MSNBC has never been known as a bastion of logic-based argument and debate when it comes to gun control. In fact, they’re usually the ones who spout the most inaccuracies and false analogies when it comes to firearms in order to get their pro-gun control agenda out there. I found one such video over on Reddit, and figured it would be entertaining to tear down Ari Melber’s anti-gun rant point by point. Join me, won’t you? . . .
Ari opens his rant by pointing out that the remaining Boston bomber is charged with using explosives, and that it’s therefore logical that those devices should be regulated. According to Ari . . .
“That’s because there’s basically no legitimate private way to use a bomb. You can’t protect your home with an explosive unless you’re willing to blow up the whole house.”
I’m going to have to stop you right there, Ari. Obviously you’ve never tried to remove a hundred year old tree stump from your field to allow you to plow it, or heard of this cool thing called “explosion welding” that’s really useful in manufacturing. There are, indeed, legitimate uses for explosives in private hands. Ari’s just ignoring them to make his point, and depending on what that point is, I’m willing to give him a little latitude. What, exactly, is that point again?
“That’s why Congress has criminalized explosives. In 1994 it even bulked up the penalties for violent crimes committed with explosives. […] The justice system weighs the danger and motive associated with a given weapon. Explosives are illegal because they’re weapons for attack, not defense. They are designed and operated to assault, not defend. In plain English, they’re ‘assault weapons’. So I’m going to take a leap here and discuss how we should regulate similar weapons.”
Wait, did he just equate bombs with firearms? Trying to hijack the raw emotions that are flowing after the Boston bombings and directing them towards gun control instead, are we? OK, let’s take a walk down that road. What’s your main argument, Ari?
“Each of the characteristics I just discussed apply to the military style weapons that most democracies ban, like machine guns, m320 grenade launchers, and yes, AR-15s.”
See, now I really need to stop you. Let me debunk that claim right now. You say that an AR-15 is a weapon for “attack, not defense.” And yet just about every day, we see headlines like these:
- (4/22/2013) Philly Man with AR- 15 Defends Home from Invader
- (6/29/2010) 15 Year Old Defends Self, Sister with AR-15
- (1/23/2013) RIT Students Defend Apartment with AR-15
I could keep going. I really could, but there goes Ari’s statement that AR-15s are only ever used to attack, and I haven’t even left the first page of Google results. The truth is that an AR-15 works wonderfully as a self defense firearm, and there are literally hundreds of examples of their being used to save lives every year. Just ask the thousands of police officers who carry an AR-15 in the trunks of their patrol cars. And the millions of Americans who have them by their night tables in case something goes bump in the night.
Just because you haven’t taken the time to actually research your opinions doesn’t make them right, Ari.
As for machine guns and M320 grenade launchers, I’d like to remind you that those items are already regulated by the BATFE. Heavily. And since 1994, there has not been one single use of a legally owned machine gun or grenade launcher in the commission of a crime. So in reality, all Ari is trying to do is scare his listeners into believing that these “dangerous and scary” weapons are out there on the streets and in criminals’ hands. Not to mention associating them with the common, legal and widely-used AR-15, despite the facts. Pretty underhanded there, Ari.
“These weapons, like bombs, don’t belong on the streets because there are no legitimate uses for them.”
…unless they’re in the hands of the police, eh Ari?
“And just like with explosives, they sacrifice precision for maximum impact.”
So you believe that the AR-15 platform is inaccurate? Is that why the U.S. military uses them (in the form of the M110 SASS) for their scout sniper teams…because they sacrifice precision for maximum impact? Or why police officers carry them, because police don’t care about firing stray rounds into crowds?
What we have here is another example of a typical gun control advocate not taking a couple of seconds to think about their position before they open their yaps. Police officers carry AR-15 rifles because they are accurate and reliable. In fact, the AR-15 platform is the cheapest and most accurate semi-automatic firearm you can buy.
