Facebook Twitter Tumblr Close Skip to main content
A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Kavanaugh Files: Second Amendment

Kavanaugh Files: Second Amendment

Democrats have described Brett Kavanaugh as “a true Second Amendment radical” who is “far outside the mainstream of legal thought” — more conservative than the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The criticism stems from Kavanaugh’s dissent in a 2011 appeals court ruling that upheld the District of Columbia’s law banning semi-automatic rifles. We take a look at the facts.

Gun-toting Grandma Story Is Made Up

Gun-toting Grandma Story Is Made Up

Q: Did a 79-year-old woman with an AK-47 save two police officers?

A: No. That made-up story was written as satire and dates back to 2015.

ATF Rulings on ‘Bump Stocks’

ATF Rulings on ‘Bump Stocks’

Q: Did the Obama administration legalize “bump stocks” for semiautomatic rifles?

A: No federal law explicitly addresses “bump stocks.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ruled 10 times between 2008 and 2017 that certain models could not be prohibited under existing gun laws.

Video: Gun Violence

Video: Gun Violence

In this video, CNN’s Jake Tapper reviews claims made by members of both parties about gun violence in the U.S. 

The Gun Debate

The Gun Debate

Facts on background checks, concealed-carry laws, U.S. gun homicide rate, stolen guns

Trump’s Misleading Gun Rhetoric

Trump’s Misleading Gun Rhetoric

In a bipartisan meeting with members of Congress, President Donald Trump made false and misleading claims about his predecessors’ actions on gun control legislation and shootings in “gun-free zones.”

NRA Chief’s Bogus Background Check Claims

NRA Chief’s Bogus Background Check Claims

In a speech to conservatives, National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre distorted the facts when talking about the federal system for conducting background checks on prospective gun buyers.

Sanders Uses Stale Gun Sales Stat

Sanders Uses Stale Gun Sales Stat

Results of a national survey published in 2017 show that 13 percent of U.S. gun owners who purchased a firearm in the past two years did so without a background check. Sen. Bernie Sanders was wrong when he said recently that the figure was three times as high.

Texas Shooting Unrelated to Antifa

Texas Shooting Unrelated to Antifa

Q: Was the man who killed more than two dozen people in a rural Texas church trying to start a civil war as a member of antifa?

A: No. Law enforcement officials believe the mass shooting was motivated by a family dispute, and they are not investigating it as an act of terrorism.