TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – June 10, 2014

TEAM CSSA E-NEWS – June 10, 2014 ** Please share this E-news with your friends **

COMMENTARY: KUDOS TO MEDIA THAT REFUSE TO MAKE MASS KILLERS FAMOUS

With the announcement by Sun News Network to stop bestowing notoriety on persons accused of mass murder, the Canadian media are showing signs of maturation and public responsibility.

It goes against the grain for a news agency to intentionally withhold information during major events like mass murder. Kudos to Sun News for adopting a policy for the greater good. If other media follow suit, perhaps mentally ill attention-seekers will be dissuaded from choosing this kind of crime to promote their own legacy. We won’t know until we try.

See the Sun News video that questions the wisdom of naming names: www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/video/3608209118001

The shooting in Moncton, New Brunswick that left three RCMP officers dead and two injured has re-awakened the need to examine what motivates an individual to kill at random. As we watch young families grieve and police officers gather from around the world in Moncton this week, the Canadian Shooting Sports Association (CSSA) mourns, too. There are many police officers within our membership and we hope they will not be in harm’s way as they perform their daily tasks. They are too often the targets of hatred without reason or purpose.

Mass killers are terrorists. As the Sun News video above notes, many mass assailants keep records of similar incidents, complete with newspaper clippings and profiles of the evil-doers. The Moncton photos depict a Rambo-esque Hollywood actor wannabe adorned with fatigues, guns, knives, bows and headband. Apparently life does imitate art.

For her part, The Globe and Mail’s Elizabeth Renzetti echoed the need to stop naming the accused in her June 7 column. While the content of her column is decidedly anti-gun, she admits to attending last year’s December 6 anniversary at L’Ecole Polytechnique knowing the killer’s name, but she couldn’t name the victims. She is not alone. Both anti-gun and pro-gun advocates share an abhorrence for killing human beings. Let’s exploit that common interest to include widespread media anonymity for mass shooters/stabbers/bombers. As Ms. Renzetti correctly observes, “We give them the attention they crave.”

Do you agree? Write a letter to the editor at print and online media sources and ask them to stop making mass murderers famous. It’s a start. Watch here for more.

We found a petition that supports anonymity for mass murderers here: http://www.change.org/petitions/canadian-news-media-stop-using-mass-killers-names

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SUN NEWS WILL NOT PROVIDE KILLER’S NAME OR PHOTO: Wednesday, three RCMP officers were senselessly murdered and two left in critical condition following a shooting in Moncton, New Brunswick. As the killer is now in custody, the community has turned to mourning the loss of the officers and the families that have been torn apart.

The media, including Sun News Network, has covered this story closely. And now we have made a decision: Sun News Network will not report the name of the killer. We will not show his photo.

When it comes to mass murderers, too often, it is attention and infamy they crave. Luckily, shootings of this nature are rare in Canada. And in the US, they account for less than one per cent of all gun-related deaths. Far more people have been killed in the bad neighbourhoods of Chicago than were killed in all the mass shootings combined. But these rare incidents are never forgotten. And with the rise of social media, they’ve become a spectacle.

It’s easy to report on the life of the killer, to scour his deranged Facebook page, to speculate about motive, but doing so could actually encourage the perception that his heinous acts are somehow justified.

Following the deadly Newtown, Connecticut shooting in December 2012 that left 26 dead, including 20 children, it was discovered that the perpetrator kept a “score sheet” of previous mass shootings. Did he hope his name would be placed at the top of the list?

This bizarre act is not uncommon. In fact, experts have found a clear path of influence running through some of the most infamous shooters – from Columbine, to Virginia Tech to the, Colorado Theatre – including explicit reference to previous killing sprees and calls to empower future “celebrities”. Can you see the pattern? The idea is that mass shootings are contagious.

Back in 1999, four public health researchers published a famous study titled “Media and Mass Homicides” in the Archives of Suicide Research. They looked at a number of mass murders in Australia, New Zealand, and Britain and they discovered mass homicides occurred in clusters – not randomly.

Now, with wall-to-wall media coverage of these events, are we feeding future monsters? Are we putting ideas in their heads? When we make the killer’s name and face famous, are we setting the stage for future mass killings?

