People Magazine False “Fact” in Shannon Watts Puff Piece for Gun Control

Shannon Watts
Shannon Watts

U.S.A. –(Ammoland.com)- In a puff piece with much emotion and very little fact, the author of the People article, Michelle Tauber, promotes  public relations expert Shannon Watts as just a “stay at home mom” who saw something that needed doing.

The article in People.com has almost nothing of substance in it. It ignores the funding of the organization by anti-gun zealot Michael Bloomberg. It ignores the law. It ignores the Constitution. It ignores just about all facts involving firearms.

Here is one of the very few “facts” put forward in the puff piece:

As for the idea that reducing gun violence, which disproportionately affects Americans — the United States is home to 82% of gun deaths worldwide — is too difficult and complex to tackle, Watts says she “can’t fathom” the idea of giving up.

The number put forward, that the United States is home to 82% of “gun deaths” worldwide, is false, by any reasonable measure.

Counting all deaths which have any link to firearms in the United States, there were 39,000 “gun deaths” in the United States in 2016.  One source puts the worldwide total number of “gun deaths” at 251,000 for 2016. The United States has less than 16% of the total, not 82%.

“Gun deaths” is a propaganda term; an Orwellian way of linking all deaths that are related to guns, even though the causes are completely different and unrelated. Suicide mechanisms and causes are very different from homicide causes, which are quite different from accidents.

Restrictions on guns have had virtually no effect on suicides. There are too many easily substituted methods.

In Brazil, in 2016, over 61,283 people were murdered. About 40,000 of them are committed with firearms. By itself, Brazil has more people murdered with guns than the United States has homicides (about 13,000) and suicides (about 26,000).  Brazil has extremely strict gun control laws.

Newly elected President Bolsonaro of Brazil is loosening gun regulation in that country to save lives. In the first three months of his presidency, the murder rate dropped 25%. It is too soon to tell if the effect will continue as his reforms of gun regulation are implemented.

There are many other countries with much higher murder rates than the United States. There are many other countries with much higher suicide rates than the United States.

By using the term “gun violence” Shannon Watts attempts to sell a simple but fundamentally false solution: get rid of guns, and there will be no “gun violence”.

We could easily get rid of all “hospital deaths” by eliminating hospitals.

But none of the legal “solutions” called for by Everytown would prevent any significant number of suicides or homicides.

They could easily precipitate more homicides by making more vulnerable people less able to defend themselves.

Several surveys show defensive uses of guns in the United States far outstrip criminal uses of guns. Defensive uses number somewhere between 500,000 and 3 million per year, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). The numbers are imprecise because they are hard to measure. A homicide results in a body. A defensive gun results in a live person or a crime prevented. It is much harder to measure a crime that did not happen.

No one has reported exactly how much Shannon Watts is compensated, or how. It takes money to fund full time armed security. It takes money to jet around the country. It takes money to fund wardrobes, makeup artists, and organizational efforts.

How this money is directed to Shannon Watts is unknown. She claims she does not get a salary. That does not mean she does not receive an expense account or other compensation.

In another article, I explained how people who are voluntarily unarmed do not care about facts. They simply want fewer people with guns and fewer guns.

The People article is aimed at them. It is all emotion.

The article shows Shannon Watts and most of the anti-Second Amendment group are not only ignorant, but proud of their ignorance.  The claim the sanctity of “good intentions”.

History is rife with bloody examples of the cost of emotional driven “good intentions”. The proverbial road to hell is paved with them.

The best defense against this sort of attack is the education of unarmed people.  Take an unarmed person shooting. Use a .22. Have them wear hearing protection. One experience shooting is worth  fifty articles they will not read. Be sure to make the experience pleasant as well as educational. Don’t worry about the a political conversion. Worry about them having a good time.


About Dean Weingarten:Dean Weingarten

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

31 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Elizabeth Marsh

I supposed when you’re faced with an eloquent and passionate woman who is working for a cause that an overwhelming majority of Americans believe in, you have to resort to name calling and making stuff up. We are the first-world. well-developed nation with the highest rate of gun violence per capita. Comparing us to Brazil is like comparing apples to rotten oranges with citrus canker. And the reason she needs a body guard, which yes, I am glad the organization pays for, is because of people who believe her right to speak is trumped by their right to threaten her… Read more »

Roy D.

So you are all for her right to speak, guaranteed by the First Amendment; but, oppose people having and bearing arms, guaranteed by the Second Amendment. That gives evidence of sick mind. So there is a canker, and we are not the ones afflicted with it.

Get Out

So you’re OK with her presenting false facts and containing untrue statements to further her (Bloomberg’s) gun control agenda?

StLPro2A

AW, good ole Shannon Watts…….aka Short On Watts……aka Liar For Hire.

robert orians

The left has made it clear that you will fight or they will kill you and your tribe when they next take the Offal Office . Get ready ! Every blade of grass . Got my mosquito net on and training with the church boys tonight .

SkippingDog

Another Friday, another mass murder.

James G.

Why would anyone trust a liberal/feminist to tell the truth?

Rock

Typical PUFF HEADED Dem/lib BULLSHIT LIES, meant for the brain dead or completely STUPID audience they always preach to.

Native Son

If you believe anything that Shannon Watts says, You will fall for anything. She is just another Definition of “Fake News”.

Bob Sadtler

By God, I just figured out how to end malpractice!

Just deny everyone medical care…

Dave Johnson

“Gun deaths” as reported in the UCR statistics, doesn’t break out accidents, law enforcement shootings, or suicides. So the statistic…is statistically useless. It was only focused under Comrade Janet Reno. A political communist animal, if there ever was one. Just like “gun seizures” reported in the ucrs stats. Each gun seizure is recorded by fbi, atf, HSI, the seizing department, and all task force member agencies. So in the ucr stats, one gun seized, is counted as at least, 8 in the seizure stats.

keith

Your right, the term “gun deaths” is very vague.
Here in Australia several years ago the anti gun lobby trotted out a list of people killed by guns.
Which happened to include two people who were killed in a car accident whilst on the way to the range.
They also included anyone up to the age of 25 as an “infant” death caused by guns.

Patriot guy

People magazine, isn’t that just another roll of toilet paper? What we have here – Shannon Watts- is an mentally unstable, psychotic, PMS bitch, meth addict, who masterbates too much!! Facts? Who needs ’em? Just make up your own and lie and tell everyone its the truth! And you will get hysterical, gullible women who will believe it, however men won’t. This is the same group of women who back in 1918 banned all alcohol. (and prostitution) saying this will cure all of America’s problems. What we got instead was booze running gangs, the mob and thousands dying of poisoned… Read more »

Chuckbone56

Who in the heck reads people magazine? Its the Adult version of a teen magazine. What drivel!

MB

Don’t take information from a person who thinks with her organs instead of her brain. For most of these “moms” (if you could call them that) don’t have a clue what truth is, only motivation is what they “feel”. As far as Ms. Watts, well she is only motivated by Bloomberg’s money and her own narcissism. She is a POS of the worst kind.

joefoam

Yet, all these ‘stay at home moms’ will believe every word printed in the mag. It is their bible and will not be questioned. The trick is to inform the ignorant but the media will never do that.

Jeffry Smith

Great article, Dean! Thanks for exposing this liar and shill of Michael Bloomberg.

And, don’t forget: in 2016 the population of Brazil was about 208 million, versus the U.S. which was 323 million that same year. So the disparity is even greater: their 61K gun related deaths to our 13K shows that the Leftist agenda will put out any kind of lie that fits their agenda, and the media will never call them on it. God help us if they ever get back into power.

Huapakechi

The anti-gun crusade is one aspect of the socialist agenda. Those who push restrictions or an outright ban on the right to bear arms seek to eliminate every other right recognized by the Constitution as well. An armed citizenry is a primary obstacle to their plans.

Spurs6

Watts is a typical lying lib-tard with a big mouth, closed ears and a tiny brain. Contrary to Mr. Card’s point, the progressive media will never print retractions because they need to maintain the lie in order to steer the masses and maintain their position in the nwo. But getting back to Watts, she’s just a tool of the nwo elite…no substance, no reason, no facts…just constant drivel to keep the weak-minded focused on the movement. As a side note…the Everytown and Moms for Tyranny have a “wear orange” weekend planned starting June 7. So put on you best warm… Read more »

Le

Brazil, like Chicago, has stringent gun control laws, but look how well that is working for them. These poorly informed think removing guns will be the answer? No matter how many times the analogy of gun guys following the law and giving up their guns while the bad guys keep theirs while getting some of what has been turned in, it doesn’t seem to register. Their idyllic ideas are only useful if you want the USA to belong to gang members and religious zealots. Then we have people like Shannon that spews falsehoods to the less intelligent, and they believe… Read more »

n r ringlee

Propaganda is the life blood of tyrants. Propaganda is the only means of communication available to those who do not have facts on their sides. Call them out at every turn. Bloomberg can afford to hire the best. So why did he hire this hack? She is not even a good amateur at her profession.

David

don’t forget that Watts wrote commercials before she founded her bogus astroturf group

William Card

False information will continue to be published until the authors are forced to print a retraction admitting the error.

Huapakechi

The consequences of such acts must be more severe than a simple one sentence retraction hidden on a back page which will not garner near the hype and publicity of the original falsehood.
By rights, the retraction should have page placement and column space equal to or greater than the lie that prompts the retraction as well as naming those responsible for the inaccuracies, and in the case of those who are associated with “political activism”, naming those organizations and donors who support them.

Kenneth Staszak

Problem with that is the retraction/correction will be so small and so hidden none will see it and the damage will already be done

m r c

I guess I forgot who is this wakjob an why would anybody listen to her

m.

how to tell if a dhimmi-rat is lying? its lips are moving.

Will Flatt

Drill this into your heads, people. Leftists don’t give a damn about facts. To them, it’s all about “feeeewwwwwwwiiiinnngs”. Facts are only helpful for middle-of-the-road people who want to make an informed, logical determination.

hippybiker

Most people are unaware that Ms. Watts was at one time a mouthpiece/Shill for Monsanto. Something to keep in mind.

joefoam

Yeah, ‘stay at home mom’ my rear end. Her PR skills are what’s being used to buffalo the uninformed.

No Filter

Shill for Monsanto? She must be one of those GMO’s that’s glyphosate resistant. That pic of her screams, “l’m stupid and l know what l’m talking about”.