Facing Controversy, Liberals Use Gun Control As a Shield

In a press conference last Thursday, reporters pressed Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr about the NBA's attempts to suppress support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters.

Asked if China's human rights abuses have come up during his visits to the country on behalf of the NBA, Kerr said they had not—and went on to decry America's "record of human rights abuses," pointing to gun rights as an example.

"People in China didn't ask me about, you know, people owning AR-15s and mowing each other down in a mall," Kerr said, adding that "the world is a complex place and there's more gray than black and white."

Kerr did not elaborate on why he believes the civilian right to own certain rifles or the criminal use of firearms constitutes a human rights abuse, but his pivot to the issue as he and his league sought to defuse a mounting scandal is just the latest example of progressive figures touting their support for gun control as they seek to defuse scandals that have supporters across party lines.