Unknowlegable cops pass along mis-information

[wilit]

So, my future wife is the editor of a local newspaper (please keep the liberal left comments to yourself. She is very gun friendly, and loves shooting, thank you) and they recently covered a guns-for-cash exchange the police department and some local businesses sponsored. The following photo ran in the paper with the caption "Cardboard boxes were full of rifles, including an AK-47 with a hinged foot-long bayonet at its tip."



So after reading it, my fiancee and I correspond back and forth over the course of the day regarding the misprint. I told her the rifle in the photo is NOT an AK-47, it's an SKS. I sent her some links and photos and explained the difference and told her it's a pretty common mistake. She was going to run a correction in the paper, but wanted to talk to the reporter and photographer before running it, so she could find out who told them it was an AK. After speaking with both of them, they stated several cops and the owner who turned it in stated it was a "Chinese AK-47".

So, in light of this mistake, and several other gun-related gaffes, she's trying to put together an informational seminar she took when she was a reporter several years ago which was sponsored by the National Sports Shooting Federation. It was a day long event in which they learned about firearm safety, mechanics, and were able to fire several firearms throughout the course of the day. It was to help promote accuracy when reporting firearm related crimes.

So, my point for posting this story is: Just because you see an obvious mistake which is gun related in the newspaper, please don't jump to conclusions and proclaim it's a liberal left media conspiracy and start sending my future wife emails. Cops disseminate misinformation all the time, (I think the DOJ is a prime example of this) so please if you send an email or call the newspaper editor, be civil. Don't make us gun owners look like maniacs.

Thanks,
Wilit
P.S. And the future Mrs. Wilit thanks you too.

[-hanko]

The gloves are a good idea...no fingerprints when you add the sks to your collection.

-hanko

[Rem1492]

a FOOTLONG bayonet? dang, in that case I should get out some 15th century swiss pikes, as we can all see, the size of your bayonet proves just how deadly that firearm is on the streets ...........dawg!

[SnWnMe]

Just because someone works at Fry's doesn't mean they are computer programmers.

[whatever]

Just because someone works at Fry's doesn't mean they are computer programmers.

I like it!

[Charliegone]

Just because someone works at Fry's doesn't mean they are computer programmers.

Tell me about it...

[G17GUY]

http://www.modbee.com/local/story/13472679p-14083087c.html

local paper today

[Blue]

leelaw and I got into a pissing match with one of the local news stations here after some kid with an SKS shot somebody or was shooting the town up, some crap like that. The news reported it as an "AK47" but the cop was holding an SKS. We both emailed, and got a very snotty response. She said that the police officer was a trained professional and knows what he's talking about. You know, civi's don't know crap about guns, but ANY cop is a freaking magical fountain of gun knowledge. We kept replying to the lady that was sending us messages telling her that both the cop and her are wrong. She didn't care and told us that we're dumb. Basically if there's anything run related in the media, it's an AK47 and it's bad. One day when I'm rich I'm going to buy out all of the media stations and make it 24/7 porn and gun channels.

[Blue]

The best-case scenario would be to not confront the guns on the street. If all the illegal guns were gone, officers wouldn't need the guns, Ceres Police Chief Art de Werk said.

That's great.

[jumbopanda]

Yup...the same guys who can't tell the difference between a SKS and an AK are out there enforcing our AW laws.

[dwtt]

How much did the guy get for the buyback? I would have given the owner $150 for that SKS. Why can't we get a civilian gun buyback program going? Let those of us who want to buy guns buy them back from those who don't want them for pennies on the dollar, no questions asked. I would even pay for the PPT transfer fee.

[leelaw]

Yeah, this might not be the best crowd to tell about there not being a liberal agenda..

I remember clearly when a local newspaper and website posted a story about a gun confiscation that included a killer "SKS, an assault weapon in California" when the picture and video of the gun confiscated clearly showed an AK clone.

The editor all but called me an idiot when I tried to politely correct him, including screen captures from the story compared to pictures of an SKS and AK clone.

It's left a bitter taste in my mouth since.

ETA: It's a pity, I want a Yugo M59.. I'd have given him a cool $150 for it.

[Matt C]

How much did the guy get for the buyback? I would have given the owner $150 for that SKS. Why can't we get a civilian gun buyback program going? Let those of us who want to buy guns buy them back from those who don't want them for pennies on the dollar, no questions asked. I would even pay for the PPT transfer fee.

Heh, I think they call that a "gunshow" in most states...

[taloft]

Tell her to fire the fact checkers and hire you as a firearms consultant.

[wilit]

How much did the guy get for the buyback?

Every firearm netted the owner $50.

The editor all but called me an idiot when I tried to politely correct him, including screen captures from the story compared to pictures of an SKS and AK clone.

The Chronicle? My GF says they're kinda eliteist over there. My GF takes journalistic ethics and integrity pretty seriously. So it kills her when there's a clear bias or lack of fact checking, especially after an error has been brought to their attention.

Tell her to fire the fact checkers and hire you as a firearms consultant.

No thanks. The journalism field doesn't pay very well. I'm doing my best to train her. She's getting pretty good at it. Sometimes I get random calls throughout the day asking if a particular sentence about a firearm is correct or not.