Phillies pitcher says Obama wants to take away guns
Phillies pitcher Jonathan Papelbon found himself mimicking the talking points of the NRA in an interview this week with Comcast Sports Network when he stated that he believes President Obama is out to confiscate guns.
The assertion, part of an NRA campaign to confuse the president’s support of an assault weapons ban with a desire to take guns away from gun owners, has been shot down by fact-checking new outlets.
We came across the video, above, on Politico.com.
When asked for his reaction to Monday’s Boston Marathon bombing, Papelbon said, “Today’s day and age has gotten so crazy. Shoot man, Obama wants to take our guns from us and everything. You got all this stuff going on; it’s just a little bit insane for me, man. I’m not sure how to take it.”
From FactCheck.org, Febraury 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.
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