In the media, it’s a dilemma. We feel an obligation to tell the public what is going on. Our job is to inform. And like the old saying goes, “if it bleeds, it leads.” Networks care about ratings. But with every mass shooting, we face the inevitable cry of ANOTHER mass shooting?!?

In the days and weeks to come, there’ll no doubt be a great deal of debate on how we stop the “next Moncton.” Mental illness, gun control, warning signs, will all come up. These are legitimate points of discussion. But for us in the press – and for society at large – let’s take an honest look in the mirror to see if our hyper-interest might be contributing to this very disturbing phenomenon.

We will not help give this killer his blaze of glory. (Sun News editorial – June 6, 2014)

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Two retired RCMP officer’s share their thoughts with us upon hearing about the deaths of three and wounding of two more of their former colleagues in Moncton last week:
“I can’t really describe my feelings on the killing of the three officers and wounding of the other two. Obviously a mentally ill punk possibly wired up on something complete with an inflamed Rambo syndrome. Too many people are going to focus on what they were killed with, rather than on who killed them. After almost thirty years on the front lines I can tell you that a policeman is very easy to kill. You don’t need to be Rambo, just a demented low life with a rifle. So now where does that leave the 99.9999% of law abiding gun owners. Laws have no meaning for most of the serious criminals that I have dealt with. It is against the law to shoot policemen, do you think he really gave a rat’s ass about the gun laws that he contravened? More laws and regulations dealing with the firearms issue only encumber those prepared to abide by them. My heart goes out to the members and their families, I am glad that I don’t have to do this anymore.”

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“If the RCMP don’t start demonstrating they are doing an internal investigation, and admit they wronged High River, suspend some senior officers, and demonstrate some accountability to the public and those that are passionate about law and order, there will be more and more of these bad apples showing up willing to use arms against police for minimal of provocation. Those are my thoughts after being a front line RCMP police officer for 28 years, on my own, working within the community, you have to get out of the car, and be with the people, not looking at computers and data, and also work within the law, not using regulations and such to enforce laws you can’t enforce anymore because the Charter has handcuffed them in some regards. It’s going to get worse if they don’t tell the 7 million gun owners and libertarian members of the Canadian Public that they the RCMP are also accountable for wrong, and have lied to the public. They have to stop protecting their own who are wrong, even if it goes up to a high commissioned rank. It’s very unfortunate and again preventable if the police acted without overbearing authority over the public, this whole thing saddens me. What would I do if I was going home with a rifle, and a plain clothes person, pointed a gun at me on my own land and said stop, police, or I will shoot? Who is this person, are they a cop? Too much tactical stuff, and not enough uniform. I was encouraged to wear my uniform when shooting in tournaments, and winning trophies, even given free issue ammunition, now a cop never goes to the range unless it’s to investigate something, or to qualify. Mounties don’t have to have a PAL, or take a firearms safety course, thus they have limited knowledge of other firearms, and now fear them and the people who own them. If you are a gun owner, you’re vilified, until proven innocent now. Shame, and very sorry these cops got killed. Four, nine years ago, and now five get jumped, after a plain clothes guy is first to intercept this guy, and who knows who he is, that’s a uniform policeman’s job, everyone wants to be a super sleuth – no, show the uniform, be with the community and instil confidence in the Force’s personnel within the firearms community. We only hear negative stuff in the firearms community about the RCMP, not so, but that’s because the other side is lost, or shunned. Bill C68 has done more to disconnect the police from the firearms owners (and visa versa, distrust towards the firearms laws and power of government and police to enforce them), than anything else in history, other than Communism.”

