BELLEVUE, WA – The "mainstream press" is once again trying to spin away from positive coverage about armed citizens and the fallacy of so-called "gun-free zones" in its reports about the St. Cloud, Minnesota mall shooting and the hero shooter, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.

"There have been very few references to the fact that Jason Falconer owns and operates a private business in which he teaches firearms and self-defense skills to armed private citizens," noted CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. "He is a firearms instructor and competitive shooter, and his skill with firearms certainly paid off for the citizens of St. Cloud last Saturday.

"The media has made only passing reference to the fact that Mr. Falconer was out of his police jurisdiction, and off duty at the time of the shooting," Gottlieb added. "In effect, he was essentially an armed citizen on a shopping trip to the mall who acted in defense of himself and others who were attacked by a dangerous man armed with a knife."

Crossroads Center's website lists a "code of conduct" that includes a prohibition on "firearms and illegal weapons." Gottlieb said it was fortunate that Falconer was armed despite this prohibition, because having a gun stopped the carnage and may have saved lives.

"How many times must it be repeated before the public understands that 'gun-free zones' can be magnets for mayhem," Gottlieb wondered. "It goes against all common sense that malls and other public venues would mandate disarming visitors, thus leaving them vulnerable to attack.

"It is disgraceful that the mainstream media has downplayed Falconer's vocation," Gottlieb observed, "focusing only on his part-time occupation, as if to conceal the fact that he is a devoted shooter, civilian instructor and active competitor. It's a story they evidently don't want to tell."
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.

Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
James Madison Building
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA 98005Voice: 425-454-4911
Toll Free: 800-426-4302
FAX: 425-451-3959
Email: InformationRequest@ccrkba.org