Why I’m boycotting @foxnews. Sorry @RedEyeFNC, @gretawire, @FBNStossel.

Because I cannot tolerate any more made-up gun statistics.  That’s why.

During an interview with Martin County, Florida Sheriff William Snyder yesterday, Fox anchor Eric Shawn stated that the magazines used by Adam Lanza in the Newton shootings allowed his gun to fire 10 rounds/second… basically 600 rounds/minute.

Complete and utter bullshit.

First, that rate of fire would almost certainly require the use of a fully-automatic weapon.  There is no evidence Adam Lanza ever possessed or used such a weapon.  There is debate as to whether he actually used the semi-auto AR-15 at the school or if he left it in the car and used only handguns.  The spent shell casings would tell this story.

Second, since a magazine can be changed in two seconds or so, the capacity of the magazine has little to do with the effective rate of fire, especially of a semi-automatic weapon, and especially when you are not concerned about dropping or discarding the empty one.

And of course Mr. Shawn reminded us that you don’t need high-capacity magazines “to shoot deer.  Or bucks.”  Whatever that means.

Mr. Shawn also posed a question to Sheriff Snyder as to “what troops are going door to door to take your guns?, presumably under some penalty for failure to register, as if to say that wouldn’t happen.

Mr. Shawn, may I suggest some Google research into the post-Katrina “Great New Orleans Gun Grab”.

Sheriff Snyder responded by the way that the Federal government can expect no support from his department in carrying out any gun confiscation scheme.

It’s bad enough that we have an uphill battle with the anti-gun organizations such as CSGV and the Brady Campaign, who know the difference (don’t be fooled) between semi-auto and full-auto.  They simply capitalize on the general public’s indifference or lack of knowledge regarding guns, gun laws, etc.

And it’s bad enough that the MSM is complacent in providing misinformation when it comes to firearms, either because they don’t know or don’t care, or because incorrect, incomplete, or outright omitted information fits the narrative and the agenda.

I generally considered Fox News to be better than that.  You know, objective… more or less “fair and balanced”, like the motto says.

No more.

Someone who is not well informed about the topic of firearms in general – or the Newtown shootings in particular – just tuned in during Mr. Shawn’s segment yesterday and “learned” that the shooter was using a weapon with an incredible rate of fire.  “Ten rounds per second?!?  That’s 600 rounds per minute!  We have to do something.  We can’t have people… especially mentally unstable people… roaming the streets with these weapons and these big-assed 10-shot-per-second magazines!”

And the cloud of confusion spreads.

Thanks for nothing, Eric.  I can watch MSNBC for this nonsense.

You all have experts, consultants, and analysts in all sorts of fields:  economics, law, health and healthcare, politics, aviation, government, intelligence, defense and military affairs, foreign policy, etc.

But guns?  No.  Guns are the only topic where you can report (or opine) complete and utter bullshit with near impunity.

Why don’t you hire a firearms expert, preferably an FFL, to help sort all this out.  He or she knows how this works because they’re just one anomaly or paperwork SNAFU or undercover straw purchase or government-smuggled gun away from an armed raid by the ATF.  And they can explain the various types of firearms and how they operate, which features are functional and which ones are largely cosmetic, who can purchase guns and how/where can they do it, how is a gunshow different from any other venue or from an FFL’s regular business location, what records do FFLs keep, how does NICS work, etc. Then maybe, just maybe, you’ll know what the f*** you’re talking about before you go to air?

Oh, and one more thing.  I wasn’t there, but I’m quite certain that when ratifying the Constitution the original states didn’t haggle over the right to hunt waterfowl and big game.