by Dave Workman
Senior Editor

Investigators in Wisconsin had still not sorted out all the details of a multiple murder in the deer woods of Sawyer County before the Violence Policy Center (VPC) and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence (BCPGV) were capitalizing on the killings to demand renewal and expansion of the so-called assault weapons ban.

Gun rights activists suggested to Gun Week that the two anti-gun organizations were “dancing in the blood” of the shooting victims to push their political agenda.

Joe Waldron, executive director of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, pointed to news releases from both organizations that seemed to suggest that had the ban been renewed prior to its Sept. 13 expiration, the killings might have been prevented.

Meanwhile, the Brady Campaign’s website pointed to crimes involving alleged “assault weapons” in Texas, Arizona, Alabama and Florida, and then noted, “It has been only 10 weeks since the federal assault weapons ban sunsetted…”

Internet chat lists, including packing.org, KeepandBearArms, and the 1911TechTalk group sizzled with exchanges between activists that went from analytical to outrage.

The aftermath of the Nov. 21 shootings was not without racial undertones, either. Because the suspect is a Hmong immigrant from Laos who is a naturalized US citizen, some people were quick to suggest that he may have not understood private property rights, or have been able to read “No Trespassing” signs. Other accounts say that the suspect, Chai Soua Vang, 36, of St. Paul, MN speaks fluent English and is a military veteran. (See related story on Page 2).

Regardless of Vang’s ethnic background, the gun control lobby lost no time in condemning the type of firearm he allegedly used, a Saiga SKS rifle chambered in 7.62x39.

The New York Times asserted, in a story headlined, “Rare Weapon to Hunt Deer,” that the SKS is not a gun widely used by hunters. Ironically The Times quoted Lawrence Keane, senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) in its article, but Keane said his comments were taken out of context.

Keane told Gun Week that his discussion with The Times involved generalities, and that he did not specifically address the use of an SKS as a hunting rifle, because that’s not what he was asked. He said The Times asked him about the AK-47.

“My discussion with (The Times) was more generally about so-called ‘black guns’ (such as the) Colt AR-15, Bushmaster, etc.,” Keane said. “Folks don’t typically go deer hunting with them; they use them for target shooting, collecting, and self-defense. The main thrust of my comments was that this guy was not a hunter, he was a nut.

Keane said The Times reporter “described it as an AK-47. My comments were in response to that description. I never said SKSs were a rare rifle. I never said it was designed for combat soldiers. I told him lots of folks use so-called assault weapons to go target shooting. I said most people don’t go deer hunting with AK-47s. It should come as no surprise that The New York Times distorted it for their purposes.”