CNBC: America's Gun: The Rise of the AR15

[CHLLady]

On now! I missed it from the beginning. Looking to see if it shows again.

[WhoDat]

Just Google it... it's on YouTube and Hulu.

[CHLLady]

Cool! Thanks.

[The Annoyed Man]

I just watched it this morning, and it made me cringe.

[VMI77]

I just watched it this morning, and it made me cringe.

That's what I'd expect, so please tell us why it's cringe worthy so the rest of us don't have to suffer through the video.

[nightmare69]

Anything with James Yeager is cringe worthy.

[The Annoyed Man]

I just watched it this morning, and it made me cringe.

That's what I'd expect, so please tell us why it's cringe worthy so the rest of us don't have to suffer through the video.

Anything with James Yeager is cringe worthy.

Nightmare69 nailed it. The program makes him into the national voice of AR15 owners—particular his video rant about how he's going to start killing people, blah blah blah. On the other side, they chose a guy who is billed as a "former NRA member" and now a national gun-control leader (can't remember his name for sure, but it might have been "Martinez"). They make him sound very reasonable, and of course, they don't need to help James Yeager sound like an angry wingnut.....he does that all by himself without any of their help. Part of why they chose him was because this angry maniac is training other AR15 owners, AND, they made a big deal out of the fact that Yeager owns FOUR AR15s AND a couple of fully automatic weapons too.....and isn't that just a little bit crazy? I mean, how many do you NEED?!?!?!?

If they wanted to feature someone who trains people in the use of the AR15, they could have gone to Gunsite Academy, or Travis Haley, or any number of other nationally prominent and well-qualified firearms trainers, who aren't full of braggadocio and who are calm and reasonable sounding. Instead, they chose Yeager. They chose him because of who he is. And toward the end, they pulled a "gotcha" on him during an interview segment, at which point he got up and walked out.

There were no "gotcha" questions for the gun-control advocate.

Now, the basic points that the piece made about why most people buy AR15s - everything from "fun to shoot", "good for hunting", "home defense", AND "because they might get banned" - are all there, and reasonably fairly covered. They talk about people being more afraid than ever before of societal breakdown. But the biggest bias in the piece was in whom they chose to represent either side in the debate: a "well-respected" (among gun control advocates) gun policy wonk on one side, and a gun rights activist on the other side who is even controversial among gun rights activists for his angry rants and propensity for violence. They didn't interview Wayne Lapierre or any other person from NRA-ILA to represent our side. The represented the NRA as "the gun lobby" and not as a national gun-rights organization representing the will of its membership.

It was cringe-worthy.

[MeMelYup]

I just watched it this morning, and it made me cringe.

That's what I'd expect, so please tell us why it's cringe worthy so the rest of us don't have to suffer through the video.

Anything with James Yeager is cringe worthy.

Nightmare69 nailed it. The program makes him into the national voice of AR15 owners—particular his video rant about how he's going to start killing people, blah blah blah. On the other side, they chose a guy who is billed as a "former NRA member" and now a national gun-control leader (can't remember his name for sure, but it might have been "Martinez"). They make him sound very reasonable, and of course, they don't need to help James Yeager sound like an angry wingnut.....he does that all by himself without any of their help. Part of why they chose him was because this angry maniac is training other AR15 owners, AND, they made a big deal out of the fact that Yeager owns FOUR AR15s AND a couple of fully automatic weapons too.....and isn't that just a little bit crazy? I mean, how many do you NEED?!?!?!?

If they wanted to feature someone who trains people in the use of the AR15, they could have gone to Gunsite Academy, or Travis Haley, or any number of other nationally prominent and well-qualified firearms trainers, who aren't full of braggadocio and who are calm and reasonable sounding. Instead, they chose Yeager. They chose him because of who he is. And toward the end, they pulled a "gotcha" on him during an interview segment, at which point he got up and walked out.

There were no "gotcha" questions for the gun-control advocate.

Now, the basic points that the piece made about why most people buy AR15s - everything from "fun to shoot", "good for hunting", "home defense", AND "because they might get banned" - are all there, and reasonably fairly covered. They talk about people being more afraid than ever before of societal breakdown. But the biggest bias in the piece was in whom they chose to represent either side in the debate: a "well-respected" (among gun control advocates) gun policy wonk on one side, and a gun rights activist on the other side who is even controversial among gun rights activists for his angry rants and propensity for violence. They didn't interview Wayne Lapierre or any other person from NRA-ILA to represent our side. The represented the NRA as "the gun lobby" and not as a national gun-rights organization representing the will of its membership.

It was cringe-worthy.

I think it shows how biased the reporting agency and reporters are while trying to depict neutrality in that they are showing both sides of an argument.

[MechAg94]

It shows how easy it is to knowingly bias a report while on the surface remaining neutral.

[VMI77]

It reflects how sophisticated the tools of propaganda have become. The MSM knows just what buttons to push and how to lie in a way that let's the ignorant believe the media pretense of objectivity. In a segment like this they're attempting to sway the undecided with an emotional appeal...."their side" is calm and balanced, while "our" side is crazy and irrational.....when of course, the exact opposite is true. But they don't portray the wacky rants of those who want to SWAT open carriers or put NRA members in concentration camps. Fortunately, the 3 and 4 letter media outlets are becoming increasingly irrelevant. The legacy media can't end soon enough.

[cb1000rider]

You guys are forgetting what all this stuff did for the value (at least temporarily) of AR-15s (and similar weapons). And that value was driven by a massive demand spike.... So it seems to be that the net net was:
1) No real legislation made it through (exc California)
2) A substantial increase in the sale of AR-15s and similar modern semi-automatic rifles
3) Substantial industry growth

I can tell you that I had limited interest in owning one until the prices got run up and there was movement to ban them... So be polite and thank the other side. :-)

[VMI77]

You guys are forgetting what all this stuff did for the value (at least temporarily) of AR-15s (and similar weapons). And that value was driven by a massive demand spike.... So it seems to be that the net net was:
1) No real legislation made it through (exc California)
2) A substantial increase in the sale of AR-15s and similar modern semi-automatic rifles
3) Substantial industry growth

I can tell you that I had limited interest in owning one until the prices got run up and there was movement to ban them... So be polite and thank the other side. :-)

Oh, I agree....they tried to spite their faces by cutting their noses off.

[The Annoyed Man]

You guys are forgetting what all this stuff did for the value (at least temporarily) of AR-15s (and similar weapons). And that value was driven by a massive demand spike.... So it seems to be that the net net was:
1) No real legislation made it through (exc California)
2) A substantial increase in the sale of AR-15s and similar modern semi-automatic rifles
3) Substantial industry growth

I can tell you that I had limited interest in owning one until the prices got run up and there was movement to ban them... So be polite and thank the other side. :-)

And the demand spike drove a price spike.......and I don't think that is a good thing.

And ultimately, legislation ALSO passed in Colorado, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and the Peoples Republic of China — all blue states, of course.