I emailed the AP writer at
to:
info@ap.org
To the AP and Deborah Hastings,
I write to you as one of the few people you will ever meet who has actually lived through an office shooting rampage (see "101 California St. Shootings, SF, 1993").
I am curious why in your recent article " Licensed to kill? Gunmen in killings had permits" April 7, 2009, you take the time to quote 2 gun control advocates - Mr. Vogel of Freedom States Alliance and the Brady Campaign and you go on to quote another gun control advocate from the US Conference of Mayors.
You don't dig too deep to find any pro-gun rights advocates - there are millions of responsible gun owners including millions of responsible carry permit holders. Just because the NRA wouldn't give a statement, doesn't mean you are done.
Journalists are supposed to uncover multiple points of view and report them - at least if the goal is an unbiased media reporting facts to the public. If the goal is something else, that's not journalism but merely publication of propaganda.
Where is the quote from Gun Owners of America? Where is the quote from the United States Concealed Carry Association? Where is the quote from the members of Open Carry.org?
Your one-sided reporting only serves to create more dissension and division in our society at a time when coming together and healing should be the watchword of the day.
Fact is, with about 300 million guns in America, and with the recent Supreme Court ruling in DC v Heller that a handgun for self-defense and defense against tyranny is an absolute right that pre-exists and is protected by the Second Amendment, it is clear that using these tragedies as an excuse to further anti-gun rights agendas is nothing more than political opportunism.
The NRA refrained from engaging in that kind of political opportunism but the anti-gun rights people are not shy about it. As a journalist, it is up to you to dig deeper and reveal multiple opinions rather than use your article as a chance to promote an anti-gun rights agenda.
Sincerely,