In a YouTube video, a Michigan man brandished an automatic rifle, saying “This is my baby. Are you going to protect my baby?”
Here's the video in question:
"Authorized journalist" Steve Terrell did get one thing right--not about his panty-wringing hysterics, or his ignorance (or intentional deception) by referring to "an automatic rifle," but in his observation that Gov. Richardson missed a great opportunity.
He should have chastised the questioner for performing an agenda-driven stunt. He should have demanded the guy's background be looked into, to see if he was really a gun rights advocate or a mole from the other side trying to make gun owners look like lunatics. He should have also chastised CNN for allowing a question designed to push so many buttons through without also allowing for a rational question about the rights and responsibilities of gun ownership to be made--it's not like the network didn't sift through all submissions to pick and reject based on their own subjective criteria.
And what the hell does "purchased under the 1994 gun ban" mean? That was a restricting, not an authorizing edict.
Anybody from Michigan hunting, shooting or gun rights communities know this Jered Townsend character? If he is one of "ours," tell him he came off like a moron and did us immeasurable public relations harm. If, as I suspect, he's a plant with an agenda, we should know that, too.
Gee, I wonder if CNN will do the follow-up to find out? Holding your breath, anyone?
And isn't it pathetic that potential leaders of our Republic are little more than contestants in a combination of "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?" and "America's Funniest Home Videos"?