In a report out Wednesday night, The Wall Street Journal reported that the gunman who went on a rampage through Odessa and Midland, Texas illegally bought his rifle from a guy who may have been also illegally making and selling firearms. Instead of reporting on this critical bit of news, ABC and NBC were too busy celebrating the supermarkets and pharmacies now banning customers who legally open carry their weapons. CBS, on the other hand, ignored the topic altogether.
“It is unclear whether the man knew [the shooter] was a prohibited person when selling him the rifle. If the gun dealer did in fact know that [the shooter] was barred from buying guns, he could be charged with a federal crime,” The Journal reported. “But authorities are also looking into whether the man was illegally selling guns.”
Adding: “While private gun sales are legal under federal law, it is a crime to be in the business of manufacturing or selling guns without a license. Law-enforcement officials suspect the man was buying various gun parts to build his own guns and then reselling them.”
Prior to The Journal’s story, these same networks were cheering on Walmart for their “ammunition crackdown,” moves against guns, and calls for tougher background checks, which wouldn’t have stopped the shooter if the weapon was bought from an illegal seller. The network flagship morning shows (ABC's Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, and NBC's Today) also ignored The Journal's report.
“For its part, Walmart is now calling on the nation's political leaders to enact stronger background checks and ensure that somebody who shouldn't get a weapon doesn't get a weapon,” touted NBC correspondent Tom Costello on Tuesday’s NBC Nightly News.
Costello then shared a soundbite of NBC analyst and former ATF agent Jim Cavanaugh, who boasted that “Walmart leadership is stepping up to the vacuum they see from Washington leadership. They have to protect their customers. They have to protect their associates.”
On Tuesday’s World News Tonight, ABC correspondent Matt Gutman bragged that Walmart wanted to "‘make the country safer,’ by ending sales of all handgun ammunition and ammunition used in assault-style rifles.”
Then, on Thursday, they were celebrating the stores that were joining Walmart. First, came ABC anchor David Muir with his news brief on World News Tonight:
We turn now to the deadly mass shootings in this country and the fallout. A growing list of retailers asking customers not to openly carry guns into their stores, after Walmart and Kroger announced that change in policy. Today, pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS, as well as Wegmans supermarkets following that move.
NBC Nightly News anchor Lest Holt followed suit with his own news brief:
Tonight, two more major chains, Walgreens and CVS are asking customers not to openly carry guns in their stores. They join a growing wave after Walmart and then Kroger changed their firearm policies on Tuesday. Today, supermarket chain Wegmans also said it would prefer if customers did not openly carry in its stores either.
Instead of reporting on The Journal’s findings, the CBS Evening News was blowing more hot air about President Trump’s map flap regarding outdated projections of Hurricane Dorian, or as some have dubbed it “Sharpiegate.”
The transcripts are below:
ABC’s World News Tonight
September 5, 2019
6:43:43 p.m. EasternDAVID MUIR: We turn now to the deadly mass shootings in this country and the fallout. A growing list of retailers asking customers not to openly carry guns into their stores, after Walmart and Kroger announced that change in policy. Today, pharmacy giants Walgreens and CVS, as well as Wegmans supermarkets following that move.
NBC Nightly News
September 5, 2019
7:10:40 p.m. EasternLESTER HOLT: Tonight, two more major chains, Walgreens and CVS are asking customers not to openly carry guns in their stores. They join a growing wave after Walmart and then Kroger changed their firearm policies on Tuesday. Today, supermarket chain Wegmans also said it would prefer if customers did not openly carry in its stores either.
