Gun-Toting Geraldo On The Streets Of New York

When it comes to combining campy, staged video with liberalism nobody tops Geraldo Rivera. On last night's Geraldo At Large, in a story about proposed legislation to lower the hunting age in Wisconsin Rivera, seen holding a rifle outside the Fox studios in New York, crouched down to get a child's opinion on the law: "So get this, there’s a new bill pending in the state of Wisconsin that would lower that state’s legal hunting age, putting loaded guns into the hands of children between the ages of eight and eleven. Kids like William here, making them bonafide gun-toting hunters. So what do you think of that idea William?"

William: "I hate it."

Rivera: "You hate it? Ooh!"

And later in the show Rivera, supposedly on vacation, called for Puerto Rican statehood from the deck of his sailboat:

Rivera: "You know Laurie the shootout and its aftermath has incited great debate on the future status of Puerto Rico. Now many, including me, wonder if the FBI can act so dramatically, so decisively without even telling the island’s governor what the real deal is whether the time has finally come either to ask Congress for full statehood, which is what I believe, or to declare independence from the United States. That’s it for me, back to you in New York."

The following are some more portions from each report. First Rivera's Young Hunters report:

Laurie Dhue's tease at the top of the show: "Plus supporters say it’s a great sport for children but critics say it’s handing kids a license to kill. How young is too young to hunt? Tonight will one father’s tragic tale serve as a wakeup call for lawmakers and sportsmen who want to hand eight-year-olds loaded shotguns?"

...

Dhue introducing the piece: "You know there’s nothing like sending your child into the great outdoors. But in some states there is legislation on the block that could turn youngsters into shotgun-toting sportsmen, sparking a fiery debate in the forest. Geraldo has the story."

Rivera: "Fact: Their young brains lack a fully developed sense of judgement and consequences. Fact: Their immature bodies lack fully developed strength and coordination. So get this, there’s a new bill pending in the state of Wisconsin that would lower that state’s legal hunting age, putting loaded guns into the hands of children between the ages of eight and eleven. Kids like William here, making them bonafide gun-toting hunters. So what do you think of that idea William?"

...

Dhue: "Now to Puerto Rico where Geraldo reports on trouble in paradise."

Rivera from the deck of his sailboat: "Hi Laurie. Erica, the kids and I love really coming down here to Puerto Rico. It’s our version of the Old Country. But on this particular trip this normally mellow, laid back island has a different and much more angry vibe. It’s all because of a controversial FBI shootout that left a radical pro-independence fugitive dead. People from the man on the street to the governor demanding a congressional investigation and many even questioning the basic relationship between Puerto Rico and the United States. "

William: "I hate it."

Rivera: "You hate it? Ooh! What do you think? The debate pits supporters who say this is a parent’s rights issue."

...

Rivera concluding the report from the deck of his boat: "You know Laurie the shootout and its aftermath has incited great debate on the future status of Puerto Rico. Now many, including me, wonder if the FBI can act so dramatically, so decisively without even telling the island’s governor what the real deal is whether the time has finally come either to ask Congress for full statehood, which is what I believe, or to declare independence from the United States. That’s it for me, back to you in New York."