# WaPo and the San Diego City Attorney are extremely ignorant of firearms **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 9, 2018, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270 "2018-03-09T00:20:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/21 "2018-03-09T11:19:37Z")
If in your world, law-makers and policy makers know every little thing about the objects that are governed by the laws they make, I want to live in your world. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/22 "2018-03-09T12:00:35Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > _THEY_ didn’t find it, it was pointed out to them by readers, and when they tried to correct it, they screwed that up too. That’s what makes this a bit more interesting than your normal media screw-up. It’s one thing to make a mistake, but when told they were wrong, their “correction” was also a mistake. Does WaPo not fact-check their corrections at least? You sound like a Holocaust Denier pointing out that you’ve done the math and it was barely 4.75 Jews killed. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/23 "2018-03-09T12:36:25Z")
[This](https://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=1623) is how general audience journalism handles all technical issues. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/24 "2018-03-09T13:11:42Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Nice dodge. The Charger? Or the Challenger? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/25 "2018-03-09T15:00:28Z")
I believe the cover-all in these instances is to just blithely say it’s “[Not intended to be a factual statement](https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/04/kyls-not-intended-be-factual-statement-now-also-not-intended-be-statement/349925/)”. Of course, that was from a guy who actually DID create public policy and not a newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/26 "2018-03-09T15:06:08Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > The Charger? Or the Challenger? Bastard. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Iggy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iggy/32/3364_2.png) [@Iggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggy)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/27 "2018-03-09T15:26:31Z")
The details do matter if any legislation is to be passed banning certain types of guns or creating a regulating scheme. And if someone drafting such a legislative proposal does not know a mauser rifle from a javelin then the resulting proposal is not likely to have the desired effect. I doubt the courts would uphold a conviction based upon a law with a vague or incorrect description of that which is intended to be regulated. ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/28 "2018-03-09T15:30:29Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > The weapon in question didn’t slaughter anyone. Little Boy didn’t kill anyone at Hiroshima either. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/29 "2018-03-09T15:36:43Z")
> [@Iggy](#): > > The details do matter if any legislation is to be passed banning certain types of guns or creating a regulating scheme. And if someone drafting such a legislative proposal does not know a mauser rifle from a javelin then the resulting proposal is not likely to have the desired effect. I doubt the courts would uphold a conviction based upon a law with a vague or incorrect description of that which is intended to be regulated. WaPo reporters don’t write legislation. ---
**Author:** ![swampspruce](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/swampspruce/32/261_2.png) [@swampspruce](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/swampspruce)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/30 "2018-03-09T15:42:52Z")
B-29s don’t kill people, people with B-29s kill people… Journalists get this kind of thing wrong all the time. I watch a news piece on the ongoing replacement of Canada’s CF-18 and they show pictures of an American F-15 Strike Eagle. Why? Because to most of the viewing public (and lazy researchers), a Ruger 10/22 is an assault rifle, all fighter jets look the same, and occasionally eyewitnesses suck at observation. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/31 "2018-03-09T15:43:17Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That’s because there doesn’t seem to be any subject on which many Dopers are more comfortable with (perhaps even proud of) their ignorance. If I can point out errors of fact that you made and did not wish to acknowledge, would you voluntarily stop posting on those topics? ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/32 "2018-03-09T15:47:15Z")
See, if we had adopted the metric system back in the dawn of the Republic, none of this would be an issue. Everyone would have a gut feeling for how ridiculously small .28 mm is, and would never have made the mistake. I blame [Caribbean pirates](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metrication_in_the_United_States#18th_century). ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/33 "2018-03-09T16:19:13Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > If I can point out errors of fact that you made and did not wish to acknowledge, would you voluntarily stop posting on those topics? No, but I’d welcome any corrective information you have to offer. I don’t think the normal expectation around here is that posters exercise the same level of rigor as a major newspaper. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/34 "2018-03-09T16:48:10Z")
