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Legislative History

America has a long and dialectical history when it comes to gun rights. The Second Amendment to the Constitution pronounces, A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Held as a protective measure against tyranny, the right to own guns was enshrined in the Constitution after the American Revolution. As guns and society have evolved over the last two hundred years, however, the United States has had to adapt its treatment of firearms. The early 20th century saw a rise in gun crime, with mob violence and tommy guns bringing firearms to national attention. To combat this rising crime wave, Franklin Delano Roosevelt enacted the first restrictive federal gun legislation in 1934, establishing machine gun taxes and beginning the first registry of sales. After a slew of high-profile assassinations in the 1960s, such as the Kennedy brothers deaths and the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon B. Johnson pursued enhanced gun control legislation. His Gun Control Act of 1968 was the foremost federal firearm regulation of its time, placing ownership restrictions on convicted criminals, mentally ill individuals, and more.

Each step forward in gun control legislation tends to produce retaliatory pushback. Congress reacted to Johnsons restraints in the 1980s, enacting legislation to limit the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms powers. However, tighter restrictions on machine guns were also passed at that time, which remain in effect to this day. The 1990s brought renewed action on restricting access. Although barred from creating a federal registry of ownership, The Brady Act of 1993 established the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NCIS) to help prevent unlawful sales. Shortly thereafter, Congress passed a 10-year federal ban on semi-automatic weapons. Yet, by the early 2000s, restrictions on federal gun sale data were passed and efforts to reauthorize the semi-automatic ban failed. Gun manufacturers were also granted immunity from civil lawsuits on gun crime, and in 2008 District of Columbia vs. Heller ruled that individuals can own guns for personal use. The Supreme Court upheld this ruling for state and local jurisdictions as well, overturning several city-wide handgun bans. Today, gun laws range from state to state, while meaningful federal action has failed to respond to a growing number of mass shootings.

Gun Violence in the United States

On average, the United States experiences about 33,000 gun deaths per year, approximately 12,000 of which are homicides. Over 50% of these homicides are young men, two thirds of whom are black. Of particular interest when it comes to media coverage, however, are mass shootings. In 2016 alone, there were 385[1] total mass shootings, defined here as four or more people shot in a single event. Furthermore, the number of mass shootings in America has risen significantly in recent years; between 1982 and 2012, the country experienced fewer than 200 reported mass shootings. To put this in context, the United States has about 5% of the worlds population, but represents 31% of all mass shootings between 2000 and 2012. The United States also has the highest rate of gun ownership per capita, with about 89 firearms per 100 people. Clearly, the United States has a problem, a problem that is linked to its widespread availability of guns, as well as a myriad of cultural and political factors.

High profile mass shootings have dominated news coverage in recent years. The Sandy Hook massacre is particularly important to more recent debates on gun control, when outrage sparked after twenty children and six adults were murdered in 2012. The San Bernardino shooting, during which two shooters killed fourteen people in 2015, recently brought gun control back into the national eye after the Sandy Hook killings. The 2016 Orlando shooting, when a gunman murdered forty-nine people at Pulse nightclub, remains the deadliest shooting to date. These murders, along with hundreds of other mass shootings, necessitate a national debate on rights and safety.

The Gun Control Debate

Currently, the American gun control dispute is polarized, and tends to separate along party lines. Gun control advocates point to the statistics, arguing that too many Americans are killed each year in gun-related incidents, and restricting access to firearms could reduce these numbers. The central argument states that the average person should not be able to use semi-automatic or assault weapons, and sensible restrictions can save lives. Most gun control advocates are not aiming to take away everyones guns, especially not from law abiding citizens, but aspire to create a more efficient system to keep guns out of dangerous hands. The data to support the efficacy of these policies is inconclusive, however.

