Did You Know...

**Written by Doug Powers

People employed by NBC have spoken out against guns and gun shows in the past three-plus weeks. Chris Matthews has asked “why do we have to have gun shows?” Touré said of gun shows, “some people call them Tupperware parties for thugs.” And of course NBC Sports’ Bob Costas delivered an anti-gun lecture during halftime of an NFL game that drew a lot of attention.

As it turns out, if they have a problem with what they consider to be the promotion of a “gun culture,” they should have a chat with the people who sign their paychecks:

NBC Sports, home to gun-control advocate Bob Costas, is sticking with its commitment to be a sponsor of the largest U.S. gun trade show next week, a month after a school shooting in Connecticut killed 20 children.

NBC Sports Network will remain the 2013 SHOT Show New Product Center Sponsor, said Greg Hughes, a spokesman for the channel. Costas, one of NBC’s marquee broadcasters, criticized gun laws weeks before the Connecticut shooting, after the murder-suicide of a Kansas City Chiefs football player.
[...]
NBC Sports Network, formerly called Versus, has been a sponsor of the show for “several years,” according to Hughes. The cable channel airs hunting and fishing shows and participates as a sponsor “as part of our commitment to our outdoor-programming block,” he said in a phone interview.

On the other side of the coin, if a gun show promoter wanted to sponsor, say, Hardball, would NBC (and Chris Matthews for that matter) say?

The SHOT Show should suggest making NBC’s sponsorship a trade deal just to make it fair: NBC Sports is only allowed to be a sponsor of the SHOT Show as long as the SHOT Show is allowed to be a prominent sponsor this Sunday’s edition of Meet the Press. (crickets)

NBC is owned by Comcast, whose chief lobbyist, David Cohen, took part in Sheriff Joe Biden’s gun violence task force. Cohen is a big Obama supporter and fundraiser, as is the company’s CEO. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which hosts the SHOT Show, also met with Biden.

(h/t Patriot Update)

**Written by Doug Powers

Twitter @ThePowersThatBe