Less than a week after a tragic shooting at a Christian school in Madison, Wisconsin, CNN decided to shift focus—not on the shooter, the crime, or even the systemic failures that allowed such an incident to occur, but on shaming parents who buy hunting rifles for their kids. It’s a classic move: take an isolated event and pivot to demonizing law-abiding gun owners, particularly those who dare to pass on America’s hunting traditions to their children.
Let’s start with the facts. The 15-year-old suspect in the Abundant Life Christian School shooting reportedly used two handguns, not a hunting rifle. Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes confirmed she had two pistols in her possession, and authorities are still tracing their origins. Yet somehow, CNN thought this was the perfect opportunity to lecture parents about the “risks” of buying hunting rifles as Christmas gifts. The connection? Nonexistent—unless the goal is to conflate hunting culture with violent crime.
CNN’s article leads with an anecdote about Paul Kemp, an Oregon father who gifted his son Nathan a hunting rifle at age 16. Kemp and his son had been hunting together since Nathan was seven. It’s a heartwarming story of a family bonding over a shared American tradition—until CNN casts it in the shadow of potential catastrophe. According to the piece, parents considering buying firearms for their kids this holiday season must weigh the “risks,” which CNN dutifully lists: accidental shootings, suicides, and guns being used in crimes.
And to drive the point home, CNN trots out examples like the Oxford, Michigan, shooting and another in Winder, Georgia. What they don’t tell you is that neither involved a hunting rifle. The Oxford shooter used a handgun, and the Winder case involved a firearm a father allegedly gave his son without properly securing it. Conflating these incidents with responsible parents introducing their children to hunting is, at best, lazy reporting and, at worst, a deliberate attempt to blur the lines between legal gun ownership and criminal misuse.
Effeminate CNN Goes All in to Shame Real American Fathers Out of Buying Hunting Rifles for Their Red Blooded Sons.
Says nothing about Biden’s murderous illegal invaders.https://t.co/HbVaDeGkn3— Amanuensis (@Amanuensis16600) December 23, 2024
Then there’s CNN’s go-to talking point: the claim that firearms are the leading cause of death for children in the U.S. This has been parroted by everyone from President Biden to Hollywood celebrities, but it’s misleading at best. The statistic lumps 18- and 19-year-olds—who are legal adults and statistically more likely to be involved in gang violence or criminal activity—into the category of “children.” If you exclude those ages, the numbers tell a very different story.
In reality, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that unintentional car deaths among individuals aged 0-19 outnumber unintentional gun deaths by a staggering 27-to-1 margin. But you won’t find CNN mentioning that inconvenient truth. The narrative is too important, especially when it feeds into a broader agenda to stigmatize gun ownership and chip away at Second Amendment rights.
At its core, CNN’s piece is less about safety and more about advancing a cultural critique of gun-owning parents. The idea that teaching kids responsible firearm use—whether for hunting, sport shooting, or self-defense—is inherently risky ignores the millions of families who safely and responsibly introduce firearms to their children every year.
While tragedies like the Madison school shooting deserve serious reflection and action, scapegoating hunting families, and distorting facts doesn’t help. It’s just another attempt to make responsible gun owners the villains in a narrative that has little to do with reality.
