CNN made a recent claim that President Trump eliminated an Obama-era policy that kept guns out of the hands of the mentally ill.
This is false.
According to The Daily Caller:
On Monday, CNN seemingly attempted to paint President Donald Trump as culpable for tragic mass shootings over the weekend in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. Anchors Poppy Harlow and John Avlon claimed on-air that the president eliminated a proposed Obama-era regulation that would keep firearms out of the hands of the “mentally ill.”
The proposed rule, however, was seriously broad, undermining the Second and Fourth Amendment rights of tens of thousands of Americans in constitutionally dubious fashion. The restrictions were based merely upon the fact that those on the list had received assistance in managing their Social Security disability payments. Even the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which has become increasingly partisan over the years, vehemently opposed the regulation.
“The ACLU and 23 national disability groups did not oppose this rule because we want more guns in our community. This is about more than guns. Adding more innocent Americans to the National Instant Criminal Background database because of a mental disability is a disturbing trend — one that could be applied to voting, parenting or other rights dearer than gun ownership. We opposed it because it would do little to stem gun violence but do much to harm our civil rights,” the ACLU wrote at the time, as previously noted by The Daily Wire.
Deputy Editor of The Washington Examiner Jay Caruso excoriated CNN for its partisan coverage.
everything to do with the lack of due process. The Obama era rules designated anyone who needed a representative payee through the Social Security Administration and Veterans Affairs “mentally unfit.” If a person met that criteria, their name was entered into the NICS database.
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) August 5, 2019
So attempting to make Trump into some kind of a hypocrite on the issue of mental illness and firearms using that example, just means she, A. Doesn’t know what she’s talking about or B. Being purposely deceptive.
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) August 5, 2019
Both @PoppyHarlowCNN and @JohnAvlon require a much-needed corrective when saying Trump rolled back regulations that would keep guns away from the “mentally ill” when it had everything to do with due process and the move had the full support of the ACLU. https://t.co/b8pExdUGwM
— Jay Caruso (@JayCaruso) August 5, 2019
CNN’s Chris Cuomo actually made this same claim in 2018 after the Parkland, Florida shooting. So, pushing false Trump narratives is nothing new for CNN. This time they were just called out for their lie.
