Cincy papers court gun dollars; discriminate against gun owners

The OFCC PAC has learned that the Cincinnati Enquirer and Cincinnati Post have recently, and very quietly, enacted a policy of denying advertising space to individuals who wish to offer a firearm for sale via the classifieds.

The following email was received by a major Cincinnati firearms retailer two months ago. The writer of the email, Scott DaVault, is no longer working for the company.

----- Original Message -----
From: "DaVault, Scott"
To: Joe Blanco [[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 4:24 PM
Subject: Information Request

As of 1/12/05 The Enquirer and Post have stopped taking gun-related ads from private parties and will only be accepting classified ads from licensed businesses. I am contacting you to inquire about any possibility that your business would be interested in filling the vacancies resulting from this loss of private party advertising. The ads being removed are located in both the For Sale and Wanted sections of the paper.

If this is of interest to you, or if you have questions or comments, please contact me.

Best Regards,
Scott

Target World President Joe Blanco wasted no time in responding to this hypocritical request.

Click on the "Read More..." link below for more.

Blanco's response was as follows:

-----Original Message-----
From: Joe Blanco [[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, January 12, 2005 8:05 PM
To: DaVault, Scott
Subject: Re: Information Request

Scott,

It's a shame that the Enquirer has made that decision. Is there a reason the decision was made, other than the perceived political correctness? As a business decision, it may backfire once the firearms community becomes aware of it. Even though firearms sales may be only a small part of your advertising, the gun owner's rights community tends to be very active and unified in their efforts, and I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't see a boycott of the Enquirer.

If I was to advertise with you, it would also backfire against me if my customers believed that I was willing to support organizations that they believe are trying to suppress their rights, which I am not.

I recommend that you pass this message on to whomever at the Enquirer has the authority to reverse the decision to not allow private party firearms advertising.

Joe Blanco
President, Target World

Blanco received the following response from this classified ad sales person.

----- Original Message -----
From: "DaVault, Scott"
To: Joe Blanco [[email protected]]
Cc: "Lark, Mary" [email protected]
Sent: Thursday, January 13, 2005 9:22 AM
Subject: RE: Information Request

Joe,

Thank you for your response. In regards to your first question, I am not privy to the reasoning leading up to the policy change by the Enquirer's management. I am forwarding a copy of our correspondence on to my own manager who may be able to better address your concerns and/or forward those concerns on to those responsible for the change in policy.

Best Regards,
Scott DaVault
Enquirer/Post Classifieds
513-768-8679

Blanco reports that he has received no further communications from the newspaper, and an email to DaVault's manager, Mary Lark, has gone unanswered.

The OFCC PAC volunteer who helped with the investigation of these newspapers' policy changes observed that "this is hypocrisy at its finest - a company that will no longer accept dollars from the same private citizens who buy and support the paper will still accept dollars from [firearms-related] business. Makes me wonder what the rate difference will be."

Will businesses continue to buy ads if the private citizens they are discriminating against stop buying the papers? Will firearms-related businesses buy ads if consumers refuse to support those who buy advertising these newspapers? Only time will tell.

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The "Million" Mom March, which is a front for the Brady Campaign, which is a front for Handgun Control Inc., is conspiring with anti-gun newspapers in a plot to refuse to do business with law-abiding citizens wishing to sell or buy a firearm (a legal product and transaction) via the classified ads.

Gary Mehalik, director of communications for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, has said the problems he perceives with this anti-gun campaign extend beyond its Second Amendment implications.

"The mischaracterized 'gun show loophole' is now being called a 'classified gun ad loophole,' and soon, it will be a 'free commerce loophole' because what's being proposed is the cessation of the American way of doing business."

Mehalik also wondered why the campaign is not targeting other products routinely offered for private sale through classified ads.

"The fact of the matter is: Every day, newspapers carry advertisements for products and services that criminals might misuse," he continued. "They sell 'getaway cars' in the used car section, 'arson tools' in the sports section, whether it be lighters or gasoline or waterproof matches for sportsmen. There's lots of stuff that can be misused."

The reason those products aren't being targeted is because cars and fires are "politically correct," while guns are not.

Persons wishing to contact the Enquirer/ Post about their discriminatory policy may do so by clicking here, or by calling President and Publisher Margaret Buchanan at 513-768-8094.