I picked up a story this morning from a website called .Mic. It is a website devoted to, among other things, bashing the NRA and gun owners. I guess this plays well with their intended audience of “educated Millennials”. In a story written Friday by Emily Cahn for their “Policy.Mic” section headlined, “NRA Responds To Dallas Police Sniper Shootings, But Completely Ignores Philando Castile”, she noted the NRA release regarding the Dallas murders. Ms. Cahn then wrote:
But missing from the NRA’s response was any reaction to the death of Philando Castile, a black man who was killed by police officers during a traffic stop in Minnesota, after he informed them he legally had a gun in his car.
The lack of response to Castile’s death is perplexing, given that the NRA staunchly defends Americans’ right to lawfully own and carry firearms.
The group has even helped defeat gun control legislation in the wake of the Orlando shootings that would prevent suspected terrorists on the FBI’s “no-fly” list from purchasing guns.
I would be troubled if the NRA ignored the shooting of Mr. Castile in Minneapolis. However, they didn’t. While not mentioning Mr. Castile by name, they issued the following statement on Friday.
As the nation’s largest and oldest civil rights organization, the NRA proudly supports the right of law-abiding Americans to carry firearms for defense of themselves and others regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation.
The reports from Minnesota are troubling and must be thoroughly investigated. In the meantime, it is important for the NRA not to comment while the investigation is ongoing.
Rest assured, the NRA will have more to say once all the facts are known.
Given that the NRA statement and the Cahn article were both published on Friday, I don’t know which came first. Even assuming the Cahn article was published before the NRA released their statement, journalistic ethics demand that a correction or clarification be released acknowledging the NRA statement on the Castile shooting.
Ms. Cahn is a graduate of George Washington University and has worked for papers including the Houston Chronicle, the Washington Post, The Hill, and CQ Roll Call. She is currently .Mic’s Senior Political Reporter. Given that background one would have hoped she learned something about journalistic ethics along the way. Sadly, it appears she hasn’t.
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