Talk show host Joe Scarborough showed his support for banning National Rifle Association programming from Apple, Roku, Google and other platforms by making the outrageous statement that gun instruction and Second Amendment advocacy videos “incite violence.”
Lawyers from @Apple @amazon @Google and @RokuPlayer should watch these disturbing videos and remove this channel. They incite violence and could make anyone streaming them liable. https://t.co/sSDmwPKBIo
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) February 24, 2018
Is there any proof of this? Not one bit. There have never been any links between the various programs on NRATV and mass shootings, criminal behavior, or any other sort of violence like we saw in Florida.
The narrative that is being driven in the media today about NRATV would make anyone ignorant of the subject think viewers are being trained to be violent, psychopathic killers who devalue human life. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I have to ask Mr. Scarborough how Cam Edwards incites violence by educating viewers about gun ownership, the Second Amendment, and other issues related to freedom. How about the series by Grant Stinchfield, who explores political issues and exposes government waste, fraud, and abuse?
Does Colion Noir incite violence when he reviews guns, explains how they work, and educates people who know little about how the Second Amendment relates to all of our freedoms? The same can be asked about “Defending Our America” where concerned citizens discuss issues relating to freedom and guns.
Whether it’s the women of the NRA in “Armed and Fabulous,” who teach other women how to defend themselves from attackers, or Dana Loesch, who has been a bold spokesperson for freedom and doesn’t shy away from calling out the Left’s hateful rhetoric, NRATV hosts promote awareness, responsibility, and competence, not violence.
The NRA has been around since 1871. You would think that if it incites violence we would have seen evidence of it before Joe Scarborough’s Twitter rant. We haven’t. That’s because the NRA has never been about bloodlust. The primary goal of the association when it first started was to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis,” and it has done more to prepare people to stand against violence than any blowhard liberal commentator.
In the late 19th century the NRA developed practice grounds so American citizens could be better prepared to defend themselves. It has also promoted shooting sports, including youth programs in partnership with the Boy Scouts, the American Legion, and the Royal Rangers. The last time I checked, no mass shooter was a Boy Scout.
Over the years, the NRA has been committed to training, education and shooting skills.
During World War II, the association offered its ranges to the government, developed training materials, encouraged members to serve as plant and home guard members, and developed training materials for industrial security. NRA members even reloaded ammunition for those guarding war plants. Incidentally, the NRA’s call to help arm Britain in 1940 resulted in the collection of more than 7,000 firearms for Britain’s defense against potential invasion by Germany (Britain had virtually disarmed itself with a series of gun-control laws enacted between World War I and World War II).
Does the NRA incite violence when it works with law enforcement to train officers? Does it incite violence as the leader of firearms education in the country where countless armed people learn how to be responsible gun owners? Does it incite violence when it offers courses on personal protection, marksmanship, and gun safety?
Since the establishment of the lifesaving Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program in 1988, more than 28 million pre-kindergarten to fourth grade children have learned that if they see a firearm in an unsupervised situation, they should “STOP. DON’T TOUCH. RUN AWAY. TELL A GROWNUP.” Over the past seven years, Refuse To Be A Victim® seminars have helped more than 100,000 men and women develop their own personal safety plan using common sense strategies.
No one in their right mind can look at the history of the NRA, the programming on NRATV with its education focus, and the safety programs associated with the NRA and think for a minute that it incites deranged individuals to use a gun for evil by killing innocent children in school.
The NRA doesn’t incite violence. It puts an end to violence with responsible knowledge of the best tool we can use to protect the innocent — and, yes, that’s a gun.
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