Spokesman Stephen Willeford explains why the abrupt change in policy is unnecessary censorship.
YouTube has been making some changes as of late to make its content more accessible for all ages. But in doing so, it’s creating a level of censorship that’s hard to ignore.
The popular website’s owner, Google, revealed a change in policy taking effect on June 18th. With it, “certain content” surrounding the removal of safety devices will be entirely removed, while showing the use of homemade firearms, automatic firearms and certain firearm accessories will be age restrictive.
The Gun Owners of America (GOA) recently made a statement on the matter. “Restricting access to adults only—for content that depicts wholly legal and constitutionally-protected activity—is wrong, and it aims to push a sinister narrative to minors that firearms are evil,” said Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President. “In turn, as younger generations come of age, they will not question or push back on further violations of our Second Amendment rights.”
“Alvin Bragg and his anti-gun friends have been aggressively pressuring YouTube to censor and directly prohibit certain content related to guns for years now, and sadly they just succeeded and free speech has once again become the victim,” said Aidan Johnston, GOA’s Director of Federal Affairs.
“Congress must demand answers from YouTube on how influential DA Bragg and gun control groups were in facilitating this change in policy and determine whether the Biden Administration or it’s White House Office of Gun Control was weaponized to force the censorship of Second Amendment content.”
Joining us now to discuss this further is Stephen Willeford, the spokesman for the Gun Owners of America. You may recall Willeford being the “hero with a gun” with the Sutherland Springs situation in 2017, in which he’s co-authored a book. His expertise on gun rights make him an ideal interviewee for this subject.
Q&A:
- What are your thoughts on this level of censorship and restrictiveness when it comes to these types of videos on YouTube?
- Do they really believe that someone could do harm by learning how to remove safety devices from firearms? Aren’t videos like these necessary for basic needs, such as cleaning?
- As for age restriction, wouldn’t people find a way to see these videos anyway? Does Google truly believe these could do harm to children?
- What level of involvement do you believe Alvin Bragg has in this matter? Could he have been the core reason as to why YouTube put such policies in place?
- What can YouTube users and channel runners do in an effort to speak out against this censorship?
- You recently wrote a book called A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy, revolving around your 2017 “hero with a gun” situation. Tell us more about how this came together, and why it’s such an important read right now.
- Where can people find your book?
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as Gun Owners of America?
- You can learn more at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com. You can also read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all gun rights issues, as well as the importance of Gun Owners of America. You can read more about him at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com.
CONTACT: Jerry McGlothlin 919-437-0001 or jerry@specialguests.com.