On the other hand, opponents of gun control argue that firearm ownership is a matter of individual freedom. Pointing to the Second Amendment, they assert that individual rights to bear arms are protected by the Constitution, and more recently by Supreme Court legislation. An armed population is safer from crime and victimization, and armed citizens can even stop a mass shooter, they argue. Similarly, data on whether or not guns make the population safer from attack, or help prevent mass shootings, is incomplete. One reason there is so much uncertainty around the efficacy of gun control legislation is that Congress has essentially banned gun research by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention by prohibiting studies that could promote gun control, and refusing to appropriate funds even after President Obamas executive order for gun research.

Public opinion is generally split between the two camps. Pew Research Center finds that the gap between supporting gun control versus gun ownership, historically favoring control by wider margins, has converged. As of August 2016, 52% of the American public now supports gun rights over control, versus 46% supporting control. However, measures like background checks and expanded restrictions for people already on federal watch lists enjoy broader public support, while the American people remain divided when it comes to banning specific weapons and munitions.

Overall, Americas relationship with firearms is complicated, with a long history of changing public opinion and dialectic legislative controls. However, high numbers of gun deaths and rising incidents of mass shootings necessitate a more immediate conversation and a closer look at how we treat firearm.

[1] This number is debated according to different definitions of mass shooting. Mass Shooting Tracker puts this number at 476 mass shootings and 604 dead in 2016, using a slightly more inclusive definition of a single outburst of violence in which four or more people are shot.

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Georgetown Public Policy Review / The American Media's Impact on ... - Georgetown Public Policy Review

Thu, Feb 16, 2017, 18:03 Updated: Fri, Feb 17, 2017, 07:26

US president Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington, DC. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

US president Donald Trump confirmed his intention to unveil new measures on immigration next week, as he lashed out at the out of control media in an impromptu press conference at the White House.

In a rambling address that lasted more than one hour and fifteen minutes, Mr Trump jumped from topic to topic, criticising a number of media channels for their low audience ratings and highlighting his victory in the election.

Noting that 80 per cent of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decisions are overturned, Mr Trump criticised last weeks decision by an appeals court to uphold a temporary ban on his executive order restricting travel into the US from seven Muslim-majority nations and suspending the USs refugee resettlement programme.

He pledged to announce a new order which would be very much tailored to what I consider to be a very bad decision.

The press conference, which was scheduled an hour in advance, was ostensibly organised to announce Mr Trumps new nominee for US labour secretary, R Alexander Acosta, following Andrew Puzders withdrawal from the nomination process on Wednesday.

However, Mr Trump, who appeared on his own without press advisers or officials, used the opportunity to lambast the media several times, singling out the failing New York Times in particular for criticism.

He said that he had inherited a mess at the White House and accused the media of carrying biased stories about his presidency, arguing that no one believes the media anymore.

I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos - chaos, he said.

Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I cant get my cabinet approved.

The press has become so dishonest that if we dont talk about it we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people, he said, adding: The press are out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control.

Mr Trump, who took questions from numerous reporters, denied claims that he has close ties to Russia, saying: I have nothing to do with Russia.

Asked if members of his administration had frequent contact with Russian intelligence officials, as claimed in media reports earlier this week, Mr Trump replied: Nobody that I know of.

He also repeated his belief that former national security adviser Michael Flynn, whom he fired on Monday night, was a fine man, clarifying that he had dismissed Mr Flynn because he had misrepresented his conversation with the Russian ambassador to vice-president Mike Pence.

The press conference came as restaurants and other businesses across the US shut their doors and thousands of demonstrators took to the streets in its cities in a walkout aimed at protesting Mr Trumps immigration policies.

Activists called on immigrants to stay home from work, avoid shopping and skip classes in A Day Without Immigrants, in an effort to highlight the vital role they play in American society.

Nominee heckled

Earlier, Mr Trumps nominee to become the next US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, was heckled in the Senate during his confirmation hearing.

