2013 - Page 22 of 24 - FactCheck.org

Reid Twice Wrong on $2.6 Trillion ‘Cuts’

February 6, 2013

Sen. Harry Reid was doubly wrong when he claimed that Congress already has cut $2.6 trillion from projected future deficits by reducing “non-defense programs” alone.
In fact, legislation he refers to applied to both security and non-security spending. Furthermore, a good chunk of the deficit reduction came from tax increases, not spending cuts.
Reid made the claim — twice — on ABC’s “This Week” on Feb. 3, in support of his argument that further deficit reduction should include more tax increases and cuts in military spending.

Did Obama Flip-Flop on Gun Control?

February 5, 2013

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association, incorrectly claimed Obama pulled a bait-and-switch, promising during the campaign not to take away anyone’s guns, but now supporting an assault weapons ban. Obama is not now seeking to take away anyone’s existing guns, and he has for years consistently supported a reinstatement of the assault weapons ban.
Speaking on “Fox News Sunday” on Feb. 3, LaPierre was asked by host Chris Wallace what he made of the White House releasing a photo of President Obama skeet shooting at Camp David.

Proposed Weapons Ban Exempts Government Officials?

February 4, 2013

TheTeaParty.net falsely claims in an email that Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s proposed assault weapons ban would exempt “all government officials” from the ban. While the bill would exempt military and law enforcement officials, it would not exempt legislators or administrative staff.
The email further misrepresents the proposed bill, claiming that “she [Feinstein] wants to take your handguns, rifles and other weapons away from you.” In fact, the proposal would grandfather in all of the existing weapons owned by Americans,

Feb. 1: Cop Killings, Background Checks, Hagel’s Ethics

February 1, 2013

Did the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban Work?

February 1, 2013

Both sides in the gun debate are misusing academic reports on the impact of the 1994 assault weapons ban, cherry-picking portions out of context to suit their arguments.

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association, told a Senate committee that the “ban had no impact on lowering crime.” But the studies cited by LaPierre concluded that effects of the ban were “still unfolding” when it expired in 2004 and that it was “premature to make definitive assessments of the ban’s impact on gun violence.”

Is Senate Immigration Plan ‘Amnesty’?

January 30, 2013

Opponents of a bipartisan Senate immigration plan say it includes “amnesty” for illegal immigrants, but that label is not strictly accurate. Although the Senate plan includes a “path to citizenship,” it also requires illegal immigrants to pay a fine, pay back taxes, learn English and then get in line for permanent legal status behind other immigrants already in the system.
The Senate’s so-called “Gang of Eight” announced the framework for an immigration policy overhaul on Jan.

Biden Wrong on Police Deaths

January 30, 2013

In an online interview promoted by the White House, Vice President Joe Biden made the false claim that “there were fewer police being murdered … when the assault weapons ban, in fact, was in existence.” But the FBI statistics on killings of law enforcement officers show no such trend.
In fact, the number of officers killed when the ban was still in effect in 2002 — 56 — is the same number as in 2010. The numbers have fluctuated,

Conservative Group Distorts Hagel’s Record

January 30, 2013

American Future Fund distorts Chuck Hagel’s record in its latest TV ad opposing his Senate confirmation for defense secretary:

AFF says Hagel “sits on the board of a private equity firm with investments in Iran.” Hagel sits on an advisory board of Deutsche Bank, which the New York Times says is under investigation for transferring money through U.S. subsidiaries to Iran. However, unnamed U.S. officials told the Times the bank stopped such transactions in 2008 —

NRA and Assault Weapons Sales

January 29, 2013

On WCBS radio, FactCheck.org Director Eugene Kiely discusses Sen. Chris Murphy’s claim that NRA executives “pay their salaries” by taking “a cut” of assault weapons sales. Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, cites the NRA’s so-called round-up program as evidence that the gun-rights group “does not represent gun owners anymore.”
The fact is that some gun customers voluntarily contribute to one of two NRA organizations during gun sales and much of that money helps fund community programs, such as gun safety,

Child Homicides

January 28, 2013

Q: Is it true that 85 percent of all the children killed by guns in the world are killed in the United States?
A: No. This statistic, misused by the husband of former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, refers to a study of 23 high-income countries in 2003 that made up less than 14 percent of the world’s population. A coauthor of that study says the percentage of children killed in the world who lived in the U.S.