Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

There is seemingly no end to the extent to which anti-gun people and groups will lie about guns and gun owners. Post links to articles by these masters of prevarication here.

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Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#1

Post by Skiprr »

As I noted here, http://www.texaschlforum.com/viewtopic. ... 3#p1136383, Pew Research data shows that conservatives are less likely to be diametrically opposed to sources of news than are liberals.

Yesterday, I watched NBC Evening News, as I do from time to time. In this one, a "report" by Jeff Rossen, seemingly out of left field (no pun intended) targeted the NRA and stated outright that 80% blank receivers have been used in crimes all over the nation. If anyone has hard data on that, pro or con, please post.

We have a Forum copyright rule, understandably, against the posting of the entirety or majority of any found information. Since the following is a manual transcription of a public broadcast, with comments and interpreted storyboard interspersed, I hope it is not in violation.

These thick fingers can still type quickly at times, and this piece jarred me as a continuing example of mainstream "news" being reported without factual citations...or citations of any kind other than "they say," with no attribution.

Is this the aspiration of today's journalism students? To be hired into a high-paying job by a major network and practice fake journalism where sources and citations don't matter?


Transcribed from NBC Evening News, with Lester Holt; 5:00 p.m. Eastern, February 9, 2017

Ghost Guns

HOLT: “We’re back now with a rising concern among law enforcement. They call them ‘ghost guns,’ firearms that can’t be traced because they’re essentially ‘build-your-own’ gun kits. They’re legal. And they’re lethal, turning up in crimes all across the country. Our national investigative correspondent Jeff Rossen has more tonight in, the ‘Rossen Reports.’”

[Cut to image of an AR-style rifle supposedly firing two rounds at a gun range. This same one-second video clip will be repeated during the segment as evidence of the efficacy of this garage assembly. Note that the rifle, viewed from the right side and fired right-handed, has its dust cover open, but slow-motion reply shows NO ROUND IN THE OPEN CHAMBER, NO CYCLING OF THE FIREARM, NO CARTRIDGES EJECTED, and NO MUZZLE FLASH.]

ROSSEN: “This is a real gun. And anyone can buy it.”

[Cut back to same shooter with same AR. He inserts a magazine and, for the first time, we see a cartridge appear just below the chamber. He shoulders the gun and fires a round. The subtitle is: “UNTRACEABLE ‘GHOST GUNS’ ALARM THE FEDS”; this appears at the bottom of the screen for most of the segment.]

ROSSEN: “No background check required. Perfectly legal. Why? Because it was built from a kit, arriving in pieces. So technically when it shipped, it’s not a gun.

“So-called ‘ghost guns’ are completely untraceable. No serial number. Now, federal authorities are calling it dangerous.”

GRAHAM BARLOWE, ATF SACRAMENTO RESIDENT AGENT IN CHARGE: “People that could not pass a background check are purchasing these unfinished receiver kits and making firearms because they know if they went to a gun store they wouldn’t be able to pass a background check.”

[Cut to an image of over a half-dozen ARs or M4s with actions secured by zip-ties. The majority of the rifles have EOTech holographic weaponsights installed. Note that these optics easily cost over $400 to $500 and are far from typical gangbanger kit. If a bad guy can fork out $500 for an optic, why would he drill and fit a cheap 80% receiver rather than buying a decent gun on the black market? So where did NBC get this image of quality rifles...and why did they use it?]

ROSSEN: “Police say the criminals are already onto it. Ghost guns are being used in shootings across the country, from Maryland to California.”

[Cut to a brief image of two cruisers with lit beater bars, then a close-up of the door of a blue sedan with multiple bullet holes that look far larger than 5.56x45. Note that no confirming data is given regarding the prolifity of crimes involving so-called "ghost guns."]

ROSSEN: “All you have to do is go online and there are dozens of websites selling these gun kits. We buy this rifle kit and have it shipped to former ATF agent Rick Vasquez.”

VASQUEZ: “My box came in.”

ROSSEN: “All the parts you need come together in the box. In fact, the part that makes it a gun comes 80% complete.”

[Cut to clip of Vasquez using a standard, hand-held drill, with NO guides and wobbling the bit, drilling into the receiver blank. If this resultant thing could ever function properly, I'm Buck Rogers.]

ROSSEN: “So it takes him just a couple of hours to put it together.”

VASQUEZ: “This is now a completed semi-automatic firearm.”

ROSSEN: “And I’m looking on it and, I mean there are, there’s no serial number, there’s no marking at all that I can see.”

VASQUEZ: “That is correct.”

ROSSEN: “This is untraceable.”

VASQUEZ: “You cannot trace this firearm.”

[Cut to a Prius hatchback on a graded, gravel road, presumably going to a rifle range.]

ROSSEN: “To prove it works, he takes us to a gun range.”

[Cut to a close-up of Vasquez inserting a magazine and shouldering the rifle. He fires two rounds, a controlled pair, then appears to have a stoppage. You can distinctly see his hand flex as if to fire a third round, but instead he begins lowering the rifle and instinctively looks at the chamber.]

VASQUEZ: “It works great!”

ROSSEN: “And those are real bullets? It’s operating like a regular semi-automatic weapon?”

VASQUEZ: “Absolutely. It’s real firearms ammunition.”

[Cut back to the image of a half-dozen ARs, at least five of which have expensive EOTech holographic weaponsights]

ROSSEN: “So what’s being done to stop it? We went to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

[Cut to clip of Chuck Schumer waving his arms and speaking at a podium; no audio. Can someone, anyone, please, get Schumer to stop wearing those ridiculous 50s-throwback half-glasses?]

ROSSEN: “What are you doing to close this loophole?”

SCHUMER: “Well, we’re going to try to pass legislation. The trouble is the NRA is so unreasonable and has such power in the Congress. You’d think it should pass like that [snaps fingers]! But it’s gonna be a long, hard road.”

[Cut to clip of NRA logo.]

ROSSEN: “So what’s the NRA’s response? After repeated calls and emails from NBC News, the NRA didn’t comment.

[Cut back to gun range where the supposedly hand-tool assembled 80% now fires two rounds, but with no rounds ejected and no muzzle flash or smoke, and with seemingly faked recoil.]

“But some officials say this is a dangerous loophole.

“Hiding semi-automatic weapons in plain sight.

“Jeff Rossen, NBC News, High View, West Virginia.”
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#2

Post by Sport Coach »

Looking forward to hearing more truth on this one for information for my wife. She like good guys having guns but this sort of broadcast bit sends her in a flurry that "the sky is falling" and she gets into an anti-gun mind set.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#3

Post by jmra »

Would love to see the NRA rip this to shreds and expose these Frauds.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#4

Post by ScottDLS »

I just "print" machine guns on my 3D printer and sell them on the Dark Web... :shock:
4/13/1996 Completed CHL Class, 4/16/1996 Fingerprints, Affidavits, and Application Mailed, 10/4/1996 Received CHL, renewed 1998, 2002, 2006, 2011, 2016...). "ATF... Uhhh...heh...heh....Alcohol, tobacco, and GUNS!! Cool!!!!"

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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#5

Post by Papa_Tiger »

And all I could think of when I read the topic was this:

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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#6

Post by Skiprr »

Companion online article to the NBC Evening News piece:
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/loo ... ne-n719121

At the NBC Evening News website:
http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/vid ... 3890883871


Rebuttals are appearing all over the place. You can Google "NBC ghost guns" to see all (currently) 505,000 hits. Here are are few:

At the NRA's America's 1st Freedom website, "NBC Fake News Alert: Criminals Buy Parts Online To Easily Build Untraceable 'Ghost Guns'":
https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/arti ... host-guns/
This is fake news at its worst: Converting an 80 percent completed lower receiver into a reliable, functioning firearm component requires machine tools working to exacting tolerances. The majority of these builds involve a CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled) milling machine.
From Bearing Arms, "NBC News Spreads Fear, Lies With 'Ghost Gun' Fake News":
https://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2017/02/1 ... fake-news/
Someone purchasing an unfinished lower receiver like this must first use machine tools or a CNC machine like the Ghost Gunner II to drill and mill out the fire control group cavity and selector switch holes. If you do not, you simply have a hunk of metal in the outline of a lower receiver that cannot accept a trigger or a hammer or a selector switch, and cannot possibly be fired. This takes time, specialized tools, and knowledge to complete.
Article at The Fifth Column, "NBC feeds ‘ghost gun’ hysteria with hit piece that misses the mark":
http://thefifthcolumnnews.com/2017/02/n ... -the-mark/

The Federalist Papers, "FAKE NEWS: NBC Spreading Blatant LIES About So-Called 'Ghost Guns'":
http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/fake- ... ghost-guns
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#7

Post by TreyHouston »

And all this time I just thought street gangs bought and sold stolen firearms... I had no clue they spent 3-4X more money to gunsmith their own . Since both are illegal. That is im assuming they can't legally possess then in the first place.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#8

Post by Sport Coach »

Thank you all for your input. Had my wife read the NRA rebuttal and she heard what I had been telling her (not that she doesn't believe me but ...) with enough detail that she understood. Her question was, "Why did NBC say those things when it's not true and most people will just believe what NBC said?" I looked at her and she realized, yep, just another example of the antis preferring to push an agenda over presenting the truth.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#9

Post by tbrown »

ScottDLS wrote:I just "print" machine guns on my 3D printer and sell them on the Dark Web... :shock:
Even if they shoot ice bullets, I'll get the ballistics on that ghost gun, when I put on my
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#10

Post by KC5AV »

Just a couple of thoughts...I've never seen anyone finish out an 80% lower, but all of the pictures I've seen of them show shiny aluminum on the inside. The one Vasquez 'finishes' has a nice, even, dark finish.
At the 1:11 mark, isn't that a lathe on the left wall of his shop? If he did finish that lower, I seriously doubt he used hand tools.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#11

Post by Lambda Force »

I love ghost guns. They're so easy to conceal. Image
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#12

Post by bblhd672 »

NBC also produced a hit piece on a particular truck that was said to have a faulty gas tank design which exploded or caught fire upon impact. Turned out they had to rig explosives on the truck to get the desired results.
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-10/ ... _gm-pickup


Ever since that I disregard NBC as a legitimate source of journalism.
Same with CBS and their faked story about GW Bush National Guard records which brought down Dan "Faker" Rather.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#13

Post by Jusme »

I sure hope they can do something about these "dangerous" ghost guns.

Maybe they could have the guys from Ghost Hunter come in and help to find them, maybe use that electronic voice phenomenon, tool they have. Surely these guns are leaving traces of their existence, in the spirit realm aren't they? :smilelol5:

I wonder why they didn't show pictures of all of the "ghost guns" they have confiscated from crime scenes? Wouldn't that give a better depiction of just how widespread their use in the criminal underworld they are? Oh that's right, if you do that, it might give people the impression that it's not really the major crime issue they want to portray.
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Re: Ghost Guns -- NBC Evening News, February 9, 2017

#14

Post by ninjabread »

Papa_Tiger wrote:And all I could think of when I read the topic was this:

Lucky you. All I can think of is this:

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