PolitiFact | Guns

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All Fact-checks for Guns

stated on August 31, 2022 in a campaign event

Three court rulings since May 2022 “have made it clear that it is unconstitutional to ban someone between the ages of 18 and 20 from being able to buy an AR.”

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barely-true

Instagram posts

stated on July 28, 2022 in an Instagram post

Nancy Pelosi and Democrats "want to turn 150 million Americans into felons overnight" with HR 1808.

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false

stated on July 14, 2022 in a campaign ad

Ron DeSantis "opposes any background checks on guns, even for violent criminals."

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barely-true

stated on July 20, 2022 in an image on Facebook

“The gunman at Greenwood Park Mall was a CIA asset.”

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false

stated on May 29, 2022 in a tweet

"38,000 Texans had their license to carry denied, revoked, or suspended over the last five years because law enforcement deemed them too dangerous to carry a loaded gun in public. But thanks to Greg Abbott's new law, they don't need a license to carry anymore."

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barely-true

stated on July 5, 2022 in a Facebook post

Shooter in Highland Park, Illinois, “bought the gun illegally.”

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false

Marjorie Taylor Greene

stated on July 5, 2022 in a tweet

Says an image shows the Highland Park shooting suspect "in jail or rehab or a psychiatric center" before the shooting.

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false

stated on June 23, 2022 in a TV segment

No one “with a concealed carry permit ever committed a mass shooting."

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false

stated on May 27, 2022 in News release

Says U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, his prospective opponent, has received $1.2 million from the gun lobby.

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half-true

stated on June 16, 2022 in a tweet.

“In Virginia, Black people are eight times (8X) more likely than white people to die of gun homicide.”

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true

stated on June 5, 2022 in TV interview

Waiting periods for gun purchases may not make a difference, because "If somebody's decided that they're gonna take their life, they're gonna take their life."

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false

Gun Owners of America

stated on June 8, 2022 in a tweet

“U.S. House of Reps. votes 226-194 to criminalize disassembling, cleaning, and re-assembling your gun without a firearm manufacturer’s license, including 8 Republicans!”

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stated on June 10, 2022 in in a TV segment

“Not a single person in the crowd on January 6 was found to be carrying a firearm. Not one.”

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false

Instagram posts

stated on June 4, 2022 in an Instagram post

White supremacists are going to be “shooting up all Walmarts and will kill Blacks and Mexicans” in San Bernardino, California.

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false

stated on June 2, 2022 in a speech

Gun manufacturers are “the only industry in the country” that have immunity from lawsuits.

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false

stated on May 23, 2021 in a Facebook post

The sale of more than 600,000 Wisconsin deer licenses shows that Wisconsin’s hunters are the “eighth largest army in the world.”

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false

stated on June 2, 2022 in an opening statement at a House hearing

The U.S. Justice Department “conservatively estimated that guns are used 1.5 million times per year to save lives.”

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false

Charles Schumer

stated on May 25, 2022 in a floor speech

“The leading cause of death among children is a firearm.”

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mostly-true

stated on May 26, 2022 in a photo on Facebook

With the $53 billion spent in Ukraine aid, the U.S. “could pay five SWAT members $80,000 each and have them at EVERY school front door.”

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half-true

stated on May 25, 2022 in a press conference

"We need to realize that people who think that ‘well, maybe if we could just implement tougher gun laws, it’s going to solve it,’ Chicago and LA and New York disprove that thesis."

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barely-true

Ad Watch: Nikki Fried's ad bashes Charlie Crist's Republican past

Ad Watch: Nikki Fried's ad bashes Charlie Crist's Republican past

By Yacob Reyes • August 4, 2022

Examining Japan's gun laws after Shinzo Abe assassination

Examining Japan's gun laws after Shinzo Abe assassination

By Sara Swann • July 25, 2022

What Illinois’ ‘red flag’ gun law means after the Highland Park shooting

What Illinois’ ‘red flag’ gun law means after the Highland Park shooting

By Hana Stepnick • July 12, 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for June 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for June 2022

By Madeline Heim • July 8, 2022

Gun safety ‘wrapped in a mental health bill’: A look at health provisions in the new law

Gun safety ‘wrapped in a mental health bill’: A look at health provisions in the new law

By Victoria Knight • July 6, 2022

Evers-O-Meter update of Gov. Tony Evers campaign promises

Evers-O-Meter update of Gov. Tony Evers campaign promises

By D.L. Davis • July 5, 2022

Why does federal law make it easier for 18-year-olds to buy AR-15s than handguns?

Why does federal law make it easier for 18-year-olds to buy AR-15s than handguns?

By Madison Czopek • July 1, 2022

What is the ‘boyfriend loophole,’ and how does the new gun law close it?

What is the ‘boyfriend loophole,’ and how does the new gun law close it?

By Jon Greenberg • June 30, 2022

The history of the AR-15 and how it became a symbol of American gun culture

The history of the AR-15 and how it became a symbol of American gun culture

By Sara Swann • June 28, 2022

In Context: What Sarah Huckabee Sanders said about abortions and classroom safety

In Context: What Sarah Huckabee Sanders said about abortions and classroom safety

By Samantha Putterman • June 28, 2022

Congress passes historic bipartisan gun legislation: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

Congress passes historic bipartisan gun legislation: Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

By Maria Ramirez Uribe • June 24, 2022

What is in the Senate’s gun legislation proposal after the Uvalde shooting?

What is in the Senate’s gun legislation proposal after the Uvalde shooting?

By Maria Ramirez Uribe • June 15, 2022

Ask PolitiFact: What are red flag gun laws and do they keep people safe?

Ask PolitiFact: What are red flag gun laws and do they keep people safe?

By Amy Sherman • June 10, 2022

How many mass shootings have occurred since Uvalde tragedy?

How many mass shootings have occurred since Uvalde tragedy?

By Nusaiba Mizan • June 10, 2022

Political Extremism in the Public Square: A resource for journalists and voters

Political Extremism in the Public Square: A resource for journalists and voters

By Amy Sherman • June 9, 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for May 2022

PolitiFact Wisconsin 'High Five' for May 2022

By D.L. Davis • June 6, 2022

Is life as hard in Georgia as Stacey Abrams said? We checked her stats

Is life as hard in Georgia as Stacey Abrams said? We checked her stats

By Jon Greenberg • May 31, 2022

Fact-checking misinformation about the Uvalde school shooting

Fact-checking misinformation about the Uvalde school shooting

By Madison Czopek • May 27, 2022

Mailbag: The Uvalde shooting and gun control, Roe v. Wade, open borders, and more

Mailbag: The Uvalde shooting and gun control, Roe v. Wade, open borders, and more

By Jon Greenberg • May 27, 2022

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

Here’s how to avoid misinformation as you read about Uvalde and other mass shootings

By Bill McCarthy • May 25, 2022

Latest promises about Guns

Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act

End the online sale of firearms and ammunition

Require background checks for all gun sales

Ban the manufacture and sale of assault weapons and high-capacity magazines

Expand national right to carry to all 50 states

Eliminate gun-free zones at schools and military bases

Reverse Barack Obama's 2016 gun executive order

Work to renew the assault weapons ban

Better enforce gun laws

Repeal law that limits the sharing of gun-tracing data