NBC reporter Ali Vitali, who was apparently sick on Basic Facts Day in journalism school, tried to catch President Trump between a rock and a logical place Tuesday during a press conference in South Korea by asking him about guns. (Because, you know, Trump’s being in Korea to discuss things like an imminent North Korean nuclear threat doesn’t deter leftists from politicizing a mass shooting.)
The only problem? The logic wasn’t on her side.
“You’ve talked about wanting to put extreme vetting on people trying to come into the United States, but I wonder if you consider extreme betting for people trying to buy a gun,” Vitali asked, clearly thinking she'd put Trump in an unbreakable bind. She hadn't.
Trump’s response to her snarky question was right on the money.
You’re bringing up a situation that probably shouldn’t be discussed too much right now. We could let a little time go by. But it’s O.K. if you feel that that’s an appropriate question even though we’re in the heart of South Korea. I will certainly answer your question.
If you did what you’re suggesting, there would have been no difference three days ago. And you might not have had that very brave person who happened to have a gun or a rifle in his truck go out and shoot him and hit him and neutralize him.
Trump’s got a point. While many gun control activists point to tighter background checks and “extreme vetting” for people trying to buy a gun, they conveniently miss the part of U.S. law that already requires such a process, which notably did nothing to keep the Texas church shooter from purchasing a rifle anyway. In fact, it was an error by the government – the same government the left is now demanding pass even more gun laws, no less – that allowed 26-year-old Devin Kelly to slip through the cracks after the Air Force failed to file his felony convictions with the FBI.
That failure prevented Kelly’s name from being red-flagged in FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System, the database gun sellers are legally required to use to supposedly prevent firearms from being purchased by known criminals.
The gun makers didn't screw up. The gun sellers didn't screw up. The government did. And an NRA member stepped up and saved the day.
But yes, it sounds perfectly reasonable for a government that can’t efficiently enforce the laws that are already on the books to pass even more laws that ultimately do little but infringe on the rights of law-abiding citizens like the heroic NRA member who took down the shooter, and will ultimately do nothing to prevent evil people from doing evil things.
Next time Ms. Vitali is going for her 5 seconds of journalistic fame, perhaps she should focus a little more on logic and a little less on snippy “gotcha” questions.
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