On June 21, 2023, CNN fact-checked two weeks’ worth of President Biden’s remarks about firearms and discovered at least six exaggerations.
The first of the six untrue statements, according to CNN, was made by Biden when he claimed that his son Beau was the very first attorney general to implement a red flag legislation. (Prior to his passing, Beau held the office of Delaware’s attorney general.)
“Biden’s allegation is untrue,” according to CNN. “When Beau Biden served as Delaware’s state AG from 2007 to 2015, the state didn’t have a red flag legislation.”
The next two untrue assertions by Biden both revolved around AR-pistol stabilizer braces, a device that he claimed might turn handguns into firearms. Additionally, Biden asserted that such bracing causes handguns to fire “higher caliber” rounds.
“Biden’s allegations that a stabilizer brace transforms a pistol into a gun and raises a gun’s or bullet’s caliber are untrue,” according to CNN.
A rear stock adjustment does not alter a gun’s caliber, the article said, and “a pistol is, Clearly, already a gun.”
The fourth untrue statement was made by Biden, who claimed that the manufacturing of firearms is “the only sector in America you cannot sue.”
CNN reported:
“As CNN and other fact-checkers have already demonstrated, Biden’s allegation is untrue. In addition to not being the only business with any liability protections, gun makers are not completely immune from lawsuits. Notably, there are substantial liability protections for vaccine producers as well as, for the moment, for persons and organizations engaged in producing, distributing, or delivering Covid-19 countermeasures like vaccinations, testing, and treatments.”
The fifth untruth that Biden said was that the NRA can’t be sued. This week, he stated this at a fundraising event in California.
“Biden’s allegation is untrue,” according to CNN. “Although liability safeguards for gun manufacturers exist, there has never been legislation prohibiting litigation against the NRA. In recent years, the NRA has been the target of several lawsuits.”
At the California event, Biden also said his sixth untruth, which was that the Second Amendment “doesn’t mean that you may possess whatever firearm you want. It claims there are some weapons you simply cannot own. Owning a machine gun is prohibited.”
“Biden’s assertion is untrue.” According to CNN, “The Second Amendment doesn’t explicitly state that people may not acquire certain weapons, and court systems have not construed it to prohibit machine guns. In truth, except in a few states, individuals are permitted to purchase and own completely automatic machine guns if they were lawfully registered and in their possession before May 19, 1986, which was the day President Ronald Reagan enacted a significant gun regulation.”
