Did an Ohio newspaper fire its editor for criticizing the gun lobby?
(Spoiler: It appears the answer is yes.)
On Monday evening, during my usual evening scan of Facebook, an acquaintance’s post interrupted my mindless scrolling with some unexpected news: “Saddened by my hometown newspaper, the Sentinel-Tribune, who fired their editor for writing an editorial about the NRA.”
Strange, I thought. There must be another side to this story, said my optimistic naivety. Surely, my hometown paper would uphold its editorial and journalistic integrity against partisan politics or special interest.
Apparently not. On Wednesday, The Toledo Blade reported that Sentinel editor Jan Larson McLaughlin — a longtime veteran of the paper — had been terminated. The alleged reason? Insubordination. As The Blade reports:
A veteran newspaper reporter who was promoted to editor of Bowling Green’s daily newspaper in 2013 was fired Monday for insubordination.
Jan Larson McLaughlin, 53, said she was handed a letter of termination accusing her of insubordination for allowing news staff members at the Sentinel-Tribune to read an editorial about the NRA that she had written, as was her normal practice.
Sentinel Publisher and Vice President Karmen Concannon killed the editorial and subsequently declined to discuss the matter with staff members who asked her to reconsider publishing it.
Mrs. McLaughlin said the rejected opinion piece called on responsible gun owners to reclaim control of the NRA in the wake of recent mass shootings across the country.
So what did McLaughlin — who, before being named editor in 2013, worked as a reporter at the Sentinel for 29 years — write that was so unhinged, so extreme that the piece needed to be axed and, in turn, her more than three decades of employment at the Sentinel concluded?
Simple: She took on the gun lobby.
You can read McLaughlin’s unpublished editorial — in fact, I encourage you to. I doubt you will find anything that is objectively out of line or untrue.
“We’ve tried arming every citizen who is so inclined. It hasn't solved the problem. So let’s look for other solutions, ones that reasonable gun owners can support. But that will mean responsible gun owners are first going to have to take back control of their national organization, which seems more concerned about the gun industry than the average gun owner.” — Jan Larson McLaughlin, as written in an unpublished editorial
So far, the Sentinel has remained silent on McLaughlin’s termination. Sentinel Publisher and Vice President Karmen Concannon has not responded to request for comment.
It’s important to note that McLaughlin told The Blade that she believes it was not the editorial itself that led to her termination, but rather her attempts to discuss with the publisher why the piece was rejected. But even if McLaughlin’s criticism toward the gun lobby — specifically the National Rifle Association and the Buckeye Firearms Association — is not the direct cause of her dismissal from the Sentinel, the events that unfolded should give the journalism community pause.
Unfortunately, it’s part of an unfortunate and dangerous trend taking place around the country, including my home county (Wood County, Ohio). And that is the gun lobby’s efforts to squelch any dissension to overly lax gun laws through its out-sized influence and alarmist rhetoric.
In Bowling Green, Ohio — home of the Sentinel-Tribune — these efforts have thus far succeeded.
Earlier this fall, as the Ohio House considered House Bill 48 — a measure that would permit concealed-carry license holders to carry their guns into a number of public areas, including college campuses, day care centers, police stations, and specified areas of airport terminals — a number of employees at Bowling Green State University (BGSU), the public university located in the same town as the Sentinel-Tribune, contacted Republican State Representative Tim Brown to express their concern over the legislation.
Queue the Buckeye Firearms Association, who, through a public records request, publicly revealed the names and e-mail addresses of the BGSU employees who contacted Rep. Brown to state their concerns over HB 48.
(Remember when the NRA stoked alarmist fears by claiming that President Obama would create a national federal gun registry? The irony is not lost.)
The Buckeye Firearms Association justified its tactics by accusing BGSU employees of misusing Ohio taxpayer resources through the use of their university e-mails. But, as university spokesman Dave Kielmeyer explained in a statement, “discussions by academics via university email or list serves on social issues, particularly those affecting the learning environment at BGSU, are absolutely appropriate” (a point McLaughlin also highlights in her unpublished editorial).
Guns absolutely affect the learning environment, whether in the context of a day care, an elementary school, or a college campus. This year alone, mass shootings have occurred at more than 20 college campuses in America. But would permitting concealed carry of firearms, as HB 48 seeks to do, actually address the gun violence epidemic plaguing classrooms and campuses across the nation? Could the so-called “good guy with a gun” trope actually help prevent the next mass shooting on a college campus (or anywhere else, for that matter)?
Guns absolutely affect the learning environment, whether in the context of a day care, an elementary school, or a college campus.
Evidence , if not common sense , suggests not. According to a 2014 FBI report — now made popular by The Daily Show — it’s incredibly rare that a “good guy with a gun” can stop an active shooting situation. As Vox explains:
According to the FBI’s report on active shooter events between 2000 and 2013, only about 3 percent were stopped by a civilian with a gun. Unarmed civilians actually stopped more incidents — about 13 percent. Most of the incidents — more than 56 percent — ended on the shooter’s initiative, when the shooter either killed himself or herself, simply stopped shooting, or fled the scene.
So even if we approach this issue optimistically — that only “good guys” will carry a concealed weapon on campus — think of the potential implications, both for the “good guy” and any civilians nearby. Even with the most laudable, heroic intentions, it takes just one accident, one misfire, to destroy a life.
So do BGSU employees have a stake in Ohio’s HB 48?
Yes.
And is the Buckeye Firearms Association attempting to intimidate BGSU employees from expressing their legitimate concerns over the bill to their elected leaders?
I would argue, yes.
McLaughlin, too, invoked the Buckeye Firearms Association’s actions in her unpublished editorial, stating that the “criticism of faculty input seems to be one more effort by the gun lobby to take the focus off the issue of gun violence.”
She’s right. Time and time again, organizations like the Buckeye Firearms Association and the National Rifle Association have swiftly and decisively targeted any figure who dares to suggest that maybe, with a little nuanced thinking and some measured, commonsense action, we as a nation can do more to address gun violence. Worse, these organizations do so by exploiting fear, perpetuating myths, and throwing up every conceivable roadblock to reform — even reforms supported by the vast majority of Americans.
Sadly, the events that unfolded in the Sentinel-Tribune indicate that the gun lobby’s out-sized influence is no longer limited to our elected leaders; it’s bleeding into our community newsrooms.
We can and must do better. The right to dissent should not be squelched by fears of harassment, threats, or retribution, be it physical, viral, or in places of employment. Editorial and journalistic integrity cannot — and must not — be compromised by special interest groups that have been hijacked by their most extreme members. In the instance of McLaughlin’s termination, I’m afraid both may have already happened.
I grew up around responsible, sensible gun owners. I, myself, have gone target shooting (and yes, I enjoyed it). But to quote the closing remarks of McLaughlin’s unpublished editorial, “It’s time for reasonable gun owners to say enough is enough.”
