The Examiner on-line newspapers have provided forum for a bevy of authors who write on Second Amendment and firearms policy issues. There are plenty of good writers among them, but my favorite is Howard Nemerov, who writes for the Austin Examiner. Howard´s columns are often data-rich (such as his latest piece, on the failures of police protection in Chicago). He is no mere commentator, but instead works hard to research the facts and advance the story. Among his recent articles are an admirably calm piece on the Interpol controversy, and an examination of international data in which shows that there is no relationship between gun ownership rates and suicide rates. Howard is also my co-author of the Texas Review of Law & Politics article, Is There a Relationship between Guns and Freedom? Comparative Results from 59 Nations.
Smooth, like a Rhapsody says:
Is he any kin to the famous poet of the same name?
January 8, 2010, 3:13 pmMartinned says:
“Interpol controversy”? Really? My impression was that that was more like one of those “just askin’“things, where not even the people who were “just askin’” really believed there was anything there.
January 8, 2010, 3:38 pmHoward Nemerov says:
David: That’s one of the nicest compliments I have ever received. Thank you very much.
Smooth: Many Russian, Ukrainian, and Eastern European immigrants had their -ich/-ski etc endings truncated at Ellis Island. Many were proud of this, their first “American” possession: a new name, signifying an end to the old life and a new beginning. This is a long-winded way of saying we’re probably not even distantly related.
January 8, 2010, 4:04 pmCarl from Chicago says:
I would submit to David that Howard isn’t “unknown” …
January 8, 2010, 9:04 pmKazinski says:
If this was written about an AP journalist who writes on global warming, I’d roll my eyes and think “just what we need, more advocacy journalism.” I suppose I have no problem in this case because the Examiner, and most of its writers clearly have a viewpoint and don’t try to masquarade as unbiased, plus it isn’t like there aren’t plenty of gun control advocacy articles out there that have the spin without making it clear that they are commentary, not news.
But I think that Nemerov’s articles should be more clearly labeled as commentary in the Examiner. Koppel of course does call Nemerov a commentator, not a journalist, but I didn’t see that distinction in the Examiner.
January 8, 2010, 11:06 pmHoward Nemerov says:
Kaz: I suppose you are free of the “commentary” criteria yourself? What does a journalist do but gather data, interview people, and write about it without making it into an op/ed? Had you read my piece on Interpol, you might be surprised at what you see. I know this because I got angry comments from “righties,” indicating their unhappiness over the fact that I didn’t berate Obama and sing hallelujah over Reagan.
Or can one only draw conclusions if you agree with them?
I think your comment should be more clearly labeled as biased and unsubstantiated opinion. Or does truth in advertising only run one way?
By the way, David’s name is spelled with one “P.”
January 9, 2010, 12:36 amSteve (CT) says:
He’s not unknown to me, I’ve been
January 9, 2010, 5:01 amstalkingfollowing him online for years. Always has well researched & footnoted, as opposed to most anti-gun writers.rachel peepers says:
I actually met Howard once, and we talked about young females packing
February 27, 2010, 3:20 pmfor self defense. I didn’t whether he’d be fer or agin’ it. I’ll never
forget what he said,”Do you know, Rachel, the most frequent cause of erectile
disfunction in rapists? A snub nosed 38 special.”
Dave Kopel’s Second Amendment Newsletter | The American Jingoist says:
[...] David Kopel The Volokh Conspiracy January 8, 2010 http://volokh.com/2010/01/08/best-unknown-gun-right-writer-howard-nemerov/ [...]
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March 15, 2010, 10:26 am