The Trace Targets the Firearm
Industry for Being … an Industry

The Trace recently hosted a webinar event called "Investigating the Gun Industry" for other 'gun control' activists to listen in on their "clandestine investigative work." Welcoming viewers with a declaration that their work is guided by "independent journalism," "transparency" and "accountability," it didn't take long for the true picture to snap into focus.

From the opening remarks, the framing was unmistakable. Firearms were described not primarily as tools owned and used responsibly by citizens for self-defense, recreational sport shooting and hunting, but as "products" sold by an industry "in search of profits." The line is not just a description, it's a narrative device reinforcing the audience to see the Second Amendment less as a civil right and more as a consumer marketplace "problem" that can be "fixed" by targeting firearm manufacturers, retailers and the trade association that represents them.

That's a convenient posture for an outlet seeded with funding tied to the 'gun control' movement. The Trace claims to be "editorially independent," but when a newsroom is funded by and built around a single political issue with the backing of major 'gun control' activists, it's fair — necessary, even — to scrutinize how it frames the facts. After all, The Trace is headed by John Feinblatt, who also heads Everytown for Gun Safety and once served as a senior advisor to antigun billionaire Michael Bloomberg when he was New York City's mayor. Feinblatt is the principal officer listed on tax filings for The Trace. Everytown, of course, is a 'gun control' organization that wants to see lawful firearm ownership eliminated in America. …