Yet more bad publicity...

We can always do a better job of policing ourselves. That's beyond question.

There has always been a segment of shooters who are irresponsible, inconsiderate, and dangerous. I've been seeing it since I first started shooting decades ago. "Shot-up couches and cars deep in forests" are nothing new, as much as they make me cringe. I still see it, though I haven't seen a significant increase in that behavior.

The issue at hand is that the media were assured they'd win the political battle against us in 2013. They lost.

Now they're looking for any reason they can find to vilify the shooting culture in general. A guy finds a few discarded shotgun shells near his campsite? The shooting culture is a menace!

The problem is, they're peddling an image of the gun culture as slobbish rednecks, and that really backfired on them in the 1990's.
 
Double Naught and Tom sort of sum it up

Double Naught says, the way we feel about the media is not the problem and that is 100% right.

It is an unfortunate fact of our social landscape that a large segment of that landscape is comprised of people who fail to apply critical thinking when they assimilate what the news entertainment media presents. Good critical thinking leads to good decision making. The opposite situation is equally true.

This brings us to Tom.

Every time something untoward happens involving firearms in any way, more ammunition is provided to the detractors. How we as shooters address that is an exercise in mental gymnastics.
 
There has always been a segment of shooters who are irresponsible, inconsiderate, and dangerous.
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There has always been a segment of people who are irresponsible, inconsiderate, and dangerous. Some of them have guns.
 
Whether you agree with the article or consider it just a hitpiece on shooters, what if in future the proplem persists and the non gun community demands action. For legislation to get passed on prohibiting shooting on "public" land, I would assume this would have to be a state to state thing, right? The feds couldn't pass laws on "we the people's" public land, could they?
 
Banning shooting on public land would be bad for all of us, weather you use public land or not.

Public ranges are going away, some of the backwoods shooters will try to get in to crowded ranges because there's nowhere else to go.

The movement is already trying to shut down established shooting ranges.

If you want to get people to stop doing things. You don't outright ban them; you make it hugely inconvenient, socially unacceptable and expensive and people will stop or go underground. Just like smokers. Some countries it's driving. Marijuana use... And so on. They are merely applying the same formula to guns.

Sadly, these areas are destroyed by shooting... As far as inappropriate targets, not following rules, not cleaning up afterwards and just plain laziness and not caring.

They don't want YOU to have a gun, once you don't have a gun, a criminal can't get it from you.
 
Skizzums, there will be no national ban. The individual National Forests can close all or major part of the Forest by local Order, following a public input process. A total closure of a Forest is also not going to happen, but restricted areas will increase and enlarge.
 
The news media is not the problem. The problem is slob shooters who make "trigger trash" and then refuse to clean up same.
 
The media is running an anti-gun campaign. However, there is a problem with trigger trash. Unfortunately, those that do it, could give a rats-behind about it. There are rules in place for shooting in national forests. They're already breaking all those rules. They won't care about any more rules

Gun ownership is the new smoker. They will lump everyone together in one group.

If a slob trashes the forest, it's like each member of this forum has done it.
All gun owners (according to the media) are bumbling rednecks. The only people that should be allowed to own guns are trained military and police.

Wiping out private gun ownership is the final goal; it may take a generation or three to get it done, but it's what they want.

I'm rambling, but like I said, the culprits don't care.
 
The media is running an anti-gun campaign.
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Yes indeed. And we all suffer from the moronic selfish actions of some... turn on the news or social media and you see us bombarded with XYZ gun scandals.

If gun owners would just stop being selfish dolts...
 
Double Naught Spy,

I'm afraid you have misinterpreted my OP somewhat. I do not pretend to believe that there is another side that would justify shooting up national treasures: there is no such justification. The other side of the story, however, might begin with at least be some sort of recognition that there does indeed exist a great deal of shooters (represented by those whom have commented on this very thread) who despise and condemn this type of irresponsible and illegal behavior, and that we strongly dislike being associated with those types of folks. But, to do so would diminish the yellow journalism approach that the NYT editorial board takes with virtually any story remotely associated with the 2A, so I would not expect the Times to include any information remotely favorable towards anyone involved in shooting sports.

As for blaming the perps, perhaps I could have condemned them more strongly than I did, but I was hoping my 2nd and 4th paragraphs would cover that. Moreover, at the risk of repeating myself, I simply intended to initiate a discussion in which I hoped that someone would have a fresh idea on how the responsible shooting community could help reduce the negative, irresponsible, and/or illegal activities of those who share our interests but not our commitment to laws and responsible behavior.

Like so many who have commented thus far, I am very concerned that the actions of the minority are going to spoil a whole lot for the rest of us.
 
Why are we worrying about what the writer thinks? Our actions are not the issue.. Do every thing right all the time and it won't mater, people will make up stories to support their agenda.
Any one remember the rape allegation in Rolling Stone magazine that they later admited was fabricated. How about a CBS news anchor fabricating documents aegarding George Bush military record.
 
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