Gun-rights quotes are bad, but bills are worse [View all]
“I cannot tell a lie, Pa,” said young George Washington — or so many Americans have been led to believe. The author of this quote was actually Mason Locke Weems, the Washington biographer who was seeking to create a noble mythology about the nation’s first president.
The durability of this simple quote about lying conveys a kernel of truth: Humans have a tendency to regurgitate spurious information, anecdotes and words associated with influential people.
The Internet is a breeding ground for this. Phony quotes from America’s Founding Fathers especially run rampant.
The latest example comes from a small band of state legislators pushing a give-no-quarter gun-rights agenda in Olympia. Rep. Matt Shea, R-Spokane Valley, has sponsored House Bill 2975, also known as the “Washington State Firearms Civil Rights Act.” As News Tribune reporter Melissa Santos first reported, Shea’s bill cites quotes allegedly from Washington, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton — despite a general agreement among historians that they’re bogus.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/opinion/editorials/article59239158.html
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