Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) called on Rupert Murdoch not to to air today’s NASCAR Sprint Cup race because the NRA is a sponsor of the event. Murphy wrote:
The horror that unfolded on December 14th at Sandy Hook Elementary School has sparked a national conversation about the adequacy of our gun laws. Considering your support of sane gun control measures and the extreme nature of the NRA, I urge you to not broadcast this race on April 13th. Inserting Fox Sports in this debate at this critical time will give credence to an extreme organization that is opposed to reasonable policies to stem gun violence.
A member of the government instructing media as to what they can and cannot air? A member of the government calling an organization designed to protect a right protected by the Constitution extreme?
That’s two rights undermined in one paragraph, Murphy.
In response, NASCAR spokesman David Higdon gave this weak response, indicating that Fox would continue with its plan to broadcast the race:
The NRA’s sponsorship of the event at Texas Motor Speedway fit within existing parameters that NASCAR affords tracks in securing partnerships. However, this situation has made it clear that we need to take a closer look at our approval process moving forward, as current circumstances need to be factored in when making decisions.
**It must be noted that this report came to my attention through Dylan Byers’s Politico piece, where he writes the following:
In Murdoch, Murphy may find a sympathetic ear: The media mogual [sic] has long been a staunch advocacte [sic] of gun control and even called for an automatic weapons ban in the wake of both the Newtown shooting and the Aurora, Colo., shooting, in July.
Called for an “automatic weapons ban?”
Can we have a ban on media types talking about that which they know nothing? Automatic weapons have been essentially illegal for civilians to own for years.
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