ABC News Wants Your Self-Defense Story
It’s for 20/20 and who knows whether it’s legit or just a ploy to make gun owners look bad, but from the ABC News website:
April 6, 2007 — Have you ever defended yourself from a crime in your home, in your business, or in public by using a gun? Perhaps you warded off a potential attacker by simply showing a gun?
40 states now allow their citizens to obtain conceal-carry permits for handguns. Some people say that’s dangerous, while others say it allows them to protect themselves.
If you have a story of self-defense involving the aid of a gun and would like to tell it to 20/20, please fill out the form below. A “20/20″ producer may contact you.
Well? Spread the word! Our side is always claiming that guns are used over a million times a year for self-defense, almost always without ever having to fire them, just showing them. These are the types of events rarely printed in any newspaper, even local ones. If reporter John Stossel is involved, it could be a very good thing.
Now would be a the time to overwhelm ABC with true stories proving that guns save lives. It might change their minds, and the minds of some anti-gunners as well.
16 Responses to “ABC News Wants Your Self-Defense Story”
on 07 Apr 2007 at 9:41 am # John
Why don’t they just get some back copies of the American Rifleman?
on 07 Apr 2007 at 9:47 am # rockdalian
The NRA’s monthly magazine, America’s Freedom,has a page called Armed Citizen that highlights stories of people using arms for self defense. These stories are from published sources. If the NRA can find them surely ABC can also.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 9:48 am # rb
If it’s going to be on 20/20, then it might be a piece by John Stossel, who is a libertarian.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 9:52 am # William Meise
claytoncramer.comThe Civilian Gun Self-Defense Blog at http://www.claytoncramer.com/gundefenseblog/blogger.html has been reporting this type of action for years.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:04 am # Dean
Stossel did a piece awhile back that had criminals saying they feared armed citizens more than LE. If it’s him doing the story it will probably be fair, but there’s no guarantee they won’t just take only the stories knuckleheads (or antigunners) send in to make us all look bad.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:14 am # tkdkerry
Stossel I would trust. Otherwise, I’d bet they say they didn’t get as many responses as they expected, which would “prove” guns don’t get used for self-defense as much the experts say, so why do we need them. Because, you know, ABC folks are indisputable geniuses regarding polls and statistics and all.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:32 am # Jeff Soyer
Well, our cynicism aside, if enough folks do tell their stories, it will be hard to ignore. I’d rather give them the benefit of the doubt than to sit back and offer them nothing, which will only confirm their possible bias against firearms being used for self-defense.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:47 am # James
Er…Someone in the media asks for information on DGUs, and we sit back complaining?
Jeez, why aren’t we flooding them with our stories, rather than dismissively waving them in the direction of A.R?
We need to be Zumboing them with our stories. Get anyone you know who’s had a DGU to contribute. Overwhelm them with information. (Although I’d be cautious about Mr. Cramer’s site, his somewhat anti-gay stance will not play well to a more moderate TV veiwership)
How often do you think such an opportunity will come along? Pass the word around.
Let’s get to it!
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:59 am # Sean
It’s hard to imagine that the network that brings you Rosie O’Donnell could ever be trusted to do a fair story when it comes to the 2nd Amendment.
At best, expect them to get a few brave home-defenders and then grill those poor SOBs on the constitutional argument, inevitably making them look bad.
I haven’t watched any of the big three networks since stuff started getting tough on the war on terror about 3 years ago. Their agenda is plain to see, and intolerable to watch.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 11:51 am # Rick M
I don’t want to come off as though I’m telling anybody what to do but I’m British and when we lost our firearm freedoms it was, for the most part, due to a lack of action. I would hope many pro 2A/pro gun Americans the likes of which read and post on this site would jump at the chance to tell their stories. If you have such as story to tell then do so. There is no regret in action that fails only regret for failure to act, I, like many pro gun Brits know this regret and know it well.
on 07 Apr 2007 at 2:15 pm # jdunmyer
If I had a DGU story to tell, I’d surely contact ABC. Even if they decline to do the show (for whatever reason), I’d have done my part to demonstrate that guns ARE used for legitimate self-defense.
As Rick says above, we should never, ever let a chance to say our part pass by. Whether it be sending an email to an anti- columnist or TV news reader, letters to the editor of our newspapers, or whatever. I’ve offered to take different columnists to the range; even though none have accepted, most have replied and perhaps have a different image of gunowners than they did previously.
Also, never, ever go off frothing at the mouth over the lies and bias in the MSM, at least not in public. (throwing a brick through your own TV is OK, as is ranting and raving to the cat)
on 07 Apr 2007 at 10:59 pm # Nola Blogger
I’m skeptical that this will be a balanced story, unless perhaps John Stossel does it.
on 08 Apr 2007 at 1:36 am # DJ
Sorry, but unless they guarantee up-front that Stossel would be the one and only correspondent involved in all aspects of the report, I think it will turn out to be another standard anti-gun-owner hit job.
They’ll get 997 solid, legal, moral, and absolutely uncontestable cases of justifiable self-defense, along with 3 totally crackpot stories, and I’ll let you guess which ones will make the report. Given a long list of doctors, lawyers, and schoolteachers they could choose from, they’ll pick the only three overweight gap-toothed stained-flannel-shirt-wearing 6th-grade dropouts that can’t put together a simple sentence, and parade them in front of America as representative concealed weapon carriers/gun owners — again.
Color me jaded, but I’ve seen dozens of these types of reports over the last 30 years, and it’s the primary reason I will NEVER talk to the press on camera; well, that and the fact that half of the above description also fits me…
on 08 Apr 2007 at 7:38 pm # tkdkerry
+1 on DJ. I DO NOT TRUST the MSM, and won’t believe this is legit until I see it. Once burned, twice shy, right? Well, how many times have we been burned?
on 09 Apr 2007 at 11:43 am # doug in colorado
The kind of ABC journalists who do 20/20 and the CBS hacks who do 60 minutes may be one and the same. They are usually more interested in a) their own agenda and b) sensationalism that gets them more viewers. You can tell your story, and it may be a perfectly valid incidence of self defense, but don’t hold your breath while waiting for them to use it, and if they do don’t expect to recognize yourself.
We were stationed in Iceland when 60 minutes came through back in the early 80’s and their portrayal of Icelandic alcohol abuse was beyond absurd…is there an alcohol problem? Yes. Is it anything like what was portrayed? Not even close. that was the first time I had firsthand knowledge of the subject of a 60 minutes report and could see just how much or little “truthiness” there was in the finished product.
Doug in Colorado
on 10 Apr 2007 at 5:45 pm # Bullseye
I sent’em this. We’ll see what happens.