Are CNN Employees Part of the "Gun Culture"?

Former network employees were saved because they were armed...

By Robert A. Waters

A gunfight in a New Mexico Motel 6 left Tomorio Walton dead. The only people who ever heard of Walton were his many victims, law enforcement, and maybe a few friends and family members. He had a long history of law-breaking and, at the time of his death, had fled Tennessee in violation of his parole.

On the other hand, Lynne Russell (pictured) is a well-known former anchor of CNN News. She and her husband, former CNN correspondent Chuck de Caro, were the intended victims of an armed robbery by Walton. Turns out the two had concealed weapons permits and were packing handguns on their road-trip across America. After Walton shot de Caro three times, the former newsman returned fire, ending the threat.

The Associated Press reported that "Lynne Russell and her husband, Chuck de Caro, decided to stop at a Motel 6 on Albuquerque's western edge because they were tired after a long day of traveling. When she went out to the car to get something and returned to the room, a man was at the door with a handgun."

Russell said "he pushed me into the room and that's when my husband came out of the shower and saw what was happening. We tried to calm him, confuse him and do everything we could do to just come out of it in one piece."

Walton grabbed a briefcase and then began shooting at De Caro. Russell's husband was hit three times but retrieved his pistol and fired back. "It was a gun battle," Russell said. "Chuck was bleeding heavily, but he didn't stop firing because the man was firing on him."

De Caro, shot twice in the abdomen, spent weeks in the hospital recuperating. "He's my hero," Russell said. "He saved my life."

Because of Russell’s celebrity status, the incident made headline news in most American newspapers and television outlets. Many were surprised to find that two former CNN employees were part of what the liberal media routinely calls "the gun culture."

Former CNN anchor Piers Morgan recently wrote: "America’s gun culture is disgusting." Soledad O’Brien has also railed against guns. CNN guests regularly rip the NRA and gun-owners.

Fortunately, believers in gun rights make up a wide spectrum of the population, including tens of millions of Democrats. Liberals and moderates, as well as conservatives, depend on guns for protection.  This myriad of individuals was instrumental in passing the concealed weapons laws that allowed Russell and de Caro to save themselves.

In 1998, I interviewed a dozen people who successfully defended their lives and the lives of others from vicious attackers. Compiled in the now sold-out book, The Best Defense: True Stories of Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves with a Firearm, these stories emphasize the importance of being prepared if the occasion ever comes.  For instance, Sammie Foust was in her home minding her own business when a crackhead broke in and attacked her. After being robbed, beaten, and slashed repeatedly with a box-cutter knife, she retrieved her handgun and killed her assailant.

Sammie, who later died of cancer, would never have imagined that she was part of the so-called gun culture. In fact, the only reason she had a gun in the house was that a friend had given it to her and insisted she keep it for protection.

In Lynne Russell’s Blog, Russell writes: "The United States of America was not built on cozy tea-time chats with British troops. The principle of gun ownership and the citizen’s right to bear arms is not outdated…"

She and her husband proved that.

I’m glad they survived.