2017-04-22 21:42:00
A former University of Missouri journalism professor is suggesting that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is more dangerous than ISIS.
George Kennedy, former managing editor at the Columbia Missourian newspaper and professor emeritus at the university's prestigious journalism school, brought up the comparison in a column published Thursday by the Missourian.
"The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria is a terrorist organization founded in 1999, headquartered in Syria and feared around the world. The NRA was founded in [1871], headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, and is feared by politicians across America," Kennedy wrote.
He continued: "What makes the Islamic State so feared it its willingness to kill in pursuit of its goal of creating a fundamentalist caliphate."
"What makes the NRA so feared is its willingness to spend heavily and campaign aggressively in pursuit of its goal of removing all restrictions on the possession and use of firearms just about anywhere by just about anyone."
Kennedy's column sparked outrage among Second Amendment advocates and gun owners. One of them, David Webb, joined "Fox & Friends Weekend" this morning to sound off.
Webb accused Kennedy of setting up a "false premise," in which he compares the number of people killed by ISIS to the number killed by gun violence.
"Here's what I'm saying to America: Don't get drawn in to it," Webb said. "It's not relative one to the other."
He added that Kennedy was also wrong when he claimed that ISIS has only killed nine Americans, noting that he conveniently left out those killed in ISIS-inspired terror attacks in Orlando and San Bernardino.
"The NRA advocates for proper training, proper laws, proper law enforcement and obeying the laws as they exist under the Second Amendment," Webb said. "They're not for the wild, wild West, as they like to put it out there in these little elitist theories."