First, I want to tell you a personal story, back in the 1980s, when I was a correspondent at ABC News there was a plane crash that killed the parents of a young girl. I was assigned to talk with the teenager to get so-called reaction and I did my job. But the pain on her face was so intense that I vowed never again to interview a victim so soon after a tragedy. And I have kept that vow.

This week, the media was all over the Navy Yard massacre in Washington. And some of the liberal press used the murders to advance their anti-gun agenda -- awful. But not only that they were wrong in what they reported.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are reporting here at CNN just this hour that an AR-15 used in some of those recent horrific mass shootings was used again in this one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sources say with that assault rifle, which we believe to be an AR-15, Alexis, essentially was a sniper.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does a guy walk into a facility like that with an AR-15, a double-barreled shotgun and handgun and go unnoticed?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The AR-15 that was used today was used in Newtown, was used in Aurora, it's been used in almost all of the mass shootings in the last two years or so in America.

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O'REILLY: I don't know how that happens but when the media erroneously reports something, instead of checking it out some ideological politicians jump to exploit the fallacy.

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SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: The gunman appeared with assault rifle, several other weapons. At the end of it 12 innocent people died another dozen or so serious injured. How did he get these weapons into this Navy Yard -- an assault rifle and other firearms?

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O'REILLY: Again, it never happened. Senator Durbin wasn't alone. Other left-wing politicians seized upon the massacre to hammer home their anti-gun agenda.

Here is how bad it really was. The "New York Daily News" ran a front page head line which red "Same gun, different slay" in reference to the Colorado theater shooting and the Sandy Hook massacres. But it wasn't the same gun.

MSNBC made a big deal about the killer having an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon but that was false. To be fair Fox News also reported the AR-15 but we didn't celebrate it. The "Los Angeles Times" reported that the killer engaged in a running gun battle with Navy security guards while carrying the AR-15 -- again false.

"The Washington Post" editorial board asked how the killer got the assault rifle into the Navy Yard, but he didn't do that. "New York Times" and CNN also referenced the AR-15 falsely.

Now everybody makes mistakes. But this was a coordinated effort, kind of a hysterical reaction. There is no question the American media is opposing the majority of Americans over the Second Amendment. And the reason is that most journalists live in secure places. Here in New York City, many press people live in high-rise apartment buildings protected from intruders.

But most Americans don't have the money to do that. So they must protect themselves. That's why the founding fathers put the Second Amendment into the Constitution -- self-protection.

Once again, when Americans lose their lives to violent crime, that situation should never ever be exploited for political gain.

And that's "The Memo."

- You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the Fox News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com.