MLK gun ad offensive

I AM writing to express my distress at the carelessness and insensitivity of the Albuquerque Journal in approving for inclusion in the Journal an advertisement by the Los Ranchos Gun Shop which announces a Martin Luther King Jr. Day Sale of guns and accessories. The ad even uses a graphic representation of Dr. King, taken, I believe, from the statue in his honor in Washington, D.C., and urges customers to cut out the ad with Dr. King’s likeness and bring it to the gun shop for extra discounts.

I realize that Los Ranchos Gun Shop has the right to have a sale of its guns on any day it is open for business. However, specifically tying the sale to the day honoring Dr. King and using his picture give the appearance of racist harassment, whatever the intention may have been. Dr. King was an apostle of nonviolence. He was assassinated by a gunman. During events this (past) weekend honoring Dr. King, I have heard from residents of our city who knew Dr. King personally and remember his life with reverence and his death with a grief still fresh in their minds and hearts. Thus, the ad not only offers insult to the memory of Dr. King, but it also adds fresh pain to those still grieving his loss.

I encourage (the Journal) to consider (the) newspaper’s standards for the stylistic content of advertisements that appear in (the) paper. (Officials) know that there are some ads (they) would refuse to run. There is some content (they) would advise the advertiser to alter to make more community acceptable. This is not a “freedom of speech” issue. It is an issue of sensitivity and decency in the way in which the Albuquerque Journal plays its role as our community’s premier newspaper.