Felony Friday: Bob Costas Misses The Mark With Challenge To His Gun Critics
A gun by itself cannot kill; a person needs to be present to pull the trigger. Before the trigger can be pulled someone needs to fill the magazine with ammunition or slide a single bullet into the chamber. A gun cannot chamber a round by itself. Without completing these essential steps a gun is no more harmful than a rock, and less harmful than a knife or baseball bat.This is common sense, but it seems to be lost on most gun control proponents. One TV personality in particular famously exposed his illogical perspective regarding gun violence during a rant at halftime of a Sunday Night Football game back in 2012. The broadcaster, Bob Costas, was making the comments after Kansas City Chief’s linebacker Jovan Belcher had murdered killed his girlfriend before taking his own life earlier in the week. Bob Costas said the following regarding the horrific situation:
'In the coming days, Jovan Belcher's actions and their possible connection to football will be analyzed. Who knows? But here, wrote Jason Whitlock, is what I believe. If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.''
This argument is akin to saying, if guns were magically banished from the face of the earth for eternity violence would completely cease to exist!Mr. Belcher was an NFL football player at the time of his death. He could have killed another person with his bare hands if he wanted to. The gun was the tool Belcher ultimately used, but he could have completed his murder suicide with a knife, car, baseball bat, chain, or even a match. The deciding factor in the deaths was not an inanimate object. If the gun is removed from the situation, then a safe situation is not magically created where Mr. Belcher loses his ability to kill. The unfortunate deaths were caused by a human that made the decision to take a life and then to take his own. Belcher could have been mentally unstable, possibly due to sustaining repeated blows to the head throughout his football career. Yet Costas does not speculate how that affected Belcher's decision making capacity.Costas forced himself back into the gun debate this week during an interview with “Late Night” host Seth Myers. Politico provided coverage of the appearance on the show and subsequent anti-gun rant.
“Here’s what I would say to anybody who any time they hear the word guns automatically goes off, like, ‘Oh, they’re going to repeal the Second Amendment,’” Costas said. “Let’s make a bet, you and me. Let’s say over the next five years we’ll do a Google search. We’ll have an independent party monitor it. You keep track of how many good and constructive things are associated with athletes having a gun, and I’ll keep track of all the tragedies and criminality and folly. And let’s see who comes out ahead or behind as the case may be.Costas said regardless of Americans’ positions on gun control generally, it’s undeniable that sports has a “gun culture.”“There is in fact a gun culture, no matter how you feel about the Second Amendment or gun control, leave that aside. There is a gun culture in sports. Since I made that commentary in December of 2012, just since then, forget about the dozens if not hundreds of sorry incidents prior to,” there have been a number of incidents of athletes with weapons, Costas said, ticking off names.
Does Costas really think that all of the “good and constructive” stories involving guns are covered by the mainstream media? I hope he didn’t lose too much sleep staying up while developing his Google search argument. Bob’s naïveté damages his credibility. Even children understand that the media uses fear and despair to generate ratings.Many of the positive stories affiliated with gun ownership would not even be considered newsworthy. Networks wouldn’t fight over an interview with the Smith family to discuss their new found peace of mind that is a byproduct of heightened security that resulted from the purchase of a new handgun.Many athletes do own guns, but the fascination with guns is not the result of a desire to be a part of a “gun culture.” Some probably own guns to protect their families, others might like collecting different makes and models, and some may want to exercise their Second Amendment right in the event they need to protect the republic against a tyrannical government.It is not my place to ask why athletes own guns. It is their natural right to own a firearm.Mr. Costas, I have a counter bet to relay to you. If you are against athletes being able to defend their families, why don’t you ask NBC and the NFL to stop paying armed security guards to protect you? I'm going to bet that you won't. If you truly are a diehard anti-gun crusader shouldn’t the mere thought of armed guards within spitting of you give you the motivation to demand they turn over their weapons? Why are you still working for a network that employs gun owners?Check out our past editions of Felony Friday!The Lions of Liberty are on Twitter, Facebook & Google+Receive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!
