Both The New York Times and Politico recently ran articles that didn’t mock, disparage or criticize private gun ownership. What is going on?
The Times published an investigative report on the growing number of first-time gun owners and found that, not only do law-abiding Americans value gun ownership, but many gun owners defy the stereotypes the Times has so often propagated.
“I began contacting people who had responded to a Times callout to the public and volunteered to discuss their gun purchase and ownership. Then I contacted gun stores, ranges and shooting clubs. In conversations with people across the country—men and women; young and old; black and white—I came to see something I might not have considered previously: A whole universe of people had once believed, firmly, that they would never buy a gun. Until they did,” read the Times’ article.
What the Times just discovered is something gun owners have known for a long time: American gun owners are a diverse group.
Beyond beginning to comprehend that Americans are further embracing this freedom, some in the media are also understanding the potential political ramifications all of these new gun owners represent.
Politico reported that a group of Democrat consultants, campaign staffers, elected officials and party leaders gathered to discuss future strategies following last year’s electoral losses. Of particular note in Politico’s reporting was that the Party should “embrace patriotism, community, and traditional American imagery” and that candidates “get out of elite circles and into real communities (e.g., tailgates, gun shows, local restaurants, churches)” [emphasis is ours].
So, not only are these media outlets realizing that gun ownership is popular, but they’re starting to understand that voters want their freedom. Why else would for Vice President Kamala Harris (D) and Gov. Tim Walz (D) tout their supposed experience with firearms?
Finally, though they did not explicitly mention the Second Amendment, even The Washington Post announced that its opinion pages would now focus on “personal liberties and free markets.” Put simply, nothing is more anti-personal liberty than gun-control restrictions, but we will have to wait and see what comes to the Post’s opinion pages as it relates to the Second Amendment.
Still, this shift in the media landscape, slight as it may be, is welcome, but it’s going to take a lot more than a few column inches to show a real change. While some are beginning to understand that gun ownership is truly common and normal, the Democratic National Committee seems to have pivoted even further in the other direction with its selection of gun-control activist David Hogg as one of its vice chairs.
“If they wish to ignore the fact that Democrats own guns, too—and at rapidly increasing numbers over the last several years—they do so at their own peril. The Party seems to be in at least slight decline as of late, and this move could see that decline escalate,” reported the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA).
“[W]hat I found most heartening was how much these new owners cared about creating a conversation around guns more infused with curiosity than condemnation, where, perhaps, new understanding could grow,” reported the Times.
Indeed, more honest conversations would be good.
