Housekeeping: Once Again, Why TTAG Publishes Spree Killers’ Names and Publishes Their Photo

By Robert Farago

When there’s a spree killing, The Truth About Guns publishes the name of the killer or killers, and his or her image. That’s our policy. For some reason, Chris Mercer’s homicidal attack at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College has triggered a particularly strong desire to refrain from naming the perpetrator and keep his picture out of the media, as both our commentariot and the LA Times story ‘Don’t say his name’: Oregon community wants to make shooter anonymous indicate. To quote a man who was anything but, I want to be perfectly clear . . .

Although TTAG has evolved into a pro-gun advocacy blog, our main thrust remains journalistic. As a journalist with some 20 years in experience, I feel an obligation to report facts. One of the facts of the Umpqua slaughter is that the killer’s name was Chris Mercer. If I hid that fact or shunned his picture, it would betray the ethos underlying this entire endeavor.

Not to put too fine a point on it, this website is called The Truth About Guns. Not The Positive Spin on Guns. In the same sense that calling gun control “gun safety” obfuscates the truth about the crusade for …Read the Rest

Source:: Truth About Guns