The Truth About Guns
 | |
Type of site | Blog |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Created by | Robert Farago |
| Editor | Dan Zimmerman |
| URL | thetruthaboutguns.com |
| Registration | Optional |
| Launched | 1 February 2010 |
The Truth About Guns (TTAG) is a blog about firearms which launched in February 2010. The blog posts cover a wide range of topics including gun politics, firearms products and accessories, current events relating to firearms, firearms business, ethics relating to firearms, firearms culture, firearms technology, and other firearms-related articles. The staff updates the site with about 15 articles per day, with reduced updates on weekends.
History
Robert Farago founded The Truth About Guns in February 2010 to "explore the ethics, morality, business, politics, culture, technology, practice, strategy, dangers and fun of guns".[1] It claims to be the most popular firearms related blog in the world.[2] In April 2013 the website was approaching nearly a million dollars in revenue per year.[3]
In 2015 the blog conducted a recreation of the Paris Charlie Hebdo shooting to see if defensive gun use could have been effective. The simulations, using paintball guns instead of the real attackers' AK-47s, were repeated several times using different scenarios. Volunteers were used for civilians. The only survivor was the participant who fled immediately without trying to engage the attackers, and the defenders never succeeded in shooting both attackers. One unsuccessful defender said, "I still got killed but I did better than I thought I would." Volunteer participants played the civilians in the simulation. According to the organizers the simulated terrorists were trained firearms instructors. This contrasted with a previous recreation where trained defenders defeated untrained attackers, indicating that training was a factor in the results.[4][5]
Political activism
The Truth About Guns blog has been highly vocal in its opposition to gun control measures that have emerged since its founding such as the Assault Weapons Ban of 2013, the Connecticut assault weapons ban of 2013, the New York SAFE Act, and numerous other gun control measures on the local, state, and federal level.[citation needed] They held a campaign on their website called "Stand Strong Connecticut" in which readers of the website sent in pictures of themselves and a sign that said Stand Strong Connecticut in support of gun owners in Connecticut who were beginning to receive letters from the Connecticut State Police stating that they were no longer legally entitled to own some of their firearms which were banned under 2013 Gun Control Legislation.[6]
Features
The site's "Irresponsible Gun Owner of the Day" feature was mentioned by Dan Baum in a Wall Street Journal article on gun safety.[7]
Criticism
Since early 2013, the blog has been at odds with Moms Demand Action, which Farago refers to as "our most formidable adversary", whose founder Shannon Watts called the blog members "Gun Bullies" after a site member posted her home address and the staff refused to remove it. In 2018, ownership was changed and the National Rifle Association (NRA) became a prime target of TTAG. The NRA receives nearly continuous attacks from the management and regular contributors.[8]
References
- ^ Achenbach, Joel (February 2, 2013). "This gun rights backer, armed with his Glock and his blog, is always on alert". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ "The Truth About TTAG: Q2 2015". The Truth About Guns. July 19, 2015. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ "New Yorkers Moving to Texas Because of Gun Control". New Republic. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ Alan Yuhas "Pro-gun group in Texas re-enacts Charlie Hebdo attacks with paintball rounds", 15 January 2015 The Guardian
- ^ Leghorn, Nick. "TTAG Charlie Hebdo Simulation: Preliminary Results". The Truth About Guns. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
- ^ "Those who missed gun registration deadline getting letters from state police". Guns.com & Journal Inquirer. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
- ^ Baum, Dan (February 16, 2013). "Why Our Gun Debate Is Off Target". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
- ^ "What's an Olivette man doing running pro-gun website?". St. Louis Dispatch. Retrieved June 9, 2014.