Ben Shapiro: The media is using students protesting gun violence as ‘political human shields’
The gun control activists rallied quickly behind the Parkland shooting and the student walk-out is creating a greater divide, one that Daily Wire Editor-in-Chief Ben Shapiro says makes the kids “political human shields.”
On Wednesday, appearing on Fox News’ “The Story” with host Martha MacCallum, Shapiro explained that he is getting messages from concerned students who support the Second Amendment while also wanting to support the victims of the Florida school shooting.
Shapiro said one student said they felt they had a choice to “go against their values” or “look like a bad person.”
“The media has put forth this message, and they’ve been doing this for years, but it’s really accelerated in the last few months, and particularly in the last few weeks, they’ve put forth this message that if you disagree with them on gun control, that means you don’t care enough about the kids, and now they are activating these kids and putting them out on the front lines and putting them in photo-ops so they can essentially use them as political human shields.”
That full statement is below.
MacCallum mentioned a former member of the Israeli military and owner of a gun store in Florida who told Fox News he refused to sell guns to anyone under 21. She asked, “Is there any room for some of these measures that some of these kids would be in favor of?”
Shapiro answered:
It depends on the measure. And the question is: what’s the level of public support? Whenever they take a poll, and they say there are tons and tons of people who are in favor of gun control, that’s a really big statement; it’s like polls that that show Americans are in favor of cutting the size of government. That sounds great until you get down to the brass tacks of, “Well, what do you want to cut?” When people say they’re in favor of gun control, usually they think that means, “Do you think we should take measures that would prevent mass shootings?” and the answer, of course, is yes, but that doesn’t necessarily boil down into law that anybody likes. There’s still some pretty significant controversy, for example, over raising the age limit for buying rifles; if you can serve in the military at 18 and you can vote at 18, then what is the problem, exactly, with buying a gun?
At the same time, there’s this sort of weird argument that’s being made that kids who are 17 should be making all of the public policy but kids who are 17 are also not capable of buying a weapon. So what, exactly, is the age of adulthood?
These are arguments that we can have, and I’m perfectly happy to have them. What I’m not happy to do, and I think a lot of these students who are writing me are not happy about, is this attitude that if you disagree with people on politics that this means that you can’t even be part of the conversation, that the only people we will talk to are people we agree with on gun control measures. That’s actually a form of nastiness, a form of political cudgeling that I think is really counterproductive.
Full coverage at The Daily Wire HERE
Florida law makers moved quickly and passed a gun measure, amending a few Florida gun laws, but now faces a pushback from the NRA and gun owners. What is in that law (and what is not) – read here.
BEN SHAPIRO full remark:
I’ve been getting legitimately dozens, scores of messages, probably a hundred since yesterday from students who are disappointed at the way they feel they’ve been bullied into joining the school walkouts. What I’ve suggested is walk out with your friends and hold up signs that say things like, “Standing with children, standing with the Second Amendment,” or “Protect our lives, arm law-abiding people.”
The media has put forth this message, and they’ve been doing this for years, but it’s really accelerated in the last few months, and particularly in the last few weeks, they’ve put forth this message that if you disagree with them on gun control, that means you don’t care enough about the kids, and now they are activating these kids and putting them out on the front lines and putting them in photo-ops so they can essentially use them as political human shields.
Now listen, the kids can say whatever they want; that’s their prerogative, but it is the media that are choosing to elevate these kids as moral authorities even though tragedy and age don’t confer any sort of expertise on a given issue.
