New York Times totally screws up gun statistics – anti-gun agenda on display

This totally ticks me off. This bastard at the New York Times – Michael Luo – should be fired immediately for creating a totally false news story. Of course, I don’t expect the Times to do a damn thing about this mis-characterization of concealed weapon permit holders, it’s par for the course.

Regarding carry permits, Luo writes

The bedrock argument for this movement is that permit holders are law-abiding citizens who should be able to carry guns in public to protect themselves. “These are people who have proven themselves to be among the most responsible and safe members of our community,” the federal legislation’s author, Representative Cliff Stearns, Republican of Florida, said on the House floor.

To assess that claim, The New York Times examined the permit program in North Carolina, one of a dwindling number of states where the identities of permit holders remain public. The review, encompassing the last five years, offers a rare, detailed look at how a liberalized concealed weapons law has played out in one state. And while it does not provide answers, it does raise questions.

More than 2,400 permit holders were convicted of felonies or misdemeanors, excluding traffic-related crimes, over the five-year period, The Times found when it compared databases of recent criminal court cases and licensees. While the figure represents a small percentage of those with permits, more than 200 were convicted of felonies, including at least 10 who committed murder or manslaughter. All but two of the killers used a gun.

As soon as I read this, I knew he was going to completely leave out statistics concerning felonies and misdemeanors for the general population of North Carolina. I read the rest of the man’s drivel and was not disappointed.

Robert VerBruggen at NRO’s The Corner took the few minutes required to look at the easily accessible data Luo completely ignores in his white-washed opinion piece. He lets readers know – again – that those who hold pistol or concealed carry permits are high-quality residents across the board when it comes to everything from murder to traffic citations.

There are about 230,000 valid concealed-carry permits in North Carolina, so by pure chance, you’d expect these folks to be responsible for nearly 60 murders over five years. And yet only ten of them committed murder or manslaughter. Instead of “rais[ing] questions,” theTimes has demonstrated yet again that permit holders are more peaceful than the general population.

Luo goes on…

Charles Dowdle of Franklin was convicted of multiple felonies in 2006 for threatening to kill his girlfriend and chasing her to her sister’s house, where he fired a shotgun round through a closed door. He then pointed the gun at the sister, who knocked it away, causing it to fire again. Mr. Dowdle was sentenced to probation, but his concealed handgun permit remained active until it expired in 2009.

Mr. Dowdle, 63, said in a telephone interview that although he gave away his guns after his conviction, no one had ever done anything about his permit. He said he “could probably have purchased” a gun with it but had not done so because federal law forbade it.

How the hell does Luo or Dowdle figure just because he had the physical permit he would probably have access to purchase a gun? Two additional minutes of research would inform the biased author that the permit is not the only thing required when purchasing a pistol or rifle. The dealer must call for the required background check.

Was even one of the convicted felons who supposedly still had their permit able to purchase a firearm at a dealer? Luo probably could not find one in five years, so he does not mention anyone, but that wouldn’t stop him from writing this garbage.

I’m requesting the NYT to correct the obvious bias. I’ll be ignored.

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Steve McGough

Steve's a part-time conservative blogger. Steve grew up in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, D.C. and the Bahamas. He resides in Connecticut, where he’s comfortable six months of the year.

14 Comments

  1. Dimsdale on December 27, 2011 at 9:45 pm

    If you take out the false or contrived “news” stories in the NYT, all you would be left with would be the advertising!
    ?
    Hmmm.? So about 1% of permit holders were convicted of felonies and misdemeanors (excluding vehicular crimes), and of that, 0.004% were convicted of murder or manslaughter?? Oh my!? Ban all the guns!!? Hide under the bed: the gun permit holders are coming!!!? 😉
    ?
    I wonder what percentage of non gun permit holding, Mexican cartel members supplied with guns and rifles by the Dept. of “Justice’s” “Fast and Furious” program committed felonies (excluding vehicular convictions, of course)?
    ?
    Would Mr. Luo care to comment?



  2. JBS on December 28, 2011 at 8:01 am

    The Daily Fish Wrapper proves yet again that by telling lies, half-truths and distorting statistics, a fiction can be told.?
    Why do Liberals try to control everyone and everything around them? They will bend “facts” to suit their needs regardless of reality.



  3. BobInTN on December 28, 2011 at 9:04 am

    East Tennessee is full of “Bitter Clingers”. The last shooting story I read about concerned a 74 year old woman unloaded her shotgun on someone who broke into her house. I personally have concealed carry permit but will probably not renew it. I never carry. I don’t feel that I need to. I’m more afraid our Department of Justice plotting with Obama to diminish our Second Amendment rights.



