Days after three Washington State teens enjoying a summer gathering at a private home north of Seattle were murdered; a columnist for the Seattle Times penned an article that essentially blamed the gun and the company that made it.
Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat talked plenty about the firearm, a Ruger SR556, and about the Sturm, Ruger company’s contribution pledge of $5 million to the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action. The money will help fund the battle to protect the Second Amendment.
What seemed to ignite much of the criticism of Westneat’s article, and there was plenty, was the headline: “Maker of massacre gun steps up to fund NRA lobbying arm.” They saw this as a clear case of media bias and a not-so-subtle attempt to demonize the firearm and Ruger.
Three years ago, Westneat uncovered language buried in legislation aimed at banning so-called “assault weapons” that would have allowed warrantless searches by police of gun owners’ homes. TGM also covered that controversy, and when the story broke, it didn’t take long for the sponsors, all Democrat state lawmakers, to kill it.
The alleged killer in this case is a 19-year-old ex-boyfriend of the single female victim. He allegedly came to the party, saw her chatting with another male, and went on his killing rampage. But there is a twist to this story. The suspect bought the gun legally, but he apparently had to sit in his car for a while, reading the instruction manual. Now anti-gunners are capitalizing on this case to argue that such firearms should not be sold to teens.
Columnist Westneat seemed to concur, referring to the contribution Ruger will reportedly make to the NRA legislative effort.