What makes his statement even more nonsensical is that he claims the AR-15 sacrifices “precision for maximum impact,” when anyone who has studied the ballistics and history of the rifle knows that the exact opposite is true. The smaller projectile of the AR-15 was specifically designed to give better accuracy at long distances. That was a fundamental design requirement of the military who was still in love with the idea of the “American Rifleman” being able to shoot long distance targets on battlefields. That smaller projectile has actually been criticized lately by our troops for actually being too underpowered for today’s battlefield.
In short, our own troops think that the AR-15 is underpowered, not a “high powered killing machine.” Those would be the people with the most experience in this particular area, Ari. Just thought I’d point that out.
But Ari’s unencumbered by the facts. Ari cares about emotion. He’s trying to confuse his audience into thinking that the AR-15 is an evil firearm by its very nature, and that if we ban them all, the ills of the world will go away. But I’m not buying it.
He finishes off with that favorite old chestnut:
“You don’t need an AR-15 to hunt, and no responsible gun owner wants an AR-15 to repel intruders from their apartment.”
I have some bad news for you there. I hunt with an AR-15. And I know thousands of other Americans that use their ARs for hunting. Remington even sells an entire line of AR-15 rifles (they call them the R-15) that are specifically intended for hunting. The truth, Ari, is that the AR-15 is quite possibly the greatest hunting rifle since the Remington Model 700 came on the scene. And especially in Texas, where we have something of a hog problem, an AR-15 is pretty much required if you actually want to keep the little porkers under control.
As for stating what a “responsible gun owner” would or wouldn’t want, I don’t think you’re really in a position to make that judgement. Especially since the AR-15 has become the most popular rifle on the market in the United States. I’d say that those millions of responsible gun owners disagree with your analysis there, bub.
“But as we all know, AR-15s provide a fast killing machine for murderers. They were used to mow down the kids in Newtown. And to murder people at that movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. Now, we’re going to hear a lot about security after Boston. And when we talk about public safety, to me, bombs and assault weapons are pretty much the same.”
They might be pretty much the same in your mind, but reality says otherwise. You can be as scared as you want of the creepy-looking evil black rifle, but those nagging little things called “facts” don’t agree with you.
Ari sees the AR-15 only in terms of mass murders. I’m sure if he only saw cars in terms of traffic accidents, he’d want to treat them the same way. But by willfully ignoring the benefits of the AR, and not doing any research into how the gun actually works, he shows exactly how much little he really know about this subject.
“So don’t let the NRA or their friends in DC tell you any differently.”
In other words, believe only the propaganda and lies we feed you. Don’t try to check any facts for yourself. Because we’re on the TV, therefore we’re telling you the truth.
Ari Melber lied on MSNBC. He used the standard civilian disarmer talking points without bothering to do any fact checking, and spouted off the standard lies about the AR-15 that are designed to elicit an emotional response. Trying to actually present a logical argument for banning these firearms was just too burdensome. Yeah, that doesn’t fly with me.
Meshuga pretty much describes Biden perfectly, in all dimensions.
On topic: Of course they are. Fiendstein (not a typo) was sitting on the AWB bill, as was the jackhole who is currently trying to ban propellants. Their entire game plan is to plan for tragedies and capitalize on them. It’s a mental sickness in which the blood of a victim, any victim, becomes the ink they use to sign more of our freedoms away.
More interesting is the near universal anti gun sentiment of US Jews. The lessons of totalitarianism and complete gun control go right over their heads, although they would be the first to decry Hitler’s actions.
70% of US Jews who voted voted for Obama, a man who despises Israel and supports muslims at every chance.
The biggest problem the RKBA crowd faces is the bulk of US Jews, who are so conflicted and removed from history they no longer make any sense at all. And no, I am not “anti semitic” LOL! Read my name carefully!
There is also a big difference between secular humanistic atheist and religious Jews. The former are quite damaging to the world.
I had to stop the video.. I had the urge to vomit..
“Methinks Senator Schumer and his Republican BFF are concocting another bloodletting.”
Fixed.
