UTAHNS: Hammer KSL for this one.:

The headline SHOULD read: Stolen vehicle and weapons recovered; NOT AK-47.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=6656882

SPANISH FORK -- Police arrested 22-year-old Kip David Gneiting in connection with a home burglary and theft of an AK-47 and a Ford Mustang.

Police say it doesn't appear the assault rifle had been fired. Other property from the burglary has been recovered as well and is in the custody of the Spanish Fork Police Department.

Sometime between Thursday night and Friday morning, thieves broke into a home in the area of 300 South and 750 West, making off with a laptop, an Xbox, two rifles, an AK-47, and a 2006 Mustang.

Detectives from the Spanish Fork Police Department are still conducting further interviews with witness and additional arrests are expected.

Gneiting was booked into the Utah County Jail Saturday morning.

Gneiting was also arrested last month in connection with a coin theft case. Officers said the coins, worth about $12,000, were found in a storage unit leased by Gneiting, who had stolen them from someone else.

********

We need to contact KSL's editorial staff. There is a link at the bottom of their page, "Contact us". When you click it, it will give you a drop down menu of options, including "Comments on Eyewitness News" and "News Director". Pick one and send a polite, WELL-WRITTEN protest to the station.

My email:

Dear Sir or Madam,

Your story from today about the Spanish Fork recovery of stolen weapons and other property was headlined in a way to demonize categories of guns and their owners. In calling the rifle an "AK-47" and naming it separately from the other two weapons that were stolen, you are feeding a media campaign that demonizes guns rather than the criminals that use them. There has been a campaign in the media in recent years to intentionally miscategorize certain categories of guns, thereby changing public perception of them, and making people fear them and be willing to compromise their right to keep and bear arms as a result. Responsible gun owners want to make sure that your station understands the difference and does not fall into this trap of reporting false information.

The rifle stolen was NOT an AK-47. It was a semi-automatic import, no different in its function than many other sporting and defensive rifles available to every law-abiding U.S. citizen. Your headline paints a picture of a criminal driving away in a stolen car with a machine gun, which is absolutely untrue. A more accurate headline would read, "Robbery suspect caught, valuables including three rifles and Mustang recovered".

I do not believe that this oversight was intentional. Many incorrect labels which have been perpetuated by the media have become common in their use. But I know you understand, just because a term is common in its use does not make it correct. KSL has a strong tradition of supporting gun owners and sportsmen, Doug Wright in particular has been very outspoken and supportive of gun owners in his commentary, and we just want this tradition to continue.

Sincerely,

MLJDeckard

This was my response, I don't suggest copying it word-for word, but you get the idea.

On the radio they were saying they stole 2 rifles and an "AK-47".

:rolleyes:

I sent a short note as well

ill send them a note. at least we live in utah where the news catsers treat guns with a lot more respect then in many other places.

I just caught a look at the picture on the site. I can see the Laptop, the X-Box and the 'AK' where are the other two rifles?..... notice how they put the most menacing looking thing front and center?