese) May 31, 2022
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