Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
It didn’t take long.
Within hours of the foiled attack at the White House Correspondents’ Association gala, calls for more gun control started circulating. And the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) is pushing back hard.
The target this time: Brian Stelter.
CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb blasted him, calling the commentary “nonsense” and accusing the CNN analyst of skipping over key facts surrounding the case.
“In an analysis, CNN’s Brian Stelter insinuated that nobody will consider tougher gun laws to prevent such an incident,” Gottlieb said. “He should have looked at the facts before going off half-cocked.”
According to CCRKBA, the suspect at the center of the incident legally purchased both a shotgun and a handgun in California, widely considered one of the most restrictive states in the country when it comes to firearm laws.
“The suspect…had to pass two California background checks and endure two separate waiting periods,” Gottlieb noted. “Just what more does Stelter think could be done?”
That point is central to the organization’s argument.
If one of the strictest regulatory environments in the country didn’t prevent the suspect from acquiring firearms legally, CCRKBA says it raises serious questions about the effectiveness of simply adding more restrictions.
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Gottlieb also took aim at what he described as the broader narrative forming in some media coverage, suggesting the focus on firearms is missing the bigger issue.
“President Trump referred to the suspect as a ‘whack job,’ and after reading his manifesto, that description seems appropriate,” he said, adding that the writings indicated the attack was premeditated, not impulsive.
He went further, tying the incident to what he described as years of “vile, hate-filled rhetoric” directed at the president.
“This was not some spur-of-the-moment act,” Gottlieb said. The criticism didn’t stop there.
“We find it disgusting and abysmally lazy for any journalist…to engage in gun control poppycock at this point,” he added, contrasting Stelter’s commentary with other outlets that were still working to establish the facts of the case.
CCRKBA also pointed out that the suspect reportedly transported the firearms across state lines (possibly by train) again underscoring what they see as enforcement and criminal behavior issues rather than legislative gaps.
At the core of the organization’s response is a familiar argument: Law-abiding gun owners aren’t the problem.
“Tens of millions of gun owners…didn’t hurt anyone Saturday night,” Gottlieb said. “We watched in shock with everyone else.”
He closed with a broader critique of media rhetoric surrounding political figures, suggesting it can have real-world consequences.
“Instead of demanding more gun control,” Gottlieb said, “maybe it’s time for them to control their mouths.”
The incident itself remains under investigation, and the suspect is expected to face prosecution. But as is often the case, the political and cultural fallout is already unfolding.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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You have to understand… the issue doesn’t have to be gun-control for Stelter to go off “half-cocked”, he goes off “half-cocked” on EVERY issue. As a matter of fact, his middle-name is “half-cocked”.
Questions never answered:
Did he legally transport his weapons on the train by declaring them in his baggage as required by law? If not this was another security failure. Anyone caught transporting that much firepower and buying a train ticket to the place where a Presidential dinner was to be held would have been a red flag to even Barny Fife. Again a massive security failure.
Did Hotels in the vicinity of a the Presidential Dinner demand baggage be inspected and metal detectors be employed for people renting a room? If not, why not?
Security, despite news media denials was a massive failure. Tighter security would have prevented anyone from just running past them. A Fifth Grader could have laid out a better security check and professional barriers stopping people from entering at random.
The Suspects Family reported him to law enforcement who did zero investigation of him and this happened long before his rampage. Depending on just “when” the family reported him and if action was taken by the Feds he just may have been denied the legal purchase of the weapons he previously bought legally. And if not and he purchased them “before” his family reported him, once again the Feds could have incarcerated him and confiscated his weapons long before his rampage.
It has not been made clear if the suspect even fired his weapon and the security agent hit by a bullet may have been hit by wild firing from fellow security personnel.
The inability of the security personnel to even hit him with their gunfire was very evident showing a total lack of training in live fire. And if it proves the agent hit by gunfire was from friendly fire then again it proves a massive failure in firearms training.
And to insinuate that since his purchases were legal that no new gun laws are needed is pure bull crap as usual coming from the far right radical CCRBA. CCRBA seems to claim that if a gun law is not infallible then it should not be on the books. This is total insanity.
And the ability to own a shotgun that is so easily concealed, again shows that more restrictive shotgun laws are needed. Federal Laws should require a full length shotgun stock not able to be folded and a barrel length of not less than 18 inches on a shotgun. U.S. invasion Wars as far back in 1899 when the U.S. invaded and enslaved the Philippian Islands showed according to actual military records that the U.S. Storm Troopers said the shotgun was the most deadly weapon they used in combat at close range in jungle fighting far surpassing even their military rifles. All the more reason for once again resurrecting the original NFA rules on shotguns. The ability of the suspect to simply walk into a gun store and buy such a short easily concealable shotgun is just pure madness.
Although the suspect did not use a rifle this is well worth noting. The pistol brace exemption was a slick disingenuous end run around older NFA rules on rifles with short barrels and folding or short stocks to circumvent older more restrictive former NFA rules on rifles. Cut down rifles firing centerfire military rifle cartridges are not pistols in any sense of the word and should be legislated as cut down rifles falling under NFA rules.
In conclusion, a lack of firearms laws, a lack of adequate security measures, a failure of the Feds in acting on family concerns over mental illness of the suspect, and a lack of firearms training all contributed to a near fatal assassination or loss of life of many people. Only pure dumb luck prevented a tragedy, certainly not anything the Feds did that day or the days leading up to the dinner.
guess AI don’t watch vids especially the one that shows who shot who. the rest is just more anti gun propaganda.
for the commie dems a threat is more serious than an actual action.
Your speech is violence, paul. Their violence is speech.
It is called a double standard because it’s twice as true.
Well said Blue Dog
What a fucking retard.
Conservatives will tell you that firearms are for hunting, target shooting, training, and self defense, because that’s what we use them for
Retarded liberals will tell you that firearms are for home invasions, mass shootings, and murdering innocent people, because that’s what you use them for.
We’re not the same.
Liberals and anti-gun activists are what is driving the firearm industry’s record breaking sales and profit growth. Non of us should be worried about any anti gun agenda. The liberal agenda has driven the firearms market now to where it is today perpetual and virtually immune to any kind of threat. Capitalism is alive and well.
But not after the Mid-Term Elections that is for sure.