‘Student Protest’ Over Colorado’s Semi-Auto Ban Awfully Anti-Climatic

I blast the media an awful lot here at Bearing Arms, but I’m not about to apologize for it. Far too many media outlets try to make things into stories that aren’t stories and have likely informed a lot of criminals about alternative sources of firearms.

But it’s the concept of making a story out of nothing that most interests me right now.

See, in Colorado, there’s a proposed semi-auto ban that would essentially ban most self-defense firearms entirely. While the gun industry would find a way around it–KelTec’s PR57 already bypasses the proposed legislation, for example–it really shouldn’t have to.

Both sides are doing battle, but only one side is really getting media support, which involves framing stories carefully to make it look like there’s broad support for this ban. 

For example, let’s look at this headline: “Students rally to boost gun control bill sponsored by Aurora theater shooting victim’s father.”

Everything about that is meant to evoke an emotion. They mention the sponsor not because it’s relevant–who sponsored the bill might matter, but what the bill does should be more important–but because it makes a point in and of itself.

And about all those students? Yeah, let’s talk about that.

More than 100 students rallied at the Colorado Capitol on Thursday to show support for a bill that would ban the sale of semiautomatic firearms that can use detachable magazines.

The rally was only the second Students Demand Action event at a U.S. statehouse, according to organizers. The students planned the entire day, including meetings with lawmakers and Gov. Jared Polis’ administration.

The day was a way to have student voices heard on school shootings and measures to address that threat, which they said they live with on a constant basis. They said Senate Bill 3 would make it harder for someone to commit a mass shooting.

“We really do look for the exits in every classroom that we walk into,” said Cherry Creek High School senior Kimaya Kini, 17. She said she’d spent the week at the statehouse testifying on behalf of the legislation and meeting with lawmakers, because she and other students live in constant fear.

First, no you don’t look for those exits, if for no other reason that you already know where they are. Classrooms aren’t exactly unfamiliar places. Plus, students know that the orders in the event of a mass shooting is shelter in place as the doors get locked down.

But that sounds scarier.

As for the rest, well, let’s think about this for a moment. More than 100 students is a massive news story, apparently.

However, let’s keep in mind that in Denver alone, there are 53 total public high schools and 90,000 or so students enrolled in the public school system. 

While we don’t know what “more than 100” actually means so far as numbers go, we do know that this is a nothing rally. There was absolutely no real turnout. Sure, it was a school day, but that never seemed to stop teachers from happily granting students permission to engage in activism during school hours, so that wouldn’t necessarily keep the numbers down.

So let’s assume that “more than 100” means just that, more than 100, but fewer than 150 for a second.

That’s still only an average of two or three students per public high school–and there are plenty of private high schools in Denver, possibly driving the average down even further–which is kind of nothing. And that’s just looking at Denver. That doesn’t include any of the surrounding areas, much less the state as a whole. This is hardly a representative sample.

So why is this news?

Why was it presented as if this was a significant rally than what really amounted to a relatively small gathering of activists?

The answer is simply that the media wants you to think there was this major student outpouring of support for an unconstitutional proposal that would gut self-defense in the state. I don’t have an issue with covering this, but the reporting makes it look like a major effort when it wasn’t.

This was a small, self-selected group pushing for a bill that most students likely don’t give a damn about.

Maybe it’s time to gather about a hundred or so pro-gun students and stage their own rally. I’d love to see what the coverage would look like.