I saw a commercial for 60 Minutes last night about the gun industries head mouth piece spilling the beans on the gun industries. I totally spaced it out and missed the program. Was wondering if any of y'all saw it and what this guy had to say.

Shabo

I didn't see it, and I was curious too.
Found this on the 60 Minutes web Page:
[url]http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/05/09/60minutes/main553147.shtml[/url]

Ex-NRA lawyer says the "industry" should investigate dealers, and refuse to sell to those that are selling many guns in a single purchase.
The gun manufacturers should become a private police force.
Not only is that ridiculous, but it would probably be illegal.

I saw it.

The "insider" was a former NRA attorney that "saw the light".  He spouted a lot of opinions about manufactures being responsible for distributors and sellers that allow illegal sales (straw purchases). They even showed somebody at a department store telling a customer how to do a straw purchase.  (Isn't that a crime already?). He even suggested that the manufactures should know the character of the employees at the distributor and the sellers.

BTW he is a [red]paid[/red] expert witness for the anti-gun folks now.  I thinks it's more like he saw the green instead of the light.

I'm glad I didn't see it [:(!]

Yup, not to mention that the video tape was over 4 years old (March 1999) - geez, talk about digging into file footage.  Most of the piece was all talk and innuendo without any substantial facts.  I did tape the show and I can digitize it if enough people are interested in it.

If you follow that link to the 60 minutes page, there is even more to get your blood pressure up.
I clicked on the map of gun laws/gun violence.
I was surprised to see that Tennessee has a much higher per-capita gun murder rate that New York. [%|] (As do all gun-friendly states.)
Oh, and the source of the statistics: The Brady Center for Misinformation.

^^ I hope your joking man. Theres been 5 murders in my area since January and Im upstate.

I saw it last night.  Basically, the fellow was saying that guns end up in the hands of criminals because of some conspiracy on the part of the corporate gun world not doing anything/resisting making sure their dealers are always above board to the extent of law enforcement.

I thought, for a while, I was watching [u]The Insider[/u], but without Russell Crowe, and without cigarettes.

It's just another interest the leftists are using to alienate corporate America from the citizens.

I do think that there should be some "peer pressure" when it comes to gunowners' responsibility, because whether you are a collector, duck hunter, competitive rifle shooter, gunsmith, etc., we all suffer in some way in public perception when someone commits a crime with a firearm.  However, expecting private industry to do the job of law enforcement is absurd.

-Zmeja

I sent them the complaint show below via their website (under feedback), i don't know why i bother.

"I've just finished perusing your site concerning the recent piece you did on an ex-NRA lawyers comments on the gun industry.  I am appalled at the clear slant you put on this piece of "journalism".

Can't you even pretend to provide a balance viewpoint by offering to let industry spokesman comment or even, heaven forbid, make their own statements?  Of course I’m being rhetorical here I know that you're trying to get viewers and care little about how you get them.

You might consider taking statistics from a group not clearly in favor of restricting the rights of lawful gun-owners.  I mean come on, look at the ages that were quoted for each "statistic", seems like someone was chasing the numbers around to get the results that support their view-point.  That is no more science than "60 minutes" is journalism.

You've done a disservice to your readers as well as millions of peaceful lawful gun-owners.  I'd say "shame on you" but I doubt you'd even know what I’m talking about."

The guy was not a former NRA attorney, but worked for a private firm, and then became assocoiated with the NSSF along with Mr. Bob (blow smoke up all yer arses) Delfay, now thankfully retired.

This guy was a paid lobbyist for years by gun manufacturers, and had always been a weasly slime ball. Never could be trusted.

All he is doing is following the trail of the money and limelight. He'll go to whomever pays him the most.

You gotta be kidding me.  I got so mad reading that article I had to close the window.  What a sellout that Ricker is.  I should have known that since CBS is a liberal station anyways.  They're just trying to throw that propaganda BS at us.  That faggot went from a good guy to a [:K].

[puke]

Yea...the bottom line was that he said the industry should police the dealers.  Nothing was said about BATF, and how it is THEIR job to license dealers that distribute and sell the hardware.  They neglect to point out that the guns are tracked from  their inception, thru the build process and through distribution to the dealers. by ATF regulations.  It is up to BATF to approve the dealers...NOT the industry manufacturers.  If a dealer is licensed, I would assume BATF O.K.'d them to acept and sell the product, or am I worng..??  The guy reeks of payola, and of being a flannel-mouth, good for nothing, low-down, scum sucking c*******er.  But I may be just getting emotional over this kind of thing.

