Everytown for Gun Safety says that Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson “missed the point completely” when he criticized a Fox News segment Sunday that was designed, in part, to promote a New York bill that would require one to safely secure every firearm that is not in one’s immediate possession or control.
The “Fox & Friends Weekend” clip told the story of a woman whose son was fatally wounded after the boy and his friend were playing with a loaded firearm. The mother in the video lamented the fact that she did not ask about whether her son’s friend’s parents were gun owners.
From Carlson’s perspective, the video was anti-gun propaganda.
“The point of that package was, guns are scary, gun owners are a threat to you and your children,” he said.
He went on to point out that there are more serious threats that children face, based on numbers researched by the National Center for Health Statistics.
“I’d like to see a package on ‘Do you have a bathtub at home? Because I need to know that before I send my child over to your house,'” he continued. “A little perspective might be helpful.”
10 Leading Causes of Injury Deaths by Age Group Highlighting Unintentional Injury Deaths, United States – 2011 (Photo: NCHS)
Upon viewing Carlson’s critique of the video, Everytown for Gun Safety, the pro-gun control organization backed by billionaire business magnate Michael Bloomberg, fired back.
“Mr. Carlson missed the point completely — the Fox package was intended to teach families about safe storage of guns and what can happen when they are kept unsecured,” said Erika Soto Lamb, the group’s communications director, in an email to GunAmerica.
“We were happy to see Fox devote attention to this important topic that will save lives, especially since more than two million American children live in homes with unsecured guns – 1.7 million of those are in homes with guns that are both loaded and unlocked,” she added.
While many gun owners agree that firearms should be safely secured, many would argue that of paramount importance is to teach children gun safety at an early age because, as was illustrated in an article today where a 10-year-old girl found a loaded handgun at the beach in Coney Island, guns can be found almost anywhere.
Good article.
I think that asking is just fine. Now, for people that say they have no guns, I need to know how they plan to provide protection from violent criminals before my grand kids can visit.