Latest round of shoddy journalism in Ohio focuses on mythical "gun show loophole"

by Gerard Valentino

Ohio's establishment media has a long history of taking sides in the debate on the right to keep and bear arms. In her coverage of the Dayton area gun show anti-gun protest at Hara Arena, Kelli Wynn of The Dayton Daily News managed to take that anti-gun bias to a new level.

Her fawning and overly-sympathetic coverage of the protest was a slap in the face to fair-minded Ohioans, regardless of their political affiliation or views on the gun issue.

By covering the event from her unflinchingly biased perspective, Wynn chose to dictate how Ohioans would view the issue, instead of simply reporting the facts and letting everyone decide on their own.

Not only does Wynn fail to give equal time to the pro-gun side of the debate, she covers the mythical "gun show loophole" as if it is accepted fact. Wynn doesn't even acknowledge that a debate exists about the validity of the anti-gun argument in this case. Instead, she chose to give them a complete pass and covered the protest as if the planners were free from political motivation.

In Ohio we've seen this type of reporter way too frequently. In the past, they've tried to pass off the politically motivated actions of the Ohio Fraternal Order of Police and the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association (OPAA) as unbiased on the gun issue.

All that despite the Fraternal Order of Police having never supported a bill designed to give law-abiding Ohioans more control over their own personal security. The OPAA also benefits whenever a criminal law is passed. By having more tools in their toolbox, they can be assured of a high conviction rate and therefore, a good job in a law firm when they leave public service.

In this case, Wynn chooses to afford local religious groups the same pass on the issue instead of following journalistic standards and presenting both sides. The fact remains that the "gun show loophole" is a myth fabricated out of thin air by anti-gun groups that are losing the battle to ban guns.

Even a quick Google search would have turned up several studies showing that guns used in crimes are not traced back to gun shows. But Wynn never opens up that line of questioning with the protest organizers or deviates from simply passing on their biased message as fact.

It's no wonder that stodgy and biased news outlets like The Dayton Daily News are losing circulation and therefore their ability to force a one-sided viewpoint on Ohioans.

From the article:

At gunshows locally and around the country, weapons are sold to people who otherwise would not pass a background check," Gale said.

By not challenging the Rev. Sherry Gayle of Grace United Methodist Church, Wynn gave Ohioans the impression that the statement by the Rev. Daryl Ward of Omega Baptist Church about guns bought at gun shows was true. The problem is, studies have shown that gun shows don't supply guns to criminals; criminals supply guns to criminals - a point seemingly lost on Wynn and the good Reverends.

It also isn't a coincidence that the rise of the Internet has coincided with a change in fortunes for gun ban organizations. Now that everyday Ohioans have easier access to information, the anti-gun message has been exposed as fraudulent.

Once the traditional media lost its ability to prop up the anti-gun lies and fear mongering, it didn't take long for the pro-gun side to gain the upper hand. After all, once people had access to legitimate crime statistics, the ability to verify that so-called "assault weapons" are really fully-automatic machine guns, and the information to show the difference between a true AK-47 and what is sold at guns stores, it not only opened people's eyes to the truth, but showed them how the anti-gun message was built on lies, manipulation and emotion-based propaganda.

The American people quickly realized the anti-gun message was made of smoke and then further realized that the traditional media had fed them lies without regard for the truth.

Exposing the biased reporting of the traditional media hasn't stopped reporters like Kelli Wynn from attempting to subvert honest debate on the gun issue. Often, when questioned, traditional media outlets harden their resolve and refuse to acknowledge that they are no longer seen as unbiased. Organizations like The Dayton Daily News and more famously, MSNBC, seem to relish their role as purveyors of the leftist agenda.

Still, pro-gun advocates have one huge and unassailable advantage.

Our message is not only valuable because it supports the values that built America including liberty, personal responsibility and individual rights, but it has the added benefit of being right.

There is simply no substitute for being right and having political values steeped in the traditions that built America. No matter how often the traditional media try connecting gun-rights to anti-government loons, white separatists and other right-wing hate groups, the truth remains and the American people see the difference between them and us.

Yet again, the traditional media's willingness to use anti-gun lies to tarnish all gun advocates plays into our hands. After all, average Ohioans who own guns don't like being preached to and accused of being unenlightened because they choose to own it gun. It also opens their eyes to just how far anti-gunners will go to destroy gun rights.

On the one hand, reporters like Kelli Wynn who use their position to push an anti-gun agenda hurt us because people only see the anti-gun side in her articles. But on the other hand, she helps us because when people see her shoddy journalism and realize just how easy it is to find out the truth, it exposes her as untrustworthy.

Since the DDN, Fraternal Order of Police, and certain religious organizations have never supported the unalienable right Ohioans have to self-defense, we can tag them with the anti-gun label.

By trying to use their perceived neutrality as a reason to give their viewpoint more credence, it exposes them as lacking integrity.

It also exposes them as liars.

Gerard Valentino is a member of the Buckeye Firearms Foundation Board of Directors and his first book, "The Valentino Chronicles – Observations of a Middle Class Conservative," is available through the Buckeye Firearms Association store..

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