Epic </rant> Bob, and spot on. Please feel free to have one of those everyday if you like.
— Dani Homados (@homados) May 14, 2016
Editor of BearingArms.com, Bob Owens, had a lot on his mind today when it comes to many in the media and self-described “gun safety” groups who willfully misrepresent the facts and/or just don’t know what they’re talking about:
The single defining trait of the #guncontrol movement in the United States is deep ignorance of firearms.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(1) I've spent more than 60 hours a week for the past 3 years studying #guncontrol politics and media. I've come to a series of conclusions.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(2) The first thing I'll address is the media coverage of firearms and firearms crimes.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(3) You would think that with the focus on firearms policy, crime, etc, that media outlets would develop in-house subject matter experts.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(4) That is decidedly not the case. I personally know of ONE reporter who has taken the time to go to multiple high-end gun classes.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(5) That knowledgeable journalist is @KatiePavlich (my colleague), and her competence shows in her reporting on firearms issues.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(6) I know that @EmilyMiller and a few others have some firearms training, but most journalists know NOTHING about guns.
It shows.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(7) Because most journalists are deeply ignorant about firearms, they can be easily led to fear them.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(8) This is sad, as reporting on something that you don't understand and fear leads you to getting it wrong most of the time.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
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(9) What's amusing about this is that most firearms experts I know would bend over backwards to train reporters who really want to learn.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(10) Firearms trainers know that if we can train reporters, that they'll have less fear, be more educated, more objective.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(11) Journalists better educated about firearms would be able to ask politicians proposing laws more insightful and meaningful questions.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(12) …and maybe that's why editors and producers want dumbed-down journalists. Educated journalists might ask tough questions.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(13) If a journalist dares to learn about firearms, they might ask questions politicians can't answer. It would be embarrassing.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(14) Can you imagine @NYGovCuomo having a reporter ask him how a 7-round magazine limit reduces crime? He'd sputter and wet himself.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(15) Frankly, NOTHING terrifies politicians and gun control groups like reporters educated about firearms and trained to use them.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(16) IF a reporter goes works up through basic firearms safety and then into intensive defensive courses like those at @GunsiteAcademy…
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(17) …they lose fear of the inanimate object that is a firearm. They still very much respect it as a tool…
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
18) …but realize it isn't sentient, or evil, or malicious. It's JUST a tool. A tool they control. And the lightbulb goes off.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(19) Once they have that revelation, they realize training and education are the key, not bans and restrictions.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(20) Of course, gun control proponents know this as well. Nothing scares @MomsDemand and @Everytown like actual firearms education.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(21) Nothing terrifies supporters of gun control like an educated person. They can't be bullied, or conned with emotional appeals.
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
(22) Gun control movements ONLY succeed by boldly lying, by conflating the tool used with human behavior.
Hence, "Gun violence."
— Bob Owens (@bob_owens) May 14, 2016
Read Owens’ timeline for more.
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