Reprinted with permission from MediaMatters.[1]
NRATV, the National Rifle Association’s media operation, caused a stir on Twitter Thursday afternoon after sending a tweet that read, “It’s time to put an end to this glorification of carnage in pursuit of ratings because it’s killing our kids. It’s time for Congress to step up and pass legislation putting common sense limitations on #MSM’s ability to report on these school shootings.”
The tweet immediately[2] generated[3] outrage[4], which is understandable given that it appeared NRATV was promoting the notion that Congress ought to limit how the press can report on gun violence. NRATV, however, had taken itself out of context. The tweet was promoting a video narrated by NRATV host Colion Noir[5] that ultimately concluded that such action by Congress would be wrong.
“It’s time to put an end to this glorification of carnage in pursuit of ratings because it’s killing our kids. It’s time for Congress to step up and pass legislation putting common sense limitations on #MSM‘s ability to report on these school shootings.” –@MrColionNoir #MSMsense pic.twitter.com/0CulOKEPSn[6][7][8][9]
— NRATV (@NRATV) May 24, 2018[10]
Viewers could be forgiven for not sitting through the four-minute video[11] given its painfully bad logic. It essentially equated Congress passing a law to limit how the press could cover shootings to Congress passing a law that regulates gun ownership. This is of course nonsensical given that rights protected by the Constitution are regulated in different ways, something that Noir, a law school graduate[12], should know.
Prohibiting the press from reporting on shootings would constitute prior restraint[13], which would violate the First Amendment. Regulations
