Introducing a segment on Tuesday’s NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer proclaimed: “The tragic mass shooting in Charleston has renewed questions about gun control and the gun culture in this country.” He then led into a report by left-wing MSNBC correspondent Ronan Farrow, who the network “sent out to meet the new face of gun ownership.”
Farrow began by declaring: “...these past few weeks have just reminded us again and again of the devastating toll of gun violence for so many around this country....There’s actually a new study out that shows gun owners are predominantly white, they’re predominantly male, they’re over the age of 55 mostly. But what about that next generation of gun owners coming up? Well, I went and talked to them.”
While visiting Texas gun clubs, Farrow spoke to several young gun owners about the gun culture. He then announced: “It's a generation shaped by headlines about mass shootings, but not in the ways you might expect.”
Sharpshooting YouTube star Kirsten Joy Weiss explained: “It really underscored in my mind that shooting is actually a martial art. And with any martial art, it can be an art form, it can teach focus and discipline and kind of like, for lack of a better word, zen. But on the other side it can be used for, you know, evil in the wrong hands.”
Farrow had a harsh follow up: “But what do you say to people who say Karate can't wipe out of a whole school of children?” Weiss countered: “Karate might not actually save a school full of children. Whereas, if you had somebody who was trained with a gun who knew how to use it responsibly, he could actually save that school.”
Following the taped report, Farrow concluded: “As you saw, these young people acknowledge the dangers of gun violence, but, Matt, they are passionate about their beliefs and they say their generation is overlooked a lot.”
Lauer worried: “Yeah, but when you talk about them being passionate about their beliefs, are they looking at it this from the constitutional side or the coolness side?”
Farrow replied: “...we found many of them aren't thinking of this in political terms to the extent that you would expect. But the thing is, with the amount of gun violence in this country, it's inevitably political.”
Here are excerpts of the June 30 segment:
(...)
7:40 AM ET
MATT LAUER: Alright, we’re back now, 7:39, with a new series called Undercovered, where we want you to tell us about the stories you feel are not being covered. The tragic mass shooting in Charleston has renewed questions about gun control and the gun culture in this country. So, we sent MSNBC’s Ronan Farrow out to meet the new face of gun ownership. Interested to hear about this. Ronan, good morning.
[ON-SCREEN HEADLINE: America’s New “Young Guns”; Uncovering Newest Generation of Gun Owners]
RONAN FARROW: It’s good to be here. It is interesting, Matt. Here's the thing, you know, these past few weeks have just reminded us again and again of the devastating toll of gun violence for so many around this country. So it's not entirely surprising that for this first installment of Undercovered a lot of you had questions about guns.
There’s actually a new study out that shows gun owners are predominantly white, they’re predominantly male, they’re over the age of 55 mostly. But what about that next generation of gun owners coming up? Well, I went and talked to them.
(...)
7:43 AM ET
FARROW: It's a generation shaped by headlines about mass shootings, but not in the ways you might expect.
KIRSTEN JOY WEISS: It really underscored in my mind that shooting is actually a martial art. And with any martial art, it can be an art form, it can teach focus and discipline and kind of like, for lack of a better word, zen. But on the other side it can be used for, you know, evil in the wrong hands.
FARROW: But what do you say to people who say Karate can't wipe out of a whole school of children?
WEISS: Karate might not actually save a school full of children. Whereas, if you had somebody who was trained with a gun who knew how to use it responsibly, he could actually save that school.
FARROW: Not everyone may agree, but they say, before you judge, get to know them.
WEISS: I think this new generation of gun lovers – we're passionate, we're connected, we're welcoming. And you're welcome to come to the range with us and just shoot. Let's try it.
FARROW: As you saw, these young people acknowledge the dangers of gun violence, but, Matt, they are passionate about their beliefs and they say their generation is overlooked a lot.
LAUER: Yeah, but when you talk about them being passionate about their beliefs, are they looking at it this from the constitutional side or the coolness side?
FARROW: So what makes this angle interesting to me is we found many of them aren't thinking of this in political terms to the extent that you would expect. But the thing is, with the amount of gun violence in this country, it's inevitably political. They have these issues to contend with, even if they love their hobby for other reasons.
(...)
