Slate Writer asks for Facts on Guns and Gun Law Coverage

Gun Watch ^ | 21 June, 2016 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Rachael Larimore, a Senior Editor at Slate, has written a unusual piece for the publication.  It is titled Bullet Points.  You can be forgiven for expecting this will be another uninformed diatribe against those evil conservatives, who if they would only stop licking the boots of their NRA masters, would allow common sense legislation to pass that would prevent crime by outlawing evil guns.  The expected would, in this case, be wrong.

Ms Larimore, who has been at Slate since 2002, was, as of 2008, the only Republican at the publication.  That makes her remarkable.  She actually knows how to do research on the Internet.  The article does a good job of excoriating the leftist media for being consistently wrong about guns.  Not about policy; Rachel only hints at that.  But it follows that you are unlikely to get policy right when you do not know the most basic facts about guns or gun law.  From Rachel Larimore  at slate.com:

There are many reasons that this cycle repeats as it does. We live in a divided society where people cocoon with like-minded allies, and we’ve stopped listening to the other side. The NRA is powerful. We get distracted and move on to the next shiny thing. But one important point: The mainstream media lobbies hard for gun control, but it is very, very bad at gun journalism. It might be impossible ever to bridge the divide between the gun-control and gun-rights movements. But it’s impossible to start a dialogue when you don’t know what the hell you are talking about.

Media stories in the wake of mass shootings typically feature a laundry list of mistakes that reflect their writers’ inexperience with guns and gun culture. Some of them are small but telling: conflating automatic and semi-automatic weapons, assault rifle and assault weapon, caliber and gauge—all demonstrating a general lack of familiarity with firearms. Some of them are bigger. Like calling for “common-sense gun control” and “universal background checks” after instances in which a shooter purchased a gun legally and passed background checks. Or focusing on mass shootings involving assault weapons—and thereby ignoring statistics that show that far more people die from handguns.

Rachel gets everything right in the article.  There is only so much that you can put in a short article, and I do not expect her to be a subject matter expert. At the end of the article she suggests that Slate dedicate a staffer who is experienced with and knowledgeable about guns to write about them, just as they have dedicated people who write about sports or legislation, or judicial decisions.  Perhaps Rachel has someone in mind.  Perhaps she would like the assignment herself.  She has demonstrated more knowledge about the subject than the rest of Slate put together.

The time might be right.  The Washington Post owns Slate.  Jeff Bezos owns the Washington Post.  After Bezos took over the Post added The Volokh Conspiracy blog to the Post's stable.  I regularly read the Volokh Conspiracy.  Eugen Volokh is arguably the most knowledgeable and brilliant legal mind on the planet, when it comes to the Second Amendment.

Perhaps something similar will happen at Slate.  Rachel would be a welcome exception to the ignorance and bias that is routinely seen.  A discussion on the issue of reform of the gun laws, based on fact, would be a refreshing and likely, profitable, change for the publication.

 ©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

Most disarmists are proudly ignorant of firearms an firearms law.

[fruser1]

This is the root of their problem. Once they become informed, they switch sides and support 2A. So, by definition, anti-2A folks don’t know what they’re talking about.

If you were some kind of shut in, and the only thing you heard or knew about cars were news reports of multi-vehicle pileups on freeways, you might be inclined to think, “Why don’t we just get rid of cars?”.

[marktwain]

“Why don’t we just get rid of cars?”.

There are a lot of urban “progressives” who think exactly that. It is not a tiny movement.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

It would be nice if Ms. Larimore would explain her distinction between assault rifle and “assault weapon”.

[elcid1970]

Attention should also be focused on the world’s deadliest “assault religion” - Islam.

[stylin19a]

yep...Ronald Reagan called it
"It isn't so much that liberals are ignorant. It's just that they know so many things that aren't so."

[Gaffer]

My personal definition of anything “assault” as related to type is that it is carried by SWATSTAPO.

[FreedomPoster]

>>She has demonstrated more knowledge about the subject than the rest of Slate put together.

That is a really low bar. There is a reason this meme resonates so well with many:

[556x45]

The press is by and large the propaganda arm of the democrat party. Their job isnt to present facts or fairly compare views/positions. Its about furthering the goals of a particular ideology. Some reporters are all in with that and others easily lead to a predetermined conclusion.

[V_TWIN]

This always cracks me up...........because it’s true!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJlLf6uZm4s

[IamConservative]

Since most deaths by firearms are democrats shooting democrats, why don’t they voluntarily disarm and leave responsible gun owners alone?

[marktwain]

That would imply responsible action.

Democrats are all about holding other people responsible for their actions.

Most of the theory of “progressivism” is tha people are *not* responsible, so a big government is necessary to order them about and tell them what to do and think.

[Former Proud Canadian]

It is useless to have a discussion about guns unless you have some experience with them. I won’t discuss “assault weapons” or “automatic rifles” with anyone unless they have shot an AR-15 or similar. Just ask them to define an “assault weapon” and watch the synapses start to smoke.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

Well, I overcame my reluctance to click on Slate, and actually read the Larimore article. She does explain the distinction there. My fault for not reading more than the excerpt before posting. (Not the first time, probably not the last.)

[GOPJ]

“Car Violence” kills millions worldwide -- it's time to tax gas stations out of existence...

[NorthMountain]

Remarkably intelligent article, and from Slate.

[marktwain]

Yes, she is the token Republican.

[MileHi]

There are a lot of urban “progressives” who think exactly that. It is not a tiny movement.

They reside at the Agenda21 high-rise next to the light rail line.