(Thanks for your wisdom gentlemen, we grieve for them too. – ED)

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“Allan Rock said he came to Ottawa with the belief that only the police and military should have firearms. I believe that firearms ownership is a right, but a right that comes with responsibilities” – the Hon. Steven Blaney, Minister of Public Safety

HELP SUPPORT THE GREAT WORK THE CSSA DOES TO PROTECT YOUR RIGHTS. DONATE HERE

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JUNE 14 – WATCH GARRY BREITKREUZ AND TONY BERNARDO ON TV –
CANADA IN THE ROUGH: Paul Beasley heads back to hunt with one of the Beasley Brothers favorite waterfowl outfitters, Ace Outfitting in Saskatchewan! Joining Paul on this hunt are the two men who were primarily responsible for abolishing the long gun registry in Canada – Garry Breitkreuz, MP and CSSA executive director Tony Bernardo. This is the most profound political success for the outdoors community in Canada and the guys enjoy tremendous water fowling to celebrate. See the teaser here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0sXjQ691Cs

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PERTH GUN, HUNTING AND SPORTSMAN SHOW: Father’s Day Weekend – June 14-15. Perth and District Community Centre at 2 Beckwith Street, East Perth, Ontario, Admission still only $6 and under 14 free with an adult. We are already fully booked for this year. with over 200 tables of hunting, fishing and assorted outdoor items. Presented by Cedar Mountain Rod & Gun club.

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BOB ZIMMER, MP PRESENTS HIGH RIVER PETITION IN PARLIAMENT: Bob Zimmer, MP for Prince George-Peace River rose in the House of Commons on May 30 to present a petition from citizens calling for a judicial inquiry into RCMP conduct and confiscation of firearms during the High River, Alberta emergency in June 2013.

Watch and listen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LapkGFtFH0k#t=18
Email your congratulations to [email protected] and tell him you saw it in CSSA E-News.
See his website at www.bobzimmer.ca

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CRAZED COUPLE AMBUSH POLICE IN LAS VEGAS: An armed man and woman shouting about a “revolution” opened fire and killed two Las Vegas policemen who were eating lunch in a pizza parlor on Sunday, then fatally shot a civilian in a nearby Wal-Mart store before killing themselves, police said. The two uniformed patrol officers, later identified as Alyn Beck, 41, and Igor Soldo, 31 – both family men – were ambushed without provocation shortly before 11:30 a.m. local time inside a CiCi’s Pizza shop, authorities said.

See more at www.torontosun.com/2014/06/08/3-dead-2-wounded-in-ambush-attack-on-las-vegas-police

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GUN CONTROL COALITION STAYS ON FEAR-BASED SCRIPT: Since his appointment as public safety minister about a year ago, Steven Blaney was repeatedly notified of the RCMP’s serious misgivings with respect to various weapons currently circulating in the hands of private citizens.

Last September, for example, senior officials invited the minister to a briefing in order to reiterate concerns previously raised by the RCMP and other police organizations regarding .50-calibre rifles classified as non-restricted — meaning they can be legally purchased by anyone holding a simple possession permit intended for hunting rifles and shotguns.

Weapons of this calibre are so powerful they can pierce military aircraft and lightly armoured vehicles, and even more easily standard bulletproof vests worn by police officers.

They explained that initially, the intent of the legislation was that “the classification framework would be updated as more firearms came onto the Canadian market,” but that this framework “has not been updated since its inception in 1995.”

As a result, these extremely dangerous weapons are, by default, falling into the same category as hunting rifles and shotguns. Controls on non-restricted guns are so weak that police don’t even know who owns them (except in Quebec, where the long-gun registry survives, thanks to a court injunction).
Meanwhile, the RCMP were also conducting an investigation into semi-automatic weapons such as the full range of Swiss Arms models and various versions of the CZ 858 family — one of which was used in the 2012 attempted murder of Quebec’s newly elected premier, Pauline Marois.

Given their ability to “be converted into a full-automatic firearm in a relatively short period of time with relative ease” — that is to say, capable of firing multiple projectiles in rapid succession by a single pull of the trigger — the RCMP, in late February, declared them prohibited… (By Heidi Rathegen – Winnipeg Free Press – May 30, 2014)

See the rest at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/opinion/analysis/assault-on-public-safety-261203401.html?device=mobile

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POLICE MAGAZINE ADVOCATES LEAVING KILLERS NAMELESS: Late last month, an alienated and enraged University of California at Santa Barbara undergraduate student went on a long-planned killing spree…

Law enforcement officers responded to the rampage. The shooter opened fire on them. They shot back. After the exchange, the killer died in the usual method of mass murderers; he shot himself in the head.

