What we’re reading: Week 3

By Jessica Boehm

Firearms company blames Obama gun policy for layoffs (Taylor Dobbs, 6/07, VPR) A firearms company based in Florida cut 41 jobs at its Fairfax facility and blamed the White House for the cuts.

T.S.A. charts a rise in guns at checkpoints (Joe Sharkey, 6/09, The New York Times) The Transportation Security Administration has seen a 19 percent jump in the number of guns found in carry-on bags at security points in the last year, when compared to the year before.

Gun-mounted flashlights linked to accidental shootings (David Olinger and Christopher N. Osher, 6/08, The Denver Post) At least four people in the United States have been accidently shot by police officers trying to use a flashlight mounted on a gun since 2009.

Opening soon: Gun range with a bar (Aaron Smith, 6/09, CNN Money) A gun range opening in July will be the only range in Oklahoma with a liquor license.

Harry Reid: Pass background checks for guns (Burgess Everett, 6/09, Politico) After a shooting that left five dead in Nevada, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called on the Senate to pass background checks.

The Las Vegas shooter tried to obtain a rifle on Facebook (Mike Hayes, 6/09, Buzzfeed) A month before a mass shooting that left five dead in Nevada, one of the accused shooters tried to obtain a rifle via Facebook.

Jessica Boehm is a News21 Hearst Fellow.

Gun control advocates ask Target to ban guns

By Justine McDaniel

Gun control group Moms Demand Action is continuing social media pressure in their campaign asking Target to ban the open carry of guns in stores, a reaction to gun rights activists who have openly carried firearms at Target.

The petition asking Target to “create gun sense policies” has garnered 150,000 signatures since June 4, according to Everytown, the gun control group that includes Moms Demand Action.

In tweets using the hashtag #OffTarget, Moms Demand Action supporters have been pledging to boycott the company and posting photos of pro-gun demonstrators openly carrying firearms in Target stores.

.@Target Moms won't follow this into your stores. This is #OffTarget! #momsdemand pic.twitter.com/rRIA7SZ1qs

— Moms Demand Action (@MomsDemand) June 4, 2014

“Target is a central part of the lives of American moms – we expect to be safe and secure when we wheel our kids around in the store’s red shopping carts,” said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action in a press release June 4.

Open Carry Texas, a prominent open-carry group whose members were featured in the photos posted by Moms members, responded to the Target campaign with a series of tweets saying that the photos were months old.

Good to see @shannonrwatts putting Bloomberg's millions to good use digging up MONTHS OLD pictures at a Target to further their #gunnonsense

— Open Carry Texas (@OpenCarryTexas) June 4, 2014

The group advertised a counter-petition on its Twitter account that tells Target to “welcome lawful gun owners” and had more than 1,400 signatures on change.org as of press time.

The Target petition comes after announcements in May from Chili’s Grill & Bar, Sonic Drive-In, Jack in the Box and Chipotle Mexican Grill asking customers not to bring guns to the restaurants.

Target did not respond to a request for comment.

Demonstrations by Open Carry Texas and similar groups, which bring long guns into stores and restaurants to promote the open carrying of firearms, ignited the debates over guns in chain stores.

The National Rifle Association released a statement May 30 warning gun rights advocates against such demonstrations.

“It makes folks who might normally be perfectly open-minded about firearms feel uncomfortable and question the motives of pro-gun advocates,” the statement said. “…Using guns merely to draw attention to yourself in public not only defies common sense, it shows
a lack of consideration and manners.”

Target has not yet responded to Moms Demand Action. Both Chipotle and Jack in the Box asked customers not to bring in guns less than 48 hours after Moms launched petitions against them.

Former sheriff says he has no affiliation with shooter

By Sydney Stavinoha

A photo of Mack and Miller went viral on social media after the shooting occurred on June 8. Photo: Facebook

Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack of Arizona, told News21 Tuesday that he is not “in any way affiliated” with Las Vegas shooter Jerad Miller, who along with his wife, killed two police officers, one civilian, and then themselves.

Mack is the founder of the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. This picture of Mack and Miller went viral on social media after the shooting occurred. Miller posted the picture on his Facebook page in February. It shows the two of them at a convention in Las Vegas.

Audio Source: Phone interview with Sydney Stavinoha/News21.

Sydney Stavinoha is an Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation News21 Fellow.

Discovering the digital frontier

By Marlena Chertock

One of the goals in News21 is to continue pushing the boundaries and exploring the use of innovative digital tools for its upcoming project on gun laws. The fellows researched Poynter’s News University’s list of innovative reporting, design and social media tools, which is a project of The Poynter Institute and funded by The Knight Foundation.

As an interactive designer and coder, I’m interested in exploring and mastering more of these tools and working with News21 journalists to rethink ways to tell stories. Check back to see which tools we use in the finished project.

The Day After: Updates from Seattle Pacific University Shooting