A Seattle Times editorial that reveals both news staff and editorial board wishes to see so-called “assault weapons” banned this year reveals a possible anti-gun bias. (Dave Workman)
A weekend editorial in the Seattle Times has signaled, albeit unintentionally, the need for Evergreen State Second Amendment activists to be alert for bias as the New Year unfolds because the newspaper acknowledged that both the editorial board and news staff would like to see a headline this year announcing an “assault weapons ban.”
Translation: Seattle newsies are fine with criminalizing the firearms owned by millions of law-abiding citizens. Who cares if they’ve never committed a crime?
The revelation probably surprises no Northwest gun owner. They are used to being treated like second-class citizens by the dominant media, as they are accustomed to having their constitutionally delineated right to keep and bear arms treated as a government-regulated privilege.
This comes as the City of Baltimore – where strict gun laws have been in place for years and it is virtually impossible for average citizens to obtain a concealed carry permit – racked up a record-breaking body count in 2017. They city logged 343 homicides this past year, making it bloodier per capita than New York or Chicago. During 2017, Chicago experienced 650 homicides, but it is much more populous than Baltimore, a city that has lost population in recent years.
Seattle Police data indicates fewer than 20 of the 25 murders in that city in 2017 involved firearms. Seattle has more residents than Baltimore, but a fraction of the murders. Baltimore probably logged more murders last year than all of Washington State. Yet the editorial board and newsroom staff of the Seattle Times, serving the state’s largest city and surrounding area, reportedly think a whole class of firearms needs to be banned in the Evergreen State, and at the national level.
This begs the question from firearms right advocates: Can Washington State gun owners expect any semblance of objectivity from the state’s largest circulation newspaper? Should they instead anticipate a torrent of biased reporting on the firearms issue?
They will have an opportunity to put their concerns to the test within days. The Legislature convenes Jan. 8 and there are already gun control bills on the agenda. Activists will gather at the Capitol at 9 a.m. on Jan. 12 to oppose a gun prohibition effort. Scheduled speakers will come from both sides of the aisle. The official state events calendar says only 150 people are anticipated, but organizers are pushing for a much larger turnout.
In addition to a proposal to ban so-called “assault weapons” or require licensing and registration there are announced efforts to undo state preemption and adopt a “safe storage” measure. The upcoming rally will ostensibly remind lawmakers that there are two sides to the gun rights issue.
