Dallas Morning News: No More Classified Ads for Handguns and Assault
Weapons
Press Release
National Campaign to Close the Newspaper
Loophole
c/o Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence
4403 1st Ave. SE, Suite 113
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-3221
Phone: 319-743-7823
www.gunloophole.com
Contact:
John Johnson
Phone: 319-743-7823
Dallas, TX - The Dallas Morning News announced on July 6 that the
newspaper will no longer accept classified ads for handguns, except from
federally licensed firearms dealers. In addition, the newspaper will not
accept advertisements for silencers, explosive materials, or any type of
assault or fully automatic weapon. Advertisements for long guns -- rifles
and shotguns -- are not affected by the new policy.
The new policy "ensures that The News isn't operating a marketplace that
allows for the sale or trading of weapons outside the law," said Steven
Weaver, senior vice president/advertising.
"The change is in the best interest of the community and The Dallas
Morning News," added Frank Leto, vice president/classified advertising.
The Dallas Morning News' announcement came two months after the Houston
Chronicle adopted a similar advertising policy on May 1.
The Dallas Morning News changed its policy after receiving a request from
the Dallas Million Mom March. Marsha McCartney, co-president of the Dallas
chapter said, "I am proud of my local newspaper for taking this small, but
important, step. I hope that other newspapers in Texas will follow the
example of The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle to become
part of the solution rather than part of the problem."
The Dallas MMM is a participating organization in the National Campaign to
Close the Newspaper Loophole -- the unregulated sale of firearms through
classified ads in newspapers. The campaign is asking newspapers all across
the country to voluntarily stop taking classified ads for firearms from
unlicensed sellers. The campaign does not object to newspapers taking
classified ads from licensed firearms dealers because licensed dealers,
unlike unlicensed sellers who sell guns through the classifieds, are
required to conduct criminal background checks on all buyers.
Since the campaign began in November 2001, the following newspapers have
changed their classified advertising policy on firearms: Chicago Tribune,
Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Sandusky (Ohio) Register, Willoughby
(Ohio) News-Herald, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Detroit Free Press,
Detroit News, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald, Houston Chronicle, and now
The Dallas Morning News.
"The issue is not guns, but the way guns are sold," said John Johnson,
executive director of Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, and
coordinator for the campaign. "In an age of increasing concern for public
safety, we find it difficult to defend a newspaper's part in the private
sale of firearms by unlicensed sellers without a criminal background check
of the would-be buyer."
Date of Release: August 5, 2003
Weapons
Press Release
National Campaign to Close the Newspaper
Loophole
c/o Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence
4403 1st Ave. SE, Suite 113
Cedar Rapids, IA 52402-3221
Phone: 319-743-7823
www.gunloophole.com
Contact:
John Johnson
Phone: 319-743-7823
Dallas, TX - The Dallas Morning News announced on July 6 that the
newspaper will no longer accept classified ads for handguns, except from
federally licensed firearms dealers. In addition, the newspaper will not
accept advertisements for silencers, explosive materials, or any type of
assault or fully automatic weapon. Advertisements for long guns -- rifles
and shotguns -- are not affected by the new policy.
The new policy "ensures that The News isn't operating a marketplace that
allows for the sale or trading of weapons outside the law," said Steven
Weaver, senior vice president/advertising.
"The change is in the best interest of the community and The Dallas
Morning News," added Frank Leto, vice president/classified advertising.
The Dallas Morning News' announcement came two months after the Houston
Chronicle adopted a similar advertising policy on May 1.
The Dallas Morning News changed its policy after receiving a request from
the Dallas Million Mom March. Marsha McCartney, co-president of the Dallas
chapter said, "I am proud of my local newspaper for taking this small, but
important, step. I hope that other newspapers in Texas will follow the
example of The Dallas Morning News and the Houston Chronicle to become
part of the solution rather than part of the problem."
The Dallas MMM is a participating organization in the National Campaign to
Close the Newspaper Loophole -- the unregulated sale of firearms through
classified ads in newspapers. The campaign is asking newspapers all across
the country to voluntarily stop taking classified ads for firearms from
unlicensed sellers. The campaign does not object to newspapers taking
classified ads from licensed firearms dealers because licensed dealers,
unlike unlicensed sellers who sell guns through the classifieds, are
required to conduct criminal background checks on all buyers.
Since the campaign began in November 2001, the following newspapers have
changed their classified advertising policy on firearms: Chicago Tribune,
Philadelphia Inquirer, Miami Herald, Sandusky (Ohio) Register, Willoughby
(Ohio) News-Herald, Denver Post, Rocky Mountain News, Detroit Free Press,
Detroit News, Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald, Houston Chronicle, and now
The Dallas Morning News.
"The issue is not guns, but the way guns are sold," said John Johnson,
executive director of Iowans for the Prevention of Gun Violence, and
coordinator for the campaign. "In an age of increasing concern for public
safety, we find it difficult to defend a newspaper's part in the private
sale of firearms by unlicensed sellers without a criminal background check
of the would-be buyer."
Date of Release: August 5, 2003