Mr Freidman, the son of an Orthodox Rabbi who is in favour of Israeli settlements, apologised for his previous incendiary comments, including his criticism of liberal American Jews. Five former US ambassadors to Israel have written to the Senate urging senators to reject Mr Trumps nominee, saying that he holds extreme, radical positions on issues such as Jewish settlements and the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Nonetheless, Mr Friedman is expected to be passed in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority.

As controversy continued over the Trump administrations links with Russia, US defence secretary James Mattis appeared to play down any suggestion of closer military ties between Washington and Moscow following a meeting at Nato headquarters in Brussels.

We are not in a position right now to collaborate on a military level. But our political leaders will engage and try to find common ground, he said.

He also said he accepted that Russia had interfered in democratic elections.

Asked about Russian interference in the US presidential elections, Mr Mattis said: Right now, I would just say theres very little doubt that they have either interfered or they have attempted to interfere in a number of elections in the democracies.

Additional reporting: Reuters

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Trump attacks 'out of control' media in rambling address - Irish Times

Laura Coopers guest viewpoint criticizing progressives in The Register-Guard loses its credibility early on with its claim that the progressive left owns the media. On the contrary, most of the media are under corporate ownership and control.

In the 1980s the media were owned by 50 companies. As of 2012 the number was down to six. They include News Corp., Disney, CBS, GE and Viacom. While these corporations often donate to the campaigns of both major political parties, much more of their money goes to the Republican Party. These corporations control what is covered, which is why many people are turning to news sources outside the United States (BBC, Reuters, etc.) to get information. They witnessed our media giving a fortune worth of free news coverage to Donald Trump throughout his campaign without challenging his obvious lies. We can thank the media for his election.

Cooper goes on to claim there is a blatant and unholy alliance among progressive judges who have sacrificed their judicial independence to achieve their political goals. How does she know they arent just interpreting the law as it applies to banning entry to the United States? How does she know the judges have political goals? She knows because she is getting her information from the corporately controlled media.

Sally McCoy

Eugene

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Progressives don't control media | Opinion | Eugene, Oregon - The Register-Guard

In a press conference that lasted more than an hour, Trump repeatedly accused journalists of being hostile and dishonest in their reporting on his first month in office.

"The press has become so dishonest that if we don't talk about, we are doing a tremendous disservice to the American people. Tremendous disservice," Trump said. "We have to talk to find out what's going on, because the press honestly is out of control. The level of dishonesty is out of control."

"I turn on the T.V., open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos," he said. "Yet it is the exact opposite. This administration is running like a fine- tuned machine, despite the fact that I can't get my cabinet approved."

The press conference, which was nominally intended to announced Trump's pick for labor secretary, was the president's idea. A senior administration official told CNN that Trump walked into the Oval Office Thursday morning and told his top aides: "Let's do a press conference today."

Related: An amazing moment in history: Donald Trump's press conference

During his remarks, Trump made several statements about the media that were either untrue or misleading. He claimed reporters at The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal did not reach out to him before writing certain stories. Both stories he cited note that the reporters tried to get comment from the White House.

The president also called recent stories about his campaign advisers' communications with Russia "fake news" and repeatedly said the New York Times was "failing."

"Russia is fake news," the president said. He went on to say "I've never seen more dishonest media than, frankly, the political media."

At one point, Trump was asked how the stories he condemned as "fake news" could in fact be fake if they were based on leaks he was slamming as illegal.

"Well the leaks are real," he said. "You're the one that wrote about them and reported them, I mean the leaks are real. You know what they said, you saw it and the leaks are absolutely real. The news is fake because so much of the news is fake."

In a lengthy exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta, Trump said he wanted to "turn in CNN for not doing a good job," and that the reporting "is fake." He also claimed he no longer watches CNN, but complained about what he sees when he watches the network.

Trump also complained about the tone of the media's coverage: "The tone is such hatred," he told Acosta. "I'm really not a bad person, by the way. No, but the tone is such -- I do get good ratings; you have to admit that. The tone is such hatred."

