From quite a bit of talk on news networks such as CNN and MSNBC, one might deduce that virtually everything bad happening in the country is because of the President.

Hence, as those in the media debate gun control in light of recent horrific mass shootings, it’s no surprise to see Trump get more than his reasonable share of the blame.

Apropos, on Monday, CNN appeared to suggest that the current White House bears some responsibility for evil deeds in El Paso and Dayton over the weekend.

Specifically, anchors John Avlon and Poppy Harlow made the claim that the Commander-in-Chief did away with proposed Obama-era regulation aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of the “mentally ill.”

However, as pointed out by The Daily Wire, that dictate was severely unrefined, broadly at odds with Second and Fourth Amendment liberties for tens of thousands of U.S. citizens.

In fact, the criteria for such was nothing more than whether Americans had been given assistance in the management of their Social Security disability dole.

So poorly thought-out was the rule that the pro-gun-control American Civil Liberties Union vocalized its opposition.

The ACLU published a statement on the rollback of the proposal in February 2017:

This month, Congress repealed a rule that would have registered thousands of Social Security recipients with mental disabilities, who have others manage their benefits, into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System to prevent them from owning firearms.

…

[G]un control laws, like any law, should be fair, effective and not based on prejudice or stereotype. This rule met none of those criteria.

In this era of “alternative facts,” we must urge politicians to create laws based on reliable evidence and solid data.

The thousands of Americans whose disability benefits are managed by someone else range from young people with depression and financial inexperience to older adults with Down syndrome needing help with a limited budget. But no data — none — show that these individuals have a propensity for violence in general or gun violence in particular.

To the contrary, studies show that people with mental disabilities are less likely to commit firearm crimes than to be the victims of violence by others.

…

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.

Washington Examiner Deputy Editor Jay Caruso took his complaint over the misleading assertion to Twitter, noting the famed liberal organization’s disapproval:

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

That makes sense.

No reasonable person would ever want someone victimized by guns; but poor government policy is just that.

Despite CNN’s push, the Trump administration didn’t rollback protective measures against the mentally ill owning a firearm; rather, Congress rightly repealed wrongheaded regulation.

-ALEX

See 3 more pieces from me:

Mid-Trump Bash, Did CNN Spotlight Past Presidents’ Lies But Omit Obama’s ‘Lie Of The Year’? Yes They Did

Former CNN Contributors Reveal The Network’s Flagrant Hate For Donald Trump, & There’s At Least One More Reason For Its Ratings Flop

Nebraska Woman Gives Birth To Her Gay Son’s Child

Find all my RedState work here.

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