Va. Citizens Defense League: Couric made us 'look like fools'
RICHMOND, VA (WWBT) - Nearly four months after her documentary enraged a Virginia-based gun rights group, well-known television personality Katie Couric now faces a $12 million defamation lawsuit.
In the documentary "Under the Gun," the former "Today" show host and "CBS Evening News" anchor asks members of the Virginia Citizens Defense League (VCDL), "If there are no background checks for gun purchasers, how do you prevent felons or terrorists from purchasing a gun?"
That question is followed by a long pause with members shown sitting in silence.
"I was shocked," said Philip Van Cleave with the Virginia Citizens Defense League. "That wasn't what happened. Several in there make a living with firearms, and their reputations were harmed because they didn't have an answer, according to the video, of a very simple question."
Van Cleave is now suing Couric for $12 million.
"So they need to be compensated for the harm this has done to them and to our organization," said Van Cleave. "As an organization we looked like fools."
"I regret that those eight seconds were misleading and that I did not raise my initial concerns more vigorously," Couric said this spring.
"They are still distributing the film. They are still promoting it, and they have not made changes," said Van Cleave. "That's like saying I'm sorry I stepped on your foot and then stepping on your foot again."
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