FOX News is known for its generally conservative opinion, so the latest video by host Gretchen Carlson is truly shocking. After the tragic loss of lives in the Orlando shooting, FOX has finally allowed one of their hosts to call for a ban of assault weapons. The fact that the most conservative and gun-obsessed news station is showing support for gun control shows that true progress may finally be made.
Typically, FOX brings up complaints of violated Second Amendment Constitutional rights any time there is a possible discussion on stricter gun control laws. This stance may be appealing to their viewer base and beneficial for gun manufacturers, but it looks like the single minded terror of gun control on FOX News may finally be over. When a crazed gunman was able to kill 50 people at PULSE, a popular gay nightclub in Orlando, one host decided it was finally time to take a stand.
Gretchen Carlson explained that this shooting was enough to prove that completely unregulated access to any type of gun is harmful and dangerous. Carlson explains that the shooter was able to kill so many people so quickly because he used “a military-style assault weapon, a weapon easier to buy in the state of Florida than buying a handgun. Florida sets a three day waiting period for purchasing handguns, but the state mandates no waiting period for any gun that requires two hands to hold.”
To avoid offending the FOX user base, Carlson is quick to point out that massive assault rifles are not necessary for hunting deer or protecting families from intruders. She emphasizes that gun control laws should not prevent the common people from using any guns that they need. While she may not be supporting extremely stringent laws, she seems to be supporting laws that prevent the sale of unnecessarily deadly weapons. However, Carlson agrees with many other criminal and legal experts when she suggests that the shooting would have been far less deadly if the shooter had only had access to a single shot pistol or other handgun.
The currently ineffective laws allowed a crazed and homophobic gunman to easily access a massively deadly weapon. Even though the shooter had been investigated twice by the Federal Bureau of Investigations and had a violent past, he was able to immediately buy a gun that could quickly kill countless victims. In past mass shootings, similar laws allowing public access to insanely deadly weapons were defended by conservative news pundits. It is very reassuring to see that many people are finally changing their minds. As Carson wisely points out, is possible to “hold true the sanctity of the Second Amendment while still having common sense.”
Carson has received an outpouring of support from both conservatives and liberals because of her balanced and reasonable stance on gun control laws. The fact that FOX News even allowed her to share this opinion is a sign that gun control laws may finally be altered. Though owning guns will always be a right of law-abiding Americans, it is possible that more reasonable laws will prevent unstable and potentially violent people from having access to weapons that have no reasonable purpose besides gunning down crowds of people.