  4. Plainvillian on December 28, 2011 at 9:10 am

    Once again, the NYT is the pyromaniac running amok in a field of straw men.? Mr. Luo obviously does not understand that the shotgun referred to in his story is not a handgun subject to concealed carry permit limitations but a long gun governed by hunting regulations.



  5. Dimsdale on December 28, 2011 at 10:34 am

    John Lott, noted author of “More guns, less crime”, also commented on Luo’s article: http://johnrlott.blogspot.com/2011/12/michael-luo-of-new-york-times-on.html
    ?
    What do you expect from Luo, with B.S. in Government from Harvard, hired by the NYT a mere 5 years after graduating?



  6. Eric on December 28, 2011 at 7:27 pm

    The inexperienced and totally agenda-driven schmucks that the Times uses for hit pieces such as this one simply further erode the credibility of what was once a great newspaper. ?Luo doesn’t even write well. ?He should try fiction… it better suits his style.?



  7. JBS on December 29, 2011 at 7:38 am

    Lou is a poor fiction writer. As noted above, he starts in about permit holders for pistols, something he obviously knows little about, and morphs into a story about a shotgun. Huh?
    Fiction has to at least be convincing. My Luo would be sent back to check his facts and rewrite his story by any competent sixth grade creative writing teacher.
    The NYT once again defines shlock journalism. Murky statistics, selective presentation and confusing presentation equals a failure of credibility and an abandonment of editorial oversight. This is an example of yellow journalism (http://www.pbs.org/crucible/frames/_journalism.htm) at its worst. It’s no wonder that print media are losing market share.



  8. winnie on December 29, 2011 at 7:40 am

    I’m so sick of op ed pieces posing as news stories.? Problem is that the average democrat who’s against the 2nd amendment will run with this as factual information.? Falsehoods and blatant lies…that’s all these idiots have.



    • Dimsdale on December 29, 2011 at 8:20 am

      Now you know why the NYTimes writes to an eighth grade reading level: average Democrats.



    • JBS on December 29, 2011 at 8:45 am

      I thought that it was written to the sixth grade level. But that is derogatory to sixth graders who could very well write much better than most of the paid adult flacks that the print media have.
      In a few short years newspapers will be a thing of memory. Our small town paper here is so thin that you’d have to buy two for a parakeet’s daily needs. Only the police blotter keeps sales going; there’s no want ads.



  9. Lynn on December 29, 2011 at 8:51 am

    Oh,? if it were only the NYTimes that tells such blatant lies. It is next to impossible to find a newspaper that has real, honest to goodness, unbiased news.? Most countries which become socialist, the first rule is to control the media. We have to have faith that the truth will come out in the Blogs.



  10. kateinmaine on December 29, 2011 at 10:04 am

    relax steve–between the pension ‘freeze’ for foreign employees/contributors, the looming u.s. version of phone hack-gate and the ‘accidental’ offering of a 50% discount on subscription to the entire 8.6 million customer database, not just those who recently canceled–all of this within the past couple of weeks– the times in it’s present incarnation does not appear to be long for this world. ? especially when glib clip service huffpo is mentioned as a ‘venerable news agency’ in the same breath. . .???? the gray lady’s legendary banner tag has been altered from ‘all the news that’s fit to print’ to a more concise and accurate? ‘print to fit’.



  11. JBS on December 29, 2011 at 2:01 pm

    If it is any consolation. the NYT is a rabidly anti-gun newspaper. Right at the end of the “story
    ?by Luo is an ad for the Brady Center For Yada Yada. That says it all. To expect any “fair and balanced reporting” from them is well wishful thinking. It will never happen.
    One thing I learned from a quick look at anti-gun sites. There are a lot of them that are no longer active. And, they don’t refer you to any other site. I hope their funding dried up. Though, there was sites for the Joyce and Annenberg Foundations who fund a lot of anti-gun “research,” e.g. Johns Hopkins anti-gun “study.”
    And, one Barack Obama served on the Joyce Foundation’s Board of Directors from 1994-2002. http://confederateyankee.mu.nu/archives/275051.php
    ?



    • Dimsdale on January 5, 2012 at 1:30 pm

      The recent price increase by the NYTimes for the suckers that read this rag should help keep Pinch Sulzberger in the “1%” so decried by the “occupy” lot.



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