Las Vegas Review-Journal Offers Questionable Quote on Gun Ownership Facts

With an introduction that states the facts about the feelings for guns in Nevada, we question the source – and more importantly the facts the source uses in her argument – in a piece from The Las Vegas Review-Journal. The article starts out with what we would agree probably sums up the feelings in the state:

“In a place where gun ranges advertise assault rifles and machine guns on billboards and taxicab doors, it’s clear Nevadans like their guns.”

We do have a small problem with this introduction, as it doesn’t make it clear that these are guns to rent with supervision, and are NOT for sale. But where we have a bigger problem is how the story, after showing that Nevada residents generally agree with the recent Supreme Court ruling on gun ownership, takes a tone that suggests the author (or possibly the editors at the paper) are actually anti-gun. The author writes:

“It’s tough to find organized groups in Nevada who disagree with the high court ruling. The nationwide Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence doesn’t have a local chapter or contact listed on its website.”

If this is a fact, why even mention that the Brady Center doesn’t have a local chapter? If they don’t have a local chapter, it would seem to us that they don’t represent the views of Nevada. Moreover, we feel that the group is only included so the name can be seen with the key part “Prevent Gun Violence” included, so that someone skimming the article might read that message.

But the author didn’t give up and did find someone to quote. In this case it was Patti Kolknow, executive director of Women Against Gun Violence. As the author notes, this group is based not in Nevada but in Los Angeles, which again brings us to the point was this necessary to include? Ms. Kolknow is also quoted:

“The Supreme Court ruling is a disappointment. We know that increasing handgun ownership increases the likelihood of homicides, murders and unintentional shootings. Statistics prove that over and over again. Some people think that having a gun makes them safer, but that’s been proven not to be the case.”

This quote is a major problem, in part because there is no counterpoint to the argument. Worse still are these “facts” really the truth or just opinions from an anti-gun group. How does “legal” handgun ownership increase the likelihood of homicides for example? We’d like to call out Ms. Kolknow as well as author Kristi Jourdan to get some insight on those so-called “statistics.”