The next day Richard Martinez, father of one of the victims, lashed out at the NRA, blaming the pro-Second Amendment organization and politicians that support gun rights for the death of his son. I sympathize with Martinez and I am sorry for his loss, but he seems to have selective amnesia over the fact that half of the students killed during the Isla Vista incident were hacked to death with an as-yet-unidentified blade and many of the injured were rammed by the killer’s BMW sedan.

After a mass murder incident like Isla Vista, the media loves to run a lot of stories that imply such tragedies would surely be a thing of the past if we could just outlaw all the guns. Those same reporters rarely consider how much damage this killer could have done in a crowded classroom with a blade. But they might want to ask their Chinese counterparts about such massacres.

The media also likes to point their fingers at mental health professionals, parents, teachers, etc. But it is extremely rare that any pundit or columnist acknowledges the media’s role in perpetuating these slaughters.

Just days after the Isla Vista murders, newspapers and the Websites of TV news organizations printed the killer’s 141-page rambling manifesto. And in doing so, they let him espouse his twisted views and spread his whiny message of hatred and brutal fantasies of mass murder, which may influence future killers.

Worse, all the TV news networks—except the much-maligned Fox—tripped over themselves rushing the killer’s YouTube videos to air. I believe such publicity may serve as a reward for cowardly mass murderers. And maybe it’s time for the news media to stop granting them this little slice of fame.

In an editorial published in Police Magazine in August 2012, just weeks after the Aurora Theater Massacre, I wrote:

The Columbine killers, the Virginia Tech murderer, and the Aurora shooting suspect have all become household names. And I believe that the desire for stardom is at least part of the motivation for these massacres. I think these butchers want to be famous. That’s why they seek such high body counts. They want to top the other guys, hold the record, be the champion killer of all time.

I think we need to take away that motivation. I’ve argued this point with my fellow journalists, to no avail. But I think it’s time that we stop publicizing the names of these mass active shooter suspects.
There is precedent for such journalistic restraint. As a general rule, the media does not publish the names of rape victims or suicide subjects. There are of course exceptions to this rule. But generally, we mind our manners on these two points.

So I think it’s time to add a third category of names to that proscription: mass active shooters who seek huge body counts. Of course, the name of the shooter will eventually leak, but there’s a big difference between having your name and face splashed on every network, news site, newspaper, and magazine cover the day of the attack and having the name leak out days later.

And I may not be alone in these sentiments. Sunday the New York Times ran an editorial discussing the issue. Unfortunately, I’m not sure that anything other than early police intervention, permanent confinement, or a bullet to the brain could have stopped the Isla Vista killer.

It’s possible he killed his fellow students and even his roommates to attract attention, but I think this young man just killed because he had a twisted need to kill. His manifesto reads like a misogynistic “Mein Kampf.” In it he reportedly attacks not just women (as widely reported), but racial minorities, interracial couples, and others. He even details a Hitlerian fantasy where he would have all women rounded up into concentration camps and slowly starve them to death. A final solution for the human race.

Many people say that more mental health resources and more liberal commitment laws would have prevented this killer from undertaking his bloody rampage. But I doubt it. For lack of a better word, this guy was “evil.” What made him that way is a question for psychologists and neurologists. But evil is a hard thing to treat and an even harder thing to contain.

Evil is also persistent and innovative. On the day he was born you could have taken away every gun from every law-abiding American and outlawed the manufacture and sale of guns and this killer would have still found a way to leave his mark.

And I think he probably would have done so regardless of the notoriety achieved by previous mass killers. I think this young man was just consumed by hate and had a compulsion to kill. (By David Griffith – POLICE Magazine – June 3, 2014)

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THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

The CSSA is the voice of the sport shooter and firearms enthusiast in Canada. Our national membership supports and promotes Canada’s firearms heritage, traditional target shooting competition, modern action shooting sports, hunting, and archery. We support and sponsor competitions and youth programs that promote these Canadian heritage activities.

To join or donate to the CSSA, visit: http://www.cdnshootingsports.org/membership.html
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