Warsaw's Idea
From: AJMD <mailto:jstones@scican.net>
To: stateeditor@thestate.com
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 10:24 PM
Subject: Warsaw's Idea
Submission for letter to editor:
John Warsaw (Jan. 8th letter: http://web.thestate.com/content/columbia/2002/01/08/opletter/warsawweb08.htm) wants to impose a waiting period on the media to guard against misuse of their
First Amendment rights. What Warsaw fails to realize is that unlike other issues,
the "gun" issue has two facets, rendering his argument (or any other
rational one) null and void.
You see, the issue is so heart-wrenching and vitally
important (because we have a "crisis" on our hands, don't you know!)
that reporters must rush to get the story, and don't have time to get the basic
facts right, much less present both sides. On the other hand, when calmer times
prompt some to push for a more detailed exploration of the issue, it suddenly
is NOT a very important issue, and valuable space/time cannot be used to debate
"trivialities."
Even doctors handle it that way - our journals do
stories of "crusading physicians" who are out to ban guns, decorated
with numerous sidebars of distorted and fabricated (but scary) "facts"
supporting their position. At the end, ten anti-gun sources are given, and "the
NRA" is the only citation on the other side; they don't bother to mention
the thoroughly-documented research by Kates, Lott, Wright, Kleck, Rossi, Kopel,
and other serious criminologists.
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws (www.dsgl.org)
has that information in our "favorite links" for those citizens and
journalists who care to broaden their horizons.
Andrew Johnstone, RPh/MD
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws
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