ABC lets Reagan shooter John Hinckley advocate gun control, Twitter slams 'off the rails' interview

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ABC lets Reagan shooter John Hinckley advocate gun control, Twitter slams 'off the rails' interview

In addition to ABC giving the would-be assassin an opportunity to express remorse, the outlet allowed John Hinckley Jr. to weigh in on gun control laws that were put in place by the U.S. government since he shot and wounded President Reagan. 

Several conservative Twitter accounts expressed shock and anger over ABC using the attempted-Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. to promote gun control in a recent Nightline Interview.

Hinckley, who was recently released from 41 years of federal medical supervision for the attempted assassination of President Reagan, sat down with ABC News journalist Juju Chang to talk about how he’s a changed man and that he’d like society to acknowledge that.

In addition to ABC giving Hinckley an opportunity to express remorse, the outlet allowed him to weigh in on gun control laws that were put in place by the U.S. government since he shot and wounded President Reagan. 

The interview aired Tuesday evening, the day after the horrific mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois which claimed seven lives.

ABC promotes gun control talking points from President Reagan's attempted assassin during a recent Nightline interview.

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Hinckley claimed that the mentally ill should not have access to firearms and made a blanket declaration that there are too many guns in America.

After talking about Hinckley’s various mental illnesses which led to the attempted-murder of President Reagan and an acquittal for the crimes "by reason of insanity", Chang brought up gun control measures.

The ABC reporter recounted, "Hinckley’s crimes back in 1981 changed gun control in the U.S. In 1993, James Brady and his wife Sarah helped pass the Brady Act." Addressing Hinckley directly, Chang stated, "And the Brady Law ushered in a waiting period and background checks – especially with regard to people who are suffering mental illness."

Then Hinckley started giving his gun control opinions. "Well, I certainly don’t think the mentally ill should have access to guns. I mean that’s kind of obvious," he declared.

"Background checks are good and waiting periods are good," he added before proclaiming, "I think there’s too many guns in America."

30th March 1981: A man holding an automatic rifle, men lying on the sidewalk, members of the press, and cars at the assassination attempt on United States president Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington, D.C. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) ____ John Hinckley, Jr. mugshot in on March 30, 1981. (Photo courtesy Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images)

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Chang mentioned the significance Hinckley’s point, "And coming from you, that’s quite a statement." He responded, "Well, I hope it is. Because it’s the way I feel."

Chang then reported that "There was no background check system when Hinckley bought his gun a Texas pawn shop with a fake I.D. – a felony offense."

Though promoting Reagan’s would-be assassin advocating for gun control did not sit well with conservative accounts on Twitter. 

Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton took a swipe at the network and its segment, tweeting, "@ABC ‘News’ gives man who tried to murder Reagan a platform to spout off on gun control."

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Conservative media watchdog, The Media Research Center, slammed the ABC, tweeting, "Need more proof that the leftist media have gone off the rails? ABC is seriously promoting attempted Ronald Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. as someone to listen to about gun control."

Conservative pundit Sebastian Gorka tweeted, "He tried to KILL President Reagan and NOW he says ‘there are too many guns in America’ EVEN WORSE @ABCNews ACTUALLY gives this guy air time!"

FILE - In this Nov. 18, 2003 file photo, John Hinckley Jr. arrives at U.S. District Court in Washington. A judge has ruled that the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan can move out of his mother’s house. U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman ordered Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, that Hinckley can live by himself or with others within 75 miles of Williamsburg, Va. Hinckley left a mental hospital to live with his mother in Williamsburg in 2016.   (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)