-- The NRA crows, " 'Californians (are) arming themselves against the prospect that rolling blackouts will spark riots,' reports the Los Angeles Times. 'The trend (in gun ownership) is absolutely up, absolutely.' " Incredibly, this statement -- which the NRA treats as reportage from the Los Angeles Times -- is in fact an amalgamation of claims made by two pro-gun advocates who appear in the April 11 Times story. In reality, the Times story reads:
And (firearms instructor Greg) Block has seen a recent surge of Californians arming themselves against the prospect that rolling blackouts will spark riots. The trend is "absolutely up, absolutely," says Bill Poole of the National Rifle Assn.
Surely, even writers and editors from the NRA know the difference between opinions from partisan sources within a news story, and the story itself.
-- The NRA article then denounces major newspapers for failing to link increasing gun sales with record decreases in crime. However, even the premise of its complaint is wrong. Crime has plummeted nationwide since 1994, but gun sales have also decreased nationally, not increased. In early April, the Associated Press reported that "the American handgun market has dropped off so steeply that some industry experts worry it may never fully recover." According to an Associated Press analysis of Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms data, production for domestic and overseas handgun sales plummeted by 52 percent between 1993 and 1999.
-- Furthermore, the numbers belie NRA claims that gun ownership is increasing in California. According to the latest report on handgun sales from California Attorney General Bill Lockyer, long gun sales are about average but handgun sales are near the lowest point since the California Department of Justice (DOJ) began keeping records in 1972. California remains the only state in the nation that gathers comprehensive statewide gun sales data.
-- California DOJ records show that in the first six months of 2001, there were only 63,858 handgun sales in the state. That compares to annual sales of about 200,000 last year, 254,626 in 1995, a high of 433,822 in 1993 and 330,295 in 1990.
-- The gun lobby claim that handgun sales have jumped in California due to fear of blackouts is false -- sales have actually gone down dramatically. In the first three months of 2001, sales were at a relatively low 41,605, but that figure dropped even further to only 22,253 in the second three months of this year. As the summer began, the trend continued downward.
"The NRA's reliance on distortion and fabrication is nothing new," said Tolley, "but it has reached a level in these two articles that borders on desperation. This year, even the NRA's fear campaign is failing."
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How many people who sit on the fence will actually take the time to look up the statistics for themselves? not many....
More lies, fear, and uncertainty