Word associations...

Question: Why are the perpetrators of foul deeds so-named in association with their instruments of choice only when said tool is a firearm?...In other words, why is an assailant almost always referred to as a "gunman" after killing a victim with a firearm, when another criminal whose weapon of choice is a tire iron is never spoken of in the media as a "wrenchman?"...

Answer: Obviously the pandering press, eager to take any opportunity to please the left-wing politicians with whom they ally themselves, choose to plant the seed of guilt on the assailant's tools by associating the "gun" with the crime in the reader's mind...They also pander to the feminists by never using the word "gunwoman" in their misleading reports...

Examples abound everywhere:

• The well-publicized incident in Las Vegas during which a driver deliberately drove a car into a crowd injuring 37 people and killing another, involved a female employing an Oldsmobile as her weapon...In none of the media accounts of the assault, was she referred to as "aurorawoman," "sedanwoman" or even "carwoman"...She is merely the "driver" or the "suspect"...
• In Oregon a man was convicted of murder in which the victim was stabbed and beaten to death...Media accounts fail to recognize him as a "knifeman" or a "stickman," but rather as the prisoner...
• An English court has sentenced a man to 14 months in jail after attempting to stab his girlfriend with a screwdriver...A diligent search of news articles has found referral to the assailant by his name, but not as a "screwdriverman"...
• A Polson Montana man pleaded guilty to charges of killing his father-in-law by hitting him in the head with a clawhammer...Media accounts merely refer ro him as "the man" or by his name...
• A fearless (and likely brainless) Tacoma Washington bus driver took exception to having his image captured by a photographer who was armed with a Canon and a .40 caliber Glock (both legally carried)...The photographer defended his personal space and his camera which the bus driver attempted to take by placing the bus driver in a headlock...The assailant was known only as the "bus driver" in media stories, and was not called "mouthman" regardless of using his loud voice and hands as his main weapons...The bus driver was ticketed and released, while the obviously dangerous photographer was banned from city buses, bus stops and transit property under threat of arrest...

They have gone so far as to having spellchecking software recognize "gunman" as a legitimate word, while "gunwoman" is shown as being erroneous...This insidious tactic is so widespread that it has become commonplace in the writings of even more conservative and gun-friendly media...

It is further noted that in none of these instances has any politician stepped forth demanding new legislation to curtail sales of automobiles, kitchen cutlery or hand tools by imposing background checks, waiting periods or numerical limits...

In addition, one may often read of a victim being "gunned down," but never as having been "buicked," "bricked," "wired" or "bottled" down...Bear in mind that no inanimate object is a weapon until it is used as one; until then it is a screwdriver, croquet mallet or a firearm...The user determines the usage of the instrument, the object has no say in the matter...

More articles concerning Firearms and Shooting...