Fox News host complains about ‘ghost gun’ crackdown amid live stream of Brooklyn subway shooting coverage
‘The American people will never be disarmed, give it up’, says Brian Kilmeade
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Fox Business linked its coverage of the Brooklyn subway mass shooting with efforts to regulate so-called "ghost guns".
As a live stream of Brooklyn showed the massive police response to the shooting, anchor Stuart Varney called on Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade to discuss Joe Biden’s push against the untraceable firearms.
"Bearing in mind the situation that is developing in New York City right now, what’s your reaction to the president’s crackdown on ghost guns?" Mr Varney asked.
Mr Kilmeade said the focus on ghost guns was an insult, adding that law enforcement officials he spoke to recognise the issue but that targeting the weapons won’t address the root cause of gun violence.
"It’s like blaming the car for a drunk driver. Yeah, ghost guns are a problem. Of course! If you have an unmarked gun that was put together with parts, yeah," Mr Kilmead said.
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"Most of our audience could get a ghost gun, and not have it registered. But you’re not going to be killing anybody. The problem is the criminal mind, and the punishment that they know is not coming," he added.
Mr Biden announced the new crackdown on ghost guns on Monday and called for new laws to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
New rules would require self-assembled "buy build shoot" kits to have serial numbers.
There were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns recovered by police in 2021, according to the White House.
Law enforcement officials said a gun was recovered in the Brooklyn subway station where 10 people were shot, but there was no indication on whether it was a ghost gun or a manufactured firearm.
The suspected gunman, identified by police as Frank R James, was still at large as of Wednesday morning.