ABC Cincinnati schools local NBC competitors on OBJECTIVE reporting on guns

By Chad D. Baus

Many readers of this website will recall the media bias that was exposed in NBC Cincinnati (WLWT Ch. 5) reporter Eric Flack's undercover piece on the non-existent ''gun show loophole'' on November 19. Fast forward one week later, and it was ABC Cincinnati's (WCPO Ch. 9) turn for a special report on firearms ownership.

But the difference between the way both news stations handled the subject could not have been more stark.

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From ABC Cincinnati:

We are not going to pass judgement on the law or its politics, the fact is, more than 90,000 Ohioans are now licensed to carry guns out of sight. We wanted to find out who they are, and what kind of training they receive.

Now compare the objective approach to the story taken by ABC to the attitude NBC's Eric Flack admits to having taken when preparing his report:

...It floors me that there are ways to get
high powered firearms in this country without going
through a background check. Even if the number of
criminals who get their guns from gun shows is small, any action that might make it harder for the bad guys to pick up guns is worthwhile in my book. ...While I support the rights of those who
wish to bear arms, I fight for the rights of those who want to take every step to keep guns out of the hands of those who shouldn't have them.

From those two clearly stated perspectives offered by the reporters who prepared the stories, it is easy to guess the type of reporting which followed - from NBC Cincinnati, a factually erroneous, emotionally biased, gun control extremist's buzz words-filled report report, and from ABC Cincinnati, an objective, open-minded presentation of the subject matter.

From ABC's report, entitled "9 On Your Side: Inside A Concealed Carry Class":

A single mom, a father and his daughter and a University of Cincinnati law student all have something in common: they are all working to get their license to carry concealed handguns.

Jade Stewart and her husband signed up for the certification class at Woodhill Training in Cleves, where instructors show people when to use their guns, and more importantly, when not to use their guns.

"[If] I'm traveling alone, or I'm in an unsafe situation, [then] I can feel like I have the protection if someone accosts me," explained Jade Stewart. "If your life is threatened, that's the only time you're allowed to shoot," explained instructor Tom Wood. "If you're in mortal fear of losing your life - pull the trigger."

Wood was a Cincinnati police officer for twenty years, and now he's teaching citizens how to carry the responsibility that comes with carrying a gun.

"[Use] the firearm, as we have homeowners' insurance, as a last resort for a catastrophic situation," Wood said.

"It's certainly nothing that you ever plan on using, and hopefully I'll go my entire life without having ever used it," Steward adds.

But can you tell who is carrying concealed? "The bad guy's got to be thinking, 'does this person have a gun or not?" said Doug Sayre, a license holder. "The whole idea is to keep the bad guys at bay."

The ABC story continues with a discussion of a single mother who chooses to exercise her right to bear arms for self-defense:

Laquisa Harrison is young, female, and a single mother: all attributes that contradict the stereotype of a gun owner, but also reasons Harrison wants to carry a firearm.

"I need some type of protection to protect me, myself and my daughter," Harrison said.

It's a twelve- hour course that arms the student not just with guns, but with knowledge that could save their life, even without taking another's.

"When you pull the trigger, you can't call the bullet back," Wood warns.

The Ohio permit allows residents to carry concealed handguns in 18 other states, including Kentucky.

In our area, there are more legally-concealed firearms than other parts of Ohio. Both Montgomery and Clermont counties have issued more concealed carry licenses than any other counties in the state.

I don't think it was planned, but Cincinnati's ABC affiliate couldn't have done a better job at showing up the competion over at NBC Cincinnati if they had published a report entitled "How NBC's anti-gun bias effects its reporting", and they deserve our thanks.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman and Northwest Ohio Chair.