Prosecutions of Gun Violence Plummet Under Obama; Networks Yawn

July 26th, 2014 10:35 AM

Although the network newscasts aggressively promoted gun control in the wake of the Newtown shooting, ABC, NBC and CBS have ignored a new report by the Washington Times showing prosecutions for gun violence have plummeted under Barack Obama. Times writer Kelly Riddell on Thursday explained, "While President Obama decries gun violence and presses for more laws to restrict ownership, his Justice Department has prosecuted 25 percent fewer cases..." 

She added, "Federal prosecutors brought a total of 5,082 gun violation cases in 2013 recommended by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, compared with 6,791 during the last year of George W. Bush’s presidency in 2008." 

Riddell added: 

The data contrast with Mr. Obama’s proclamations after the deadly shooting sprees at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school and an Aurora, Colo., movie theater that he would take every step possible to stem firearms violence.

“We should get tougher on people who buy guns with the express purpose of turning around and selling them to criminals. And we should severely punish anybody who helps them do this,” the president declared in the immediate aftermath of the Newtown tragedy.

Though the ATF has been the primary agency to combat illegal gun trafficking, the data directly from the 94 federal judicial district offices across the country show that the number of prosecutions of cases from ATF has gone down since Mr. Obama made his promise in January 2013. ATF-related prosecutions fell from 5,935 in 2012 to 5,082 in 2013, and are on track to finish around 4,500 this year, the data show.

NBC and CBS on Thursday and Friday allowed a combined 43 seconds to the story of a hero doctor in Pennsylvania who shot a disturbed gunman, stopping his killing spree. 

NBC and CBS on Thursday and Friday allowed a combined 43 seconds to the story of a hero doctor in Pennsylvania who shot a disturbed gunman, stopping his killing spree. 

A February 2013 study by the Media Research Center found that the networks slanted pro-gun control stories by a margin of eight-to-one. 

Considering the professed interest that liberals have in gun control and gun violence, one would think that Obama's half-hearted firearms prosecutions would be of interest to them.