Washington Post Fact Checker Wrecks Pelosi for ‘Over the Top’ Gun Control Claim

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The Washington Post fact checker wrecked House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for her “over the top” gun control claims on national reciprocity for concealed carry.

Breitbart News reported that Pelosi reacted to the House passage of national reciprocity by equating a vote for the measure with a vote to arm “violent criminals.”

Pelosi tweeted:

The WaPo fact checked Pelosi’s claim and noted that while some states have tougher gun control laws that others, “federal law…already prohibits violent criminals, abusers and stalkers from having guns.” In other words, the people Pelosi listed are already barred from concealed carry and will continue to be barred when national reciprocity becomes the law of the land.

Moreover, the WaPo noted that Pelosi’s tweet caused “anger” among law-abiding gun owners who are tired of jumping through hoops and dealing with the cumbersome patchwork of concealed carry laws “while violent criminals who want to have a gun are not going to be bothered with following such rules in the first place.” To put it another way, law-abiding gun owners see themselves at a disadvantage in that they forego carrying a gun for self-defense while in California or Illinois, pursuant to the concealed carry laws of those states, while criminals carry guns and prey on the unarmed.

Twenty-four attorneys general signed a letter supporting the national reciprocity legislation passed by the House on December 6, 2017.  In one part of the letter they wrote, “Authorizing permit holders to carry across state lines will not result in an increased risk of crime. Concealed carry permit holders are among the most law-abiding members of society, and those States that allow for reciprocal concealed-carry permits have not encountered any significant safety issues.”

As a result of these findings, the WaPo gave Pelosi three Pinocchios for her gun control claim. Pelosi’s office responded to the Pinocchios by pointing the finger at Michael Bloomberg-funded Everytown for Gun Safety.

Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill “said her tweet was based on information provided by Everytown.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkinsa weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange

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