Washington Post: The Hidden Life of Guns

[A-R]

Mentioned this in another thread, but figured discussion of this massive newspaper hatchet job deserves its own thread for discussion etc.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sp ... tion/guns/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[steveincowtown]

I have dislike for the post in ways which cannot be expressed in a public forum:

Exhibit A:

"Legal purchase was the leading source of weapons used to kill police officers. In 107 slayings, the killers acquired their firearms legally. In 170 deaths, The Post could not determine how the shooters got their guns, including 29 killings in which weapons were not recovered."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 02865.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If in 170 deaths they could not determine how the shooter got their guns, than the leading source is "undetermined", not "acquired legally."

I did a very complex mathematical algorithm to determine that the number 170 is actually is more than 107. I will have to email them the formula....

[Texas Dan Mosby]

Wow...

That link made my head hurt.

[jimlongley]

If you add up all of the truly illegally obtained firearms, they far outnumber the "107 . . .killers acquired their firearms legally"

It's just the same old "Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics."

The way they break down the categories and leave out; ones taken from friends and relatives, and ones taken from the police, from the illegally obtained, then you get their numbers - if you count all illegal sources together, it tells a whole different story.

I wonder if they'll be so brave as to publish my letter.