Apparently, the powers that be at the militantly anti-gun New York Times have forgotten their history. Or conveniently had a case of selective memory. Maybe a newspaper only supports the use of firearms when it could mean the difference between economic life and death for that particular journalistic enterprise.
Either way, here is a blast from the past (pun intended): During the U.S. Civil War, the New York Times ordered gatling guns to protect the newspaper during the New York City Draft riots.
Scholar Clayton Cramer describes it best:
"All the following sources agree that the New York Times had Gatling guns set up to deal with rioters; using the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms to protect the First Amendment right of a free (non-smoldering) press."He then goes on to list a number of sources, and comments that he believes the only reason a Gatling gun would have been on the roof of the New York Times building "because the strafing run hadn't yet been invented."
Irony can be so very delicious, don't you think?
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