It’s a bold move by the most reputable newspaper of them all.
The New York Times has issued its first front page editorial for almost a century, calling for stricter gun laws in the wake of this week’s mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
“It has been many decades since The Times ran an editorial on Page One. We do so today to deliver a strong and visible statement of frustration and anguish about our country’s inability to come to terms with the scourge of guns,” NYT publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said in a statement sent to Mashable.com.
“Even in this digital age, the front page remains an incredibly strong and powerful way to surface issues that demand attention. And, what issue is more important than our nation’s failure to protect its citizens?”
Perhaps the strongest line in the entire editorial, which you can read in full here, notes the fact that spree killings such as San Bernardino – no matter what the motive – are all acts of terrorism.
“America’s elected leaders offer prayers for gun victims and then, callously and without fear of consequence, reject the most basic restrictions on weapons of mass killing, as they did on Thursday,” the editorial states.
“They distract us with arguments about the word terrorism. Let’s be clear: These spree killings are all, in their own ways, acts of terrorism.”
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