Chapter 11
Guns and Gun Control: Story Ideas
By David J. Krajicek

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			• Story Examples   and Links

The late David C. Anderson, who covered criminal justice for the New York Times and other publications, suggested these story ideas for journalists in a primer on guns that he wrote in the 1990s. The suggestions are as valid today. Some have been updated.

1. Interest groups look forward to seeing their views acknowledged, if not advanced, in print or on the air. Get them to help you out. The NRA, the Brady Center and the Violence Policy Center are good sources for facts and figures and can usually set you up with interviews. Forge relationships with local gun dealers and NRA chapter leaders. Simply be aware of their agendas.
2. For a good sense of America's gun culture--and efficient access to a large number of gun dealers and customers all in one place--go to a gun show. Promoters of the shows tend to be leery of media; cameras often are barred. But anyone can pay the admission fee and get inside.
3. Get to know the lawyers who represent both sides of the gun lawsuits being filed by cities and Mayors Against Illegal Guns. They may be developing information that makes the basis for stories, such as the straw purchase of guns by private detectives.
4. Track gun trends. Talk to police and ATF agents in your area about what kinds of firearms they are taking off people they arrest or find at crime scenes. How well or poorly are they made, who makes them, who seems to be selling them? What are the trends in design and marketing that concern law enforcement? You may be able to arrange a show-and-tell at a firing range.
5. Talk to people in your community who look at guns as an issue of public health rather than criminal justice: emergency room doctors, social workers, public health researchers. Many universities and medical schools have set up units to study gun violence.
6. Develop contacts at local shooting ranges and hunting clubs, such as Ducks Unlimited. Are they onboard or at odds with the NRA? They might serve as an additional voice/source in a gun story.
7. Where do prominent politicians in your locale stand on guns? Often, even politicians who take money from gun or anti-gun lobbies are reticent to state their positions publicly. Get them on the record.
8. Many police departments have special units to remove illegal guns from the street. What does your municipality or state do? Get to know these units and what they accomplish. It could be a ride-along piece.
9. What is your police department packing? A story that delineates the weaponry of local authorities--from descriptions of their service revolvers and shotguns to artillery--can be illuminating.
10. Get to know guns. For an overall guide to guns, try Gun Digest, an annual publication that includes photos and specifications for hundreds of guns, including pistols, rifles and shotguns. The Associated Press Stylebook has a brief gun primer under "weapons."

Story Examples and Links

Here are thumbnail descriptions and Web links to some recent noteworthy stories about firearms published in recent months:

• Providence, R.I., has bucked the trend of increasing violence seen in many American cities. The Providence Phoenix cites a transformation of the city police force “into a more publicly responsive agency that embraces contemporary practices, is willing to consider unconventional ideas, and engages in productive relationships with…social clinicians who assist children exposed to violence, and 13 street workers who fan out across the city to try to prevent it from happening in the first place.” http://www.nonviolenceinstitute.org/2007/05/providence_phoe.html#more
• The number of people seeking licenses to carry concealed weapons has risen steadily in the past five years, reports the Orlando Sentinel. One expert calls it a “wicked conundrum" in that more guns lead to more violence. http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-mfightback2107 jun21,0,1800798.story?coll=orl_tab01_layout
• Sometimes the most revealing gun news is no news. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says the impact of Missouri’s controversial concealed-carry law is nil. It hasn't increased crime, nor reduced it. People don't seem to be shooting others, or themselves, by accident in any greater numbers. And the police haven’t responded to a single call that someone had carried a gun into one of the many restricted locations. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/ 310367797F8FBB0D862572E700112942?OpenDocument
• The “gun debate” often features talking heads from the Washington, D.C.-based gun lobbies. After the Virginia Tech University shootings, the Washington Post found a gathering that pitted real Americans against one another when gun-control advocates, including the father of a Virginia Tech victim, attended a gun raffle in the state. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/ 2007/05/17/AR2007051701386.html?hpid=topnews
• Robert Rogers of the San Bernardino, Calif., Sun found an interesting way to humanize the impact of guns in his city. He reported on a family’s survival system when gunfire erupted near their home. Twin teenagers said they roll out of bed and onto the floor. Rogers said the drill resembled the "Duck and Cover" procedure practiced by schoolchildren during the Cold War. http://www.sbsun.com/troubledtown/ci_3947695
• The Christian Science Monitor profiles ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection technology being used in more than a dozen cities. It is a system of rooftop listening devices that triangulates the origin of gunshots and pinpoints, in seconds, the location on a map. http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0122/p01s03-ussc.html
• Gun licensing documents can provide a trove of information. The Houston Chronicle reported in 2007 that nearly 260,000 Texas are now licensed to carry a concealed handgun under a 1995 state law. The paper discovered that 46 percent of them were 55 and older. http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=2007_4274084
• Many schools have installed metal detectors and security cameras as a means of heading off school shootings. But do they work? The Casey Journalism Center on Children and Families says detectors are not only ineffective but also send a negative message to students. Many journalists have tested school security measures and found them wanting. http://www.cjc.umd.edu/jcommunity/articles/Weinberg_11.20.06.htm
• In the fall of 2006, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published a three-part series on about gun violence in that city. It included details on both the human and financial toll of guns. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=532290