America’s toxic mix of guns, concern over crime — and fear-mongering
Washington PostApr 18, 2023
The Facts
Washington County, N.Y. Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy on Monday announced at a press conference that Kevin Monahan, who has been arrested for allegedly shooting and killing Kaylin Gillis on Saturday night outside his house in Hebron (in upstate New York), was charged with murder and is expected to appear in court.
The 20-year-old woman from Schuylerville was in a car with three other people looking for a friend's house in the town when she was struck by one of at least two shots that Monahan fired when the driver mistakenly drove into his driveway.
The Spin
Left narrative
It's no coincidence that two mistaken visitors have been shot in the US in three days, with Gillis being fatally wounded. Gun ownership in America, which is far higher than in any other country, has increased as concerns about crime have also mounted due to sensationalist coverage by alarmist right-leaning outlets despite the actual data on crime not supporting this perception.
Right narrative
While tragic, the death of this innocent young girl in upstate New York is likely to be quickly forgotten by the mainstream media as it does not fit their woke agenda. It is sad how these incidents often are hyper-politicized by the left to meet specific political criteria rather than looking at unique case-by-case circumstances.
Nerd narrative
There's a 50% chance that there will be at least 1.40 small firearms per capita in the USA by 2029, according to the Metaculus prediction community.