Charlotte Observer Caught Fabricating Sources in Gun Control Story

[tb-av]

How are they getting off selling from a NC address online with a FFL from FL?

Is that legal?

[kmrtnsn]

Even more interesting,


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Ken Rinkor

President
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Pasco County Sheriffs Office

20101 Central Blvd

Land O Lakes, FL 34637-7002
United States

http://www.jigsaw.com/scid33886211/ken_rinkor.xhtml

[kmrtnsn]

Ken Rinkor in FL is reported on a couple of webpages to be 51YO

He better not be this Kenneth Rinkor, also age 51

http://dcs-inmatesearch.ne.gov/Corre...et?DcsId=33298

[kmrtnsn]

Aaaaannnnnd, 410 Blanding, #9, is the UPS Store.

[WillBrink]

Subscribing to hear how this pans out.

Me too!

[WillBrink]

I plan to compose another email to learn more about how the paper even learned about this "company."

My guess is he may have contacted them, and as a claimed fire arms manufacturer willing to go on record supporting gun control, their journalistic requirements to authenticate a source went to zero real fast. That's my guess anyway.

[HES]

Even more interesting,


The easiest way to instantly reach business professionals.
Ken Rinkor

President
Join to view email and phone

Pasco County Sheriffs Office

20101 Central Blvd

Land O Lakes, FL 34637-7002
United States

http://www.jigsaw.com/scid33886211/ken_rinkor.xhtml

WTF? Thats literally down the street from me.

Yeah I'm shaking some ****ing trees right now. Or should I stop because this just may be a case of a guy having the same name. Please advise.

[HES]

Found their Facebook page:

I would like to clarify a recent article where comments that I made during an interview with an economic reporter asking about how the recent talk of banning semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines. Two sound bites from a twenty minute interview are finding their way into several articles. In each article the writers have taken it upon themselves to suggest I support a ban on high capacity magazines. To set the record straight I do not agree with our government banning anything that responsible adults can buy.

My opinion that people do not need high capacity magazines for personal protection is based on a less sensitive debate amongst shooters. Why use 30 rounds when you can get the same job done with 10. For persons who shoot often you have heard the saying “Spray and Pray”. For those who need a 30 round magazine to hit the target 10 times. Well, all I have to say is, there’s room for improvement.

My comment about not knowing why people need 30 round magazines was in response to a question of why people need 30 round magazines, not whether I support a ban on high capacity magazines. The reporter used my comment to support his own view about the ban. I assure everyone, it was not my view.

The Charlotte Observer paid me a visit this morning. The Observer is a responsible newspaper and wanted to verify the recent news article. The Observer will be printing a retraction and clarify what was written by the reporter. To iterate our position again, we do not support a ban on anything.

Me thinks that someone is a might pissed off. I wonder what, if any, legal action they could take. It would warm the