A new gun news site backed by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has finally debuted with multiple stories about the racial slayings of nine blacks by a white man in Charleston, S.C. that feature proponents of gun control and even an AR-15 ban.
“We do bring a point of view to the issue of gun violence: We believe there is too much of it,” said editorial director James Burnett in an email to backers and on the new website, The Trace.
The Trace is now live, adding news, context, and analysis on the #CharlestonShooting – http://t.co/dInPjVVAtn
— The Trace (@teamtrace) June 19, 2015
Despite numerous pro- and anti-gun websites, magazines and blogs, the goal of the Trace, he added, is to overcome the “shortage of information” on gun violence. It is honest about its angle, to curb gun violence, and its funding, from the Bloomberg backed Everytown for Gun Safety, formerly Mayors Against Illegal Guns.
The Charleston shootings provide a timely opening for the site and the broader national conversation on guns, gun control and if anything could have been done to stop the killer short of banning the weapons.
In the site’s top story about the shooting, those arguing for gun control and an “assault weapon ban” were featured:
How easy is it to get a gun in South Carolina? http://t.co/GruwfK7V8x #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/nyKajZxJAx
— The Trace (@teamtrace) June 19, 2015
Another story was headlined, “How Easy Is It to Get a Gun in South Carolina?” The story answered the question fast” “Very easy — the state has some of the country’s weakest gun laws.”
In his note, Burnett blamed the “gun lobby” for quieting talk about gun violence, and he said that doctors aren’t even allowed to discuss gun safety with patients.
He hopes the website changes that.
“Thanks to legislative measures facilitated by the gun lobby, there’s basically no Centers for Disease Control funding for research into the causes of our country’s epidemic levels of shootings. Federal law enforcement agencies are limited in the firearms trace data they can share with lawmakers and the press. Gun companies are shielded from litigation that might bring greater transparency to their business practices. Proposed gag laws would prevent doctors from even talking to their patients about basic gun-safety practices,” he wrote.
“Greater information about gun violence could, at a minimum, enrich the debate over possible solutions. As it is, the lack of information means that the loudest voices too often drown out all others,” he added.
The National Rifle Association did not react to the site launch, though it earlier called it a thinly veiled gun control site.
Paul Bedard, the Washington Examiner’s “Washington Secrets” columnist, can be contacted at [email protected].
