Yup. It’s anti-gun agitprop. But I’ve got to say that Gun Nation is most excellent photojournalism. I love the book. And can’t wait to buy photojournalist Zed Nelson’s follow-up. The Brit and I have a different take on the meaning of his pics — as do his subjects. And there are some deeply misguided anti-gun rights folks amongst Mr. Zed’s subjects.
For example, the doctor who says that most people who shoot and kill other people are otherwise law-abiding citizens involved in domestic disputes is dead wrong (so to speak). In truth, gang bangers and suicides account for the vast majority (about 90%) of all firearms-related homicides.
The gentleman whose son was murdered at Columbine neglects to mention that the slaughter was originally planned as a bombing (the devices failed to detonate). And that the police response was woefully slow and inadequate. It’s also not true that 40 percent of gun sales don’t go through a background check (even though the checks do virtually nothing to prevent crime).
The gun store owner who calls for national gun registration clearly doesn’t get it. (And if this video finds his customers, his customers likely won’t get their guns from him.) Ask any semi-automatic rifle owner living in New York, a state that banned the in-state purchase or sale of “assault rifles” under the so-called SAFE Act, if national registration isn’t a slippery slope to confiscation. It’s a superhighway.
Anyway, as biased as this Guardian-produced video is, it’s beautifully done and well worth your time.