In the latest episode of CNN's Inside Man, new host Morgan
Spurlock attacked those who bought guns in the wake of the Newtown
shootings, and told Americans they don't "need" AR-15 rifles or
high-capacity magazines. The episode "Guns" featured Spurlock working at
a Virginia gun store.
"I'm completely blown away by the response that people have had
to Newtown. That on the heels of a tragedy like this, that they feel
that they have to arm themselves," Spurlock arrogantly lectured
the gun customers. He also accused the NRA of lying to the public and
cast some NRA members as gullible and paranoid.
[Video below. Audio here [1].]
"The NRA is really good at defending the Second Amendment, and some of
its members are persuaded by all the talk about home invasions, Chinese
hackers and a post-apocalyptic America," Spurlock quipped.
"They [NRA] launched a misinformation campaign to derail any
legislation by willfully misleading their members into thinking a
national gun registry was possible even though it was against the law,"
Spurlock insisted after quoting President Obama that the gun lobby
"willfully lied" about the gun bill that failed in the Senate.
In
his push for stricter gun laws, Spurlock innocently cast himself as a
gun owner who wanted to report on the "centrist attitude of Americans."
Yet he still attacked the spike in gun transactions after the Newtown
shootings.
And he tried to portray the absurdity of the gun bill failing in the Senate by drawing simplistic analogies:
"The failed legislation included universal background checks, something 90 percent of Americans favor, which makes you wonder how often do 90 percent of Americans agree on anything? Not too often, it turns out. According to an online poll of Americans, background checks were more popular than apple pie, kittens, and child labor laws."
Spurlock ended the episode by implying that high-capacity magazines and AR-15 rifles should be outlawed:
"The majority of the population is for universal background checks. Do we need 120-round magazines for target practice, an AR-15 for home protection? Actually, no, you know. When the Second Amendment was created, nobody could have envisioned the types of weapons we have today and the sheer firepower that they have. So, you know, at some point we have to say we should do what's right, you know, rather than just what's easy."
Below is a transcript of the segments, which aired on CNN's Inside Man on June 30 beginning at 10:02 p.m. EDT:
MORGAN SPURLOCK: As an American, I myself own guns. When I was 12-years
old, this is a true story, I was given my first rifle, a .22, that my
grandfather hand-made the stock for me, gave to me as a present. And on
the first day of he and I out shooting it, we were in my backyard
shooting it at a target, and at some point while we were shooting at the
target and walking back to where we were shooting from, my dog went and
hid behind my target. And on my 12th birthday, I shot and killed my
dog. True story. Terrible story. It still doesn't stop me from owning
guns.
But I'm somebody who even as a gun owner believes there should be some
sort of change to gun policy, you know, that there should be certain
people that shouldn't have the ability to get, you know, high-powered
firearms, you know, et cetera. And I do believe that there's people out
there who are just like me. But if you turn on the television, you get
one side who's basically saying there has to be this overwhelming
revamping of gun policy in the country. And then on the complete inverse
of that are people saying we can't touch it because it's in the
Constitution.
You know, and as a gun owner, I really don't believe those two polar
opposites represent America. So what I want to do is go out and talk to
some people who I think are representative of much more of what's going
on in kind of the centrist attitude of Americans.
(Voice over) In November, just one week after the reelection of
President Obama, gun sales were reaching record highs in the U.S. I
wanted to know who were the people buying these guns and why were they
doing it. So I figured taking a job in a gun shop would be a good place
to start.
(...)
[10:33]
SPURLOCK: I got to tell you. I'm completely blown away by the response
that people have had to Newtown. That on the heels of a tragedy like
this, that they feel that they have to arm themselves. And what's really
surprising to me is it's not people who already own guns that are
coming in, but it's people who have never owned a gun in their life that
are coming in for the first time and saying I've got to get one, I've
got to get one now.
You know, you have to believe that part of this fear that's being
generated is also coming from kind of the gun manufacturers themselves.
You know, in the middle of a crisis like this, in a middle of tragedy is
just this incredible boom of opportunity for them, you know, to kind of
capitalize on. And it's – it's terrible.
(Voice-over): But some people took a different type of action after
Newtown. People whose lives have been affected by gun violence saw their
opportunity to be heard too, on an issue that they know is literally a
matter of life or death.
(...)
SPURLOCK: The NRA was founded in 1871 as a sportsman's organization
aimed at educating and building marksmanship as a skill among its
members.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can become a part of this great heritage simply by calling now.
SPURLOCK: Today the NRA has nearly five million members, and considers
itself the voice of the American gun owner. But here is the thing. About
70 million Americans own guns. That makes around 65 million who aren't
card-carrying members of the NRA. So the NRA doesn't really get its
power from its membership dues. It gets its power from the deep-pocketed
corporations that have contributed nearly $52 million to the
organization in the last eight years alone.
And the NRA's spent that money pretty well. They've ushered in
expansive conceal and carry laws, sensitive government data about gun
crime, tied up federal regulation, and effectively blocked the renewal
of the 1994 ban on assault weapons with high capacity magazines. In
spite of numerous polls that show not only most gun owners but even most
NRA members actually that support tighter restrictions on gun
ownership, the NRA has strong-armed legislation to loosen restrictions
and aggressively expanded the sales base for gun manufacturers.
The NRA is really good at defending the Second Amendment, and some of
its members are persuaded by all the talk about home invasions, Chinese
hackers and a post-apocalyptic America. But the main thing the NRA is
defending is the bottom line for gun makers. But if the NRA doesn't
speak for gun owners, who does? I figured I'd just let them speak for
themselves. So we are at the nation's gun show, which is the largest gun
show in the state of Virginia.
(...)
SPURLOCK: In spite of all the talk about change and the deaths of so
many victims of gun violence, the U.S. Senate voted against a range of
gun control measures. The failed legislation included universal
background checks, something 90 percent of Americans favor, which makes
you wonder how often do 90 percent of Americans agree on anything?
Not too often, it turns out. According to an online poll of Americans,
background checks were more popular than apple pie, kittens, and child
labor laws. Only 81 percent have a favorable view of apple pie, 76
percent can agree on liking kittens. A mere 71 percent support child
labor laws. But there was one big winner in the poll, ice cream. It came
out on top with a tiny 3 percent edge over comprehensive background
checks for gun sales. So how in the world did the one thing Americans
virtually like as much as ice cream still manage to fail? You can thank
the hardworking NRA for that one.
BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States: The gun lobby and its allies willfully lied about the bill.
SPURLOCK: They launched a misinformation campaign to derail any
legislation by willfully misleading their members into thinking a
national gun registry was possible even though it was against the law.
WAYNE LAPIERRE, executive vice president, National Rifle Association:
This is not universal background checks. This is universal registration
of all of your firearms and all people like you all over America.
OBAMA: Those lies upset an intense minority of gun owners, and that in
turn intimidated a lot of senators, even though the bill did the
opposite. This legislation in fact outlawed any registry, plain and
simple, right there in the text.
To all and all, this was a pretty shameful day for Washington.
SPURLOCK: But just because the NRA's lobbyists are shouting in the ears
of Washington's politicians doesn't mean the conversation is over.
Sen. HARRY REID (D-N.Y.), Majority Leader: This is just the beginning. This is not the end.
SPURLOCK: Just last year, even talk of gun legislation was considered
political suicide, not so now. People everywhere are demanding action.
There has been a seismic change in the political landscape. We're ready
to battle it out. And we aren't going to back into our corners without a
fight.
After traveling around and meeting all these different people, the one
thing that you start to realize is that we're much closer than anyone
would really like to believe. You know, we all want this nation to be a
safer place. We do want to keep these guns out of the hands of people
who shouldn't have them. But at the same time, we all do have to give
something up to make that happen. But I think there is a way to do this
that is going to be better for everyone.
The majority of the population is for universal background checks. Do
we need 120-round magazines for target practice, an AR-15 for home
protection? Actually, no, you know. When the Second Amendment was
created, nobody could have envisioned the types of weapons we have today
and the sheer firepower that they have. So, you know, at some point we
have to say we should do what's right, you know, rather than just what's
easy.
(End Video Clip)