Yesterday we reported that Accuracy International’s owner, Tom Irwin, had commented on the availability of bump fire stocks and semi-automatic weapons in the United States. Our report was based an article quoting him in the British daily, the Evening Standard.
Mr. Irwin has spoken to Frank Galli of the Sniper’s Hide, who writes the following:
Prior to publication, Tom spoke to the reporter and the question of Bump stocks came up. This is the majority of the article, and delivered two quotes from Tom.
“Ridiculous”
“Personally, I don’t think so. I can’t see the benefit.”Clearly these were taken out of context and help create the headline that the “US needs greater gun controls, says rifle boss”.
Meanwhile gun control was never mentioned, nor was the topic. These two comments were about bump stocks. Not semi auto rifles, or anything else, bump stocks.
Clearly out of context, clearly meant to incite a reaction among their US market. Remember, the reporter had access to their financial documents, hurting their US sales could hurt a company that showed growth. Because they supported the outcome of the election you get a political hit job.
Read the whole thing here.
Nothing in the Sniper’s Hide post seems to contradict the point about bump fire stocks. The matter of semi-automatic firearms isn’t addressed.
Tom explained, Accuracy International and Tom Irwin are not calling for more gun control in the US. And does (not) agree with the way the article frames any of Tom’s statements.
Fair enough. The British press has never been known for its restraint. However, libel laws being what they are in the UK, utter fabrications by “reputable” media outlets are few and far between. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions.