Firing Back: Debunking Myths

A simple story on a local Fox affiliate has started a major conspiracy. The theory says that the National Guard is currently working with police in Albany, New York, to confiscate weapons from citizens in violation of the Constitution and Posse Comitatus. This story is making the rounds online, but the surprising thing is that it is getting little pick up in the mainstream media.

Of course the argument could be made that the MSM is so biased about guns that they won’t pick up this story as they don’t want the public to know. But that’s just why conspiracy theories get going. This is really a story that is so blown out of proportion that it deserves to sit up next to those stories that say “9/11 was in an inside job.”

Kristin Lowman for Fox 23 News, WXXA-DT in Albany, New York first reported the actual story, which noted that the National Guard has worked to develop technology that can scan a car to find hidden drugs or weapons. This story, which includes video, is suddenly turned around into some sort of wild conspiracy, where it becomes a tale of the National Guard training to take down militias and seize guns. In the latter case the authors aren’t so much real reporters, but journalist vigilantes, who hide behind names such as “Americans4Turth.” We appreciate and respect the desire to uncover the truth, but would you believe anything from a news organization that won’t offer a bylined article?

The moral of the story is don’t trust everything you read online. We’ll be continuing to watch for real threats to our Second Amendment rights, but this is one that is making a lot of very little.