There’s not a doubt in my mind that the leftists wouldn’t bat an eye at the prospect of a false flag mass shooting, assuming they haven’t done one already.
And of course, why wouldn’t they keep reintroducing anti-gun legislature? They don’t get punished for it. While tar and feathering or hanging may be an unfortunate pipe dream (which is sad enough, since the founding fathers would have cleaned house by now), the pro-liberty side needs to counter every anti-gun bill with five pro-gun bill, as well as open lawsuits against anti-gun politicians and organizations. See if their fake morals and checkbooks can outlast that.
Like all leftists, leftist politicians are cowards, soulless and without any true steadfastness in their morals, because their morality is all a sham. Make an example of a few of them and the rest will back down and find some other hollow pet cause.
I often wonder if the shortage of ammo with the consequent price increase, is not, in reality, some sort of Chris Rock “bullet control” policy at hand:
“You don’t need no gun control, you know what you need? We need some bullet control. Men, we need to control the bullets, that’s right. I think all bullets should cost five thousand dollars… five thousand dollars per bullet… You know why? Cause if a bullet cost five thousand dollars there would be no more innocent bystanders.
Yeah! Every time somebody get shut we’d say, ‘Damn, he must have done something … Shit, he’s got fifty thousand dollars worth of bullets in his ass.’
Last time I looked a claymore is a purely defensive explosive device, so are mines.
These Chechen terrorists created their own explosives from mostly unregulated benign materials. No connection to a grenade, or dynamite at all. He might as well be trying to regulate shivs in prison.
He could have shortened up that whole rant down to “I’m an ignorant tool. Thank you and goodnight.”
Can’t hunt with an AR????
http://www.montanaoutdoor.com/2013/02/hunters-first-mountain-lion-taken-with-ar-15-sporting-rifle/
Friend of mine in Montana from February of this year…
Just another ignorant Phuck that shouldn’t be speaking at all about firearms nor anything firearms related.
Keep a eye open and when it starts keep calling your senators. Right Ralph.
Lock down…………wasn’t that a term used first in prison security??? And if all those guys were just Popo and no military then the only difference between them now is who writes their checks.
I am shocked. Not by what the authorities did, but by peoples’ calm reactions to it. Do they truly feel no outrage? Are they afraid to speak up on camera? I don’t know which I would find more disturbing.
Say what you will, but I’ve long decided that no one, and I do mean NO ONE, not God unless He asks first, will prevent me from a) my freedom to travel as I see fit (e.g. driving anywhere I want to go) and b) my freedom to own firearms and use same to defend my castle, which includes my car.
If THAT means I die in a hail of gunfire because I had the gumption to tell a group of home invaders NO, then so be it. Feel free to second-guess me all you want, but it is what it is.
People need to understand the concept of minding their own business. Law enforcement in particular. And while they’re at it, learn to suck it up and not exhibit such gross and widespread incompetence, as evidenced by generally atrocious marksmanship and panicking because they THOUGHT they saw something, even though it’s pretty damn hard to say a blue Tacoma bears any semblance to a gray Nissan Titan.
Now, I obviously decided to own guns a long time ago, so the original question is irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. I’m more worried about people respecting other people’s rights and liberties and less about getting their own noses out of joint, to say nothing of mine.
*snap* rant off
this past week the cops in elwood,indiana went thru all the houses locked or not during a flood. they saved one mentally challenged girl who wouldn’t come out. it was at three in the morning and most people were asleep and didn’t know of the flood. if one busted thru my front door at 3 theyd have a bullet in the head. a criminal yelling people to throw me off sounds just like a real one.
We’ve got the same rules in the 3 – gun we’ve got coming – although it is not officially sanctioned. We’ll be using stock patrol guns and standard road – issue departmental ammo with standard sights. I like that type of competition because it utilizes standard issue holsters, magazines, gun, and mag holders – exactly what I would have if I got into a gunfight on the job. I think 3 gun is cool, I’m just not that into all of the gun mods which tend to make the gun impractical for normal carry.
