Mass shootings will never not be tragic. So what a slap in the face it is to the memories of the dead when gun control activists use a shooting to push an agenda.
In the case of the Uvalde shooting, just as with so many mass shootings that preceded it, gun control advocates are dementedly relishing the opportunity to come renew their calls for banning AR-15s.
Naturally, Washington Post senior editor Marc Fisher is among them. But he knows how tiresome the traditional arguments against the AR-15 have a tendency to be, so he’s come up with something with a little more … panache:
Invented for Nazi infantrymen, further developed by the US military, the AR-15 was the Texas school shooter’s weapon of choice…. https://t.co/Pw3AwI9pbc
— Marc Fisher (@mffisher) May 26, 2022
The article Fisher links to above was actually written by him on February 15, 2018, the day after the deadly Parkland shooting. Fortunately, it’s still just as stupid today as it was the day he wrote it.
[citation needed] https://t.co/6Pzw9kxici pic.twitter.com/xTlqU8tR4N
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) May 26, 2022
Are we saying the Nazis invented the machine gun?
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) May 26, 2022
We’re not … but that does appear to be what Marc here is suggesting.
The BS attempt to connect the AR-15 to the Nazis is pretty much literally “because it shoots bullets just like the guns the Nazis used.” https://t.co/Kxr7hsDlLy
— Doug Powers (@ThePowersThatBe) May 26, 2022
That’s pretty much it, yes.
Godwin's Law Activated! https://t.co/QI5cxwfDaE
— 🍹Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock (@kimmie_c_) May 26, 2022
Yes! Because you know who else liked guns? Hitler. As in Adolf Hitler. An actual Nazi.
Who, in addition to inventing the AR-15, did some other questionable things:
You know who also wore trench coats pic.twitter.com/Wnt9zxVrLM
— Cox (@HOLYSMKES) May 26, 2022
Uh-oh, Marc …
Around 1440 in Germany, the movable-type printing press was invented.
The Washington Post once printed on movable-type printing presses.
Germany once was ruled by Nazis.
Seems clear to me… @mffisher
— Nathan Wurtzel (@NathanWurtzel) May 26, 2022
UH-OH, MARC!
Hey @mffisher, can you send your readers a citation to back-up your claim that the AR15 "is a descendant of the machine guns Nazi infantrymen used against Soviet forces in World War II?" https://t.co/OznCkGZS5s
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) May 26, 2022
No, he can’t … but he did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night!
Incidentally, Holiday Inn Express was invented by British soldiers so they’d have a place to sleep during the Revolutionary War. The more you know.
One really has to wonder if we are sending our best into journalism.
Because, frankly…these intellectual failures are piling up. https://t.co/nLi4Yn6dvL
— Pradheep J. Shanker (@Neoavatara) May 26, 2022
One doesn’t have to wonder too hard, though. It’s pretty obvious that the collective IQ of the journalistic class has plummeted dramatically over the past decade or so.
If you’re reporting on firearms, learn what the hell you’re talking about. Otherwise, you’ll be mocked.
AR = Armalite Rifle. The company behind production began operations in 1954–nine years after WWII ended. 🤦♀️ https://t.co/laCPK5mEYh@GunOwners @gunpolicy @TheReloadSite https://t.co/TgiJDgmYRa pic.twitter.com/LusiiCFoUI
— Gabriella Hoffman (@Gabby_Hoffman) May 26, 2022
My god, tou dont know what google is, do you? pic.twitter.com/1r5jHHn6R0
— Gulag inmate #8675309 (@draco9384) May 26, 2022
Didn’t Hitler have a brother named Eugene? And another one named Jim? And Bob?
That time the AR was invented by a WWII Marine named Eugene Stoner but we don’t care about that cuz I want to call people who have ARs Nazis. https://t.co/QDUan6USvb
— KennyFresh (@KennyBarlow) May 26, 2022
You didn't even Wikipedia that one I guess. This is a senior editor for the Washington Post https://t.co/Mjesz9EeRR pic.twitter.com/naTE5ApkGK
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 26, 2022
Exactly. This is a senior editor for the Washington Post. Explains everything.
They’re essentially calling inanimate objects Nazis now, because calling people Nazis doesn’t work anymore. 😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/i2DEDxD4Yi
— CCP IS ASSHOE (@CCPISASSH0E) May 26, 2022
I guess when the shooter isn't a white supremacist they just tell you the gun is.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) May 26, 2022
Points for creativity, at least.
— Huck🇺🇦 (@hucky_fin) May 26, 2022
— theRoddick (@OriginalRoddick) May 26, 2022
ICYMI, we’re definitely not sending our best to J-school.
The rest of the piece is also complete nonsense, by the way.
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) May 26, 2022
Well, yeah. Naturally.
Next time, Marc, take a page from David Harsanyi’s book. Do your research and then write. In that order.
I wrote an entire chapter on ar-15 in my book. I spent a great amount of time researching the origins of the gun — I have dozens of citations for those who are interested in learning more.https://t.co/xVopXk7yld
— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) May 26, 2022