He then went on to promote one news show -- "Fox & Friends," the Fox News morning show on which he used to have a regular interview slot and which has been largely favorable to Trump since he was elected -- as an example of honest news.

"I have to say, "Fox & Friends" in the morning, they're very honorable people," he said. "They're very -- not because they're good, because they hit me also when I do something wrong. But they have the most honest morning show. That's all I can say. It's the most honest."

The bulk of Trump's remarks centered on defending his performance as president. "I inherited a mess," Trump said three times before listing his achievements, including pledges from companies to hire more American workers.

"Unfortunately, much of the media in Washington, D.C., along with New York, Los Angeles in particular, speaks not for the people, but for the special interests and for those profiting off a very, very obviously broken system," Trump said.

The president had been criticized recently for ignoring questioners from the mainstream media when holding his news conferences with foreign leaders. On Thursday, he took questions from more than a dozen reporters with mainstream outlets, including NPR, NBC, ABC, CBS and CNN, among others.

At one point, Trump even suggested that he would like to have a better relationship with the press, but said he could not do so so long as the coverage was "fake."

"I can handle a bad story better than anybody, as long as it's true," the president said. "But I'm not OK when it's fake."

Trump also specifically attacked leaks to the press, and outlets who run information based on leaks.

"How does the press get this information that's classified? How do they do it?" he asked. "[I]t's an illegal process and the press should be ashamed of themselves. But more importantly, the people that gave out the information to the press should be ashamed of themselves, really ashamed."

CNNMoney (New York) First published February 16, 2017: 1:32 PM ET

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Trump attacks media in lengthy, combative press conference - CNNMoney

President Donald Trump did not mince words as he met the media in the East Room of the White House.

"I turn on the TV, open the newspapers and I see stories of chaos. Chaos. Yet it is the exact opposite," Trump said during his first solo press conference on Thursday. "This administration is running like a fine-tuned machine, despite the fact that I can't get my cabinet approved. And they're outstanding people."

The president covered a wide range of subjects, including the increase in optimism among businesses since he took office, and the soaring stock market, executive orders that cut regulations, and a successful roll-out of his nominee to the Supreme Court as proof things are running smoothly.

The president also pushed back on media reports that his campaign advisers may have had inappropriate contacts with Russian officials. And he wasn't shy about expressing his frustration with what he called a dishonest media.

"We have to talk about it to find out what's going on because the press honestly is out of control," he said. "The level of dishonesty is out of control."

It appears most of America shares Trump's lack of confidence in the media.

Only 32 percent of Americans say they have a great deal or fair amount of trust in the media, according to Gallup's annual confidence poll from last September.

That's the lowest ever since Gallup started asking the question in 1972.

Meanwhile, Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to Israel had his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It didn't take long before bankruptcy lawyer David Friedman was interrupted by demonstrators, including a person who opposed Israeli settlements.

"Mr. Friedman also said that Palestinian refugees don't have a claim to the land, don't have a connection to Palestine, when in fact they do," one demonstrator said.

When he wasn't interrupted, Friedman did answer a question about settlements and a two-state solution that would give the Palestinians their own nation side by side with Israel.

"You, of course, have been involved in supporting settlements, and in conversations that seem to imply that the two-state solution is no longer a viable option," Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., said. "What do you mean by that?"

"Senator, if the Israelis and the Palestinians were able through direct negotiations to achieve a two-state solution along parameters agreeable to them -- and the prime minister of Israel yesterday outlined some of them -- I would be delighted," Friedman responded.

Still, Friedman acknowledged he had some doubts.

"I have expressed my skepticism about the two-state solution solely on the basis of what I've perceived as an unwillingness on the part of the Palestinians to renounce terror and accept Israel as a Jewish state," he said.

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'The Press Is Out of Control!' Trump Echoes Americans' Distrust of Mainstream Media - CBN News