If wouldn’t even matter if this were legislation. The error was corrected much more quickly than any legislation could have been passed. And you better bet there are errors in early drafts of legislation. This is just how news works. What is needed is general accuracy and timeliness. There’s not time to give vet the smaller details before publication. Posted corrections of such details is a staple of good reporting. These sorts of arguments are just an attempt at _ad hominem_. The underlying reason for such remarks is to try and discredit the organization. Problem is, one needs to know very little about guns to make gun control arguments. Just like you don’t need to know specific models of cars to make arguments about traffic laws. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/35 "2018-03-09T16:57:48Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > … one needs to know very little about guns to make gun control arguments. … [That’s not always true](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ospNRk2uM3U). ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/36 "2018-03-09T17:18:01Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > … So here. The article is about how one prosecutor’s office, working with the police, is taking steps to reduce gun violence, not by distrusting people generally, not by trying to grab guns from law abiding gun owners, but by focusing on those gun owners who pose a clear and present danger to public safety, whether because of serious mental health issues, a drug or alcohol issue, a proven track record of domestic violence, or similar provable risks. It’s also based on due process: the prosecutor has to go to court to get the restraining order, and the court decides if it’s needed, based on the evidence presented, and how long it should be for. The individual also has the ability to come back to court to have the order lifted if they get cleaned up from the drugs and alcohol, or deal with their mental health issues, and so on. > > That’s a highly individualised and focussed approach, designed to respect gun owners’ rights, respect due process, and also protect the public from individuals who pose an objective risk to public safety. What do you think of that approach? Is it workable? Does it fit with what people are saying, post-Florida, about the need for better measures to keep guns out of the hands of people with serious mental health/drug/alcohol issues? Can supporters of the Second Amendment live with it, because it’s tied to clear and present dangers, provable in court, and respects due process?.. I’m not familiar with the specifics of California’s law, but generally these types of laws allow for seizures with only an ex parte hearing. My opinion is that a hearing without an opportunity to defend oneself isn’t really respectful of due process. If the due process components were strengthened, I’d feel better about these types of laws, but if that were the case, the law wouldn’t really be necessary because federal law already prohibits someone who has been adjudicated a danger to themselves or others from possessing firearms. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/37 "2018-03-09T17:31:46Z")
I suggest a ban on .28 caliber assault-style pit bulls, but only if they are not part of a militia. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/38 "2018-03-09T17:53:13Z")
**Ditka** , I don’t understand why you think the _Washington Post_ has any responsibility at all. They printed a guest column, which is essentially a longer version of a Letter to the Editor. The column was attributed to a non-employee. Do you expect the editors of a newspaper to fact-check all Letters to the Editor? How about advertisements? Would you also expect a talk radio station to fact-check phone calls from listeners? Or is it possible that when the City Attorney typed out her submission, she typed 28mm instead of 5.7x28mm? Because there are certainly [5.7x28mm pistols.](http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/pistols/5-7x28mm-pistols.cfm?cat_id=1490) Or didn’t you take that into account? ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/39 "2018-03-09T18:07:15Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > **Ditka** , I don’t understand why you think the _Washington Post_ has any responsibility at all. They printed a guest column, which is essentially a longer version of a Letter to the Editor. The column was attributed to a non-employee. Do you expect the editors of a newspaper to fact-check all Letters to the Editor? How about advertisements? Would you also expect a talk radio station to fact-check phone calls from listeners? … 1. If your theory is correct, and WaPo had no responsibility at all, why did they bother correcting it at all? Why not just say “it’s not our job to correct mistakes in guest columns”? I’m guessing they disagree with your theory. 2. The correction was where WaPo really screwed up, IMHO, by getting the fact wrong a second time. That correction was not written by the guest columnist, it was written by a WaPo employee, who should have fact-checked their work better. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2018, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270/40 "2018-03-09T18:09:26Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > … Or is it possible that when the City Attorney typed out her submission, she typed 28mm instead of 5.7x28mm? Because there are certainly [5.7x28mm pistols.](http://www.gunsinternational.com/guns-for-sale-online/pistols/5-7x28mm-pistols.cfm?cat_id=1490) Or didn’t you take that into account? Did I take into account that the city attorney screwed up? Yes, I think that’s likely. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wapo-and-the-san-diego-city-attorney-are-extremely-ignorant-of-firearms/810270.md?page=3)