Free Advertising From The Bloody Awful Dispatch

Yesterday the Columbus Dispatch, under the headline "Schools Need Armed Protectors" and complete with an illustration of a little schoolgirl flanked by two pistol-packin' rent-a-cops, gave prominent, 4-column space to a lengthy commercial message posing as a letter to the editor.  It was written by the chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, a half-assed gun-nut PAC dedicated to the unregulated sale and proliferation of guns and ammo, no matter what.

The writer contrasted the casualty-counts at Arapahoe High School vs. Sandy Hook Elementary (2 vs. 28) and, disregarding all other factors, breezily concluded the difference was due solely to the presence of an armed security guard at Arapahoe.  This the same flimsy "good guy with a gun" argument the N.R.A. has been making for decades, despite the lack of substantiating proof.  It's a paranoid arms-race mentality and makes even less sense for our schools today than it did for the Cold War 40 years ago.  This is why the idea of armed school guards is strongly opposed by the large majority of school administrators, teachers, parents, police, mayors, and sensible people everywhere.

But worse than the writer's simple-minded assertion that gun violence can somehow be reduced with more guns is the Dispatch's decision to give free ad space to this lobbying group.  The real purpose of the "letter" was to boost gun sales by promoting the BFA's four-hour gun training program for parents and teachers, and by advocating the placement of such gun-toters in all school buildings.  (Imagine a low self-esteem, Zimmerman-esque vigilante in every kindergarten room.  Feel safer??)

It's not the first time the Dispatch has provided free P.R. to the BFA.  (See both Buster's Blog and the Dispatch of 12/29/12.)  Sadly, it almost certainly won't be the last, which is both infuriating and embarrassing.  Yes, the Dispatch is famously (infamously?) right-wing, but if they had shred of journalistic integrity, they'd at least try to be less friggin' obvious about it.

[Sent to Glenn Sheller, Editorial Page Editor, gsheller@dispatch.com]