Just in case anybody doesn't think racism is screwing up the debate about guns

[spin]

9. The liberal media exists but they just may not reach your standard for being liberal.

I think we both can agree that a conservative media exists.

I am old enough to remember the days when every major city had at least two newspapers. It was common for one to lean left and the other lean right. During those days I would try to read the editorial opinions from both newspapers and then form my own opinion.

Today those days are long gone as the 24/7 cable news channels and the internet have largely replaced dead tree publications. Fox News is definitely biased conservative and is far from being fair and balanced as it suggests. MSNBC leans left and CNN is somewhere in the middle and boring.

I am retired and can watch all three and I then do my own research on the net to form my opinions.

Media bias in the United States

Media bias in the United States occurs when the media in the United States systematically presents a particular point of view. Claims of media bias in the United States include claims of liberal bias, conservative bias, mainstream bias, and corporate bias. There are claims of bias in both news and entertainment media. There are a variety of watchdog groups that attempt to find the facts behind both biased reporting and unfounded claims of bias,[1][2] and research about media bias is a subject of systematic scholarship in a variety of disciplines.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Media_bias_in_the_United_States

I suggest you take the time to read this lengthy article which seems to me to be fairly balanced.

In the discussion above which largely involved the issue of gun control, I stated:

The gun control debate is an example of an issue where both sides have developed a hatred of each other. Both sides are far too willing to throw insults rather than to listen to the good points that each side has to support its views. Both the conservative and the liberal media promote this divide to increase sales of their publications and increase profit. The NRA and the gun control groups both pour gasoline on the flames to promote membership and donations. The two political parties take sides not on principle but to gain votes for reelection.

The conservative media often suggests that an AR-15 is an excellent weapon for home defense and that women find it easy to use. The fact is that any moderately powered rifle is a poor choice for home defense in an urban area as it can easily penetrate the walls in your home and not only endangers others in your house but your near neighbors. It may be a good weapon in a rural area if you are attacked by a large number of predators at a long range but this is extremely unlikely. In my opinion a handgun or a shotgun is a better choice if loaded with appropriate ammunition.

The liberal media claims that there is absolutely no use for an AR-15 or similar assault weapon as they are designed only for military use and are absolutely useless except for killing people. The fact is the AR-15 in .223 (the most common caliber) is used in many states for hunting game such as feral hog and even deer and is becoming very popular with hunters. This firearm can be easily modified to fire more powerful rounds that are quite capable of hunting large game. The liberal media also says that there is no reason to hunt game with a 20 or 30 round magazine and most states agree. While in some states you can hunt feral hog with a high capacity magazine as they are considered pests that do considerable damage to the environment, hunting game such as deer is usually limited to semi-auto rifles with only a five round magazine buy state regulations in those states that allow it. AR-15s are also extremely popular with competitive target shooters and used in national completions.

In order to learn enough to form a good opinion on any issue it is necessary to consider both sides of the debate. Admittedly this takes time and is challenging.