In the event of a negligent discharge, an officer would recieve a suspension and incident documentation in their personnel file. That officer would have to formally re-qualify prior to return to duty. A Taser discharge would require re-qualification, documentation, and a possible suspension. A negligent discharge with injury could result in termination and criminal charges.
Explosive materials have no legitimate use? I sure hope that Ari Melber never stops by my garage, where I have a couple of steel cabinets holding an assortment of chemicals that could be turned into dandy explosives, incindiaries, or toxins with just a couple hours’ work.
People who want to tightly regulate such materials generally failed their high-school Chemistry classes.
Do I get a tin hat award for calling the lockdown “beta testing”? America is a large country both in terms of geography & population. It has a lot of coastline and 3 very large over-land borders; we also have many islands. We have a very diverse population as well. Point is that there will be no shortage of such instances that in the minds of many “justify” such actions.
America had more freedom while engaged in the largest conflict the world has ever seen (WWII). We had spies and subversives in our midst, knew this fact, and still kept on. Yes, it was only one day and one city but it was only one man for cryin out loud!
If anything you would want more citizens on the street as eyes and ears looking for the perps not watching TV while home from work. The terrorists won that battle – look at how much money was spent on just a few guys; look at how much work was lost over 2 brothers.
Its no wonder we are not free: not enough tyrants and patriots have died ala the quote by Jefferson.
In the first shootout, police fired “200 rounds” to kill one and wound the other. Somewhere I read in the final “shootout” the kid in the boat was unarmed! (double check me on that). My guess is many people can’t hit the broadside of a barn, while standing in the barn!
What kind of Frakengun is that?
The Magazine and Flash Suppressor look all wrong.
This is the same guy who did the Andre The Giant Has A Posse stickers, then got butt hurt when Titan Sports issue a C&D (for using their ©’d image), and made the Obey Giant sticker in protest…and has himself (reportedly) issued C&Ds to others using the Obey Giant
commercially.
The image is like…someone stuck an AK-47 magazine into an AR-15 looking rifle. And then scaled down a rocket nozzle to mount on the end for the lolz. This image has serious photoshop caption potential, it’s awesome. I think this will probably not have the effect the creator intended. Quite the opposite.
I’m getting kind of amused by all the anti-gun propaganda. I don’t know anyone who it’s working on, and I work in an office where only 20% or so of people (if that) own guns. It’s kind of hilarious. What’s even funnier is that last year, all everyone was talking about was how messed up Romney (note: Romney sucked too) was, etc. Now all everyone is talking about is how fed up with Obama they are. And this is in LIBERAL PORTLAND. They are pushing propaganda on so many things right now that it’s just making people wake up (and making people laugh).
It’s like someone went back to soviet russia. Wait…it’s better than that.
You know those images from North Korea where you see the propaganda posters about the evil evil USA? This is EXACTLY LIKE THOSE. Only instead of Evil Evil USA imperialists! It’s Evil Evil NRA! It’s hilarious. Seriously, you could drop this guy into the North Korea propaganda department and he’d fit right in, the posters have exactly the same elements. Funny if it weren’t so sad. Hell, it’s still funny, let’s be honest. It isn’t going to work.
Gentleman, This is how you shoot down a drone
Simple ” YOU CAN’T CURE STUPID”
Well said. Everyone research vitter/coryn ammendment for national conceal & carry!
Hmmm, the next time I tape a .40 cal to the front of an air gun I’ll make sure that I’m wearing a full suit of armor. I’m just a safety nazi that way.
Rest in Peace Tom, you will be missed!
http://www.guns.com/2013/04/27/tom-knapp-shooting-legend-passes-away/
Lived in Solothurn Switzerland for a Year.. Enjoyed the Episode on the Solothurn 20 mm anti-Tank Cannon..Swiss Quality !!
In comparison, the Geo Metro is closer to a Mercedes than any of these gun control bills are to good law…
Ari, you’ve come a long way, m’lad. Good job.