By the way, I got a HELL of an idea.  Since BATF is not responsible for monitoring dealers...take the hundreds of millions of dollars they use to perform what the f***k they do, and give it to the industry to hire people to watch over the dealers, and make sure they are conforming to the laws.  Hell, I'd even get a job with them doing this kind of thing.

with the sunset date of the "assault rifle ban" approaching, it figures they'd start this crap.  and look at the two school shootings we've had lately.  funny, we never seem to have these things happen unless there is some pending legislation or some such case. the shooter needs to be sent to guantanamo and have some interrogation work done on him in my opinion.  something smells subversive.    

I saw it and it was the usual 60 minutes left-leaning BS. They are trying to help plead the NAACP's case against the mfrs. and make GWB the root of all evil.  

It did show a straw purchase and somehow it escaped them that this was [i]already[/i] a crime. Maybe they should take the issue up with the proper LEO's(?) I guess that wouldn't get them any political stroke though...

I have personal (and I mean personal) experience with the 60 minutes team hyping up lame stories and editing in unwitting participants just to get [i]their[/i] version of the "truth" across. These guys are perfect for CBS. They deserve to be the flagship of Dan Rather's home station.

Edited for puntuation...

[bs2]

This really belongs in the GD forum, but since imkrazed seems to doubt that 60 minutes can reach out and touch anyone (and be dishonest in doing so) here's what I [i]know[/i]...

In 1996 60 minutes did a piece on DoD and defense contractors called SNAFU which they said would "show" that defense technology could be bought in the U.S. as easily as a candy bar.

In this story they showed a piece of video with two of their dorky reporters (one with stupid looking black frame glasses hiding a camera) walking into a TX contractor's office and asking to buy a restricted weapon system part. The contractor was suspicious (for many reasons) and refused the sale. He gathered their contact info. and once they left the matter was turned over to the DoD inspector general's office.

What 60 minutes showed on the air though was that video of the visit edited with another video of two parties (unknown) exchanging money to imply that they bought the part. Total BS and a good idea of 60 minutes credibility. No mention that the item wasn't purchased because it was restricted. Nor did they do a follow-up to find that DoD IG was informed of the attempt and an industry group alert had been sent out to watch for these twirps.


Now look at the gun store video in this story with a critical eye:

Was the conversation taken out of context?

Did the manager ultimately refuse the sale?

I can think of many ways to scrutinize their story.

I'm not saying the straw purchase video is indeed a hoax, but based on my experience it certainly could be...

Oh yea and IBTL!

[center][b][u]However, expecting private industry to do the job of law enforcement is absurd.[/center][/b][/u]

Zmeja,
They don't expect private industry to do the job of LE.  It's just the continuation of shaping public perception.  Their only goal is the disarmament of private citizens in the US.

Don't believe me, read a quote from the source!

From:  Ban Aid
The real point of the "assault weapon" law

[url]http://www.reason.com/sullum/050903.shtml[/url]

[b]In 1996 Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer, who favors banning gun possession by civilians, conceded that the arguments advanced by supporters of the "assault weapon" ban were "laughable." The "only real justification" for the law, he said, "is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation."[b]

philsAR,

You're right, as much as the liberals claim they are making the streets safer for the children, they are just doing it to grab guns from us.  People who shoot autos are first.  People who shoot semiautos which look like military guns are next.  People who shoot pistols after that.  People who shoot precision rigs are after that (because "sniper" is a misunderstood and scary term to them).  Hunters are last (because everyone should be eating plants, not meat, because killing Bambi and Donald are bad, mmkay?).

My wife is liberal-minded, and unfortunately she thinks that gun control isn't a forerunner to gun-grabbing.  Hopefully, with constant vigilance on the pro-gun front, she'll never need to find out that she is wrong.

-Zmeja

I don't usually try to show my ignorance, but what is a "straw purchase" ?

It's when someone purchases a gun for someone else particularly when the other person can't legally own a gun.

My understanding is that if the gun is a gift that the person receiving the gun must complete the paperwork.

It's what Sarah Brady did for her son...oh, wait...I guess that's different because it was SARAH BRADY.

Jeez, you sound like my wife.  Every time there is a high-profile mass killing, she says the DNC/BCPHV/VPC/etc. is behind it in an effort to engender support for more anti-gun legislation.  I'm a true-blue right-wing extremist, but even I won't go that far.  Can you say "Oliver Stone?"...