In one of the most egregious claims made by propagandists in the Democrat-media complex, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell blamed the NRA for the slow investigation into the Boston Marathon bombings, The Weekly Standard reported Wednesday.
Keep in mind that no guns were used in the attack, but O’Donnell saw fit to blame the pro-gun group anyway.
“There are new developments tonight in the bombing investigation here in Boston,” O’Donnell said.
“But that investigation could be moving faster were it not for the successful lobbying efforts of the National Rifle Association. The NRA’s efforts to guarantee that American mass murderers are the best-equipped mass murders in the world is not limited to murderers who use assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The NRA is also in the business of helping bombers get away with their crimes,” he added.
“Gunpowder could be traced by investigators to a buyer at the point of sale if gunpowder contained a taggant, an element that would enable tracing of the purchase of gunpowder. But thanks to the National Rifle Association, identification taggants are required by law only in plastic explosives. The NRA has successfully blocked any requirements for such taggants in gunpowder. So such supremely helpful evidence as taggants are not available to the FBI in this investigation,” he asserted.
A number of so-called “mainstream media” outlets repeated O’Donnell’s assertions without looking further into the issue. But if anyone had bothered to spend just two minutes on Google, they would have learned something. Apparently, facts don’t matter when there’s an agenda to promote and conservatives to demonize.
“The government’s own research in the 1970s and early 1980s found taggants to be potentially very dangerous, as they were found to increase chemical activity and prompt spontaneous combustion when mixed with some powders,” the NRA said in 1996.
“The law enforcement benefits of tagging black and smokeless powders have been questioned, since a single batch of gunpowder is distributed in half-pound or one-pound cans which are ultimately sold to as many as 30,000 sportsmen for hand-loading,” Tanya K. Metaska added.
In short, the taggants could make gunpowder less safe to handle, possibly harming gun owners and could result in innocent shooters being the target of law enforcement.
Metaska said the NRA supports “an independent study on the feasibility, safety and investigative effectiveness of taggants.”
“The NRA not only supports this study, we also recommended the provision which directs an examination of new preventive technologies. Unlike taggants, these technologies are truly preventive and can detect the presence of the tools of terrorist attack before a tragedy occurs. Taggants come into play only after tragedy has struck,” she added.
She said at the time that over 3.5 million gun owners make their own ammunition using these bulk powders, while five million use black powder in muzzle-loading firearms.
“These citizens and all others deserve protection,” she concluded.
For months, media outlets like MSNBC have done all they could to demonize the NRA in an effort to restrict the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms while others have blamed conservatives for the tragic bombing that killed three people, including an eight-year-old boy.
Not only are O’Donnells’ assertions based on half-truths and innuendo, they add nothing to the discussion and only serve to fire up those who hate the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
Video of O’Donnell’s comments can be seen here.
Related:
- Suspect arrested in ricin letter scare identified as liberal activist
- Salon contributor: ‘Let’s hope the Boston Marathon bomber is a white American’
- Forest Service representative blames Tea Party for Boston Marathon bombing
- Michael Moore hints conservatives may be behind Boston Marathon bombings
- Yes, Virginia, there is a Democrat-media complex
- New York Times’ Nick Kristof politicizes Boston Marathon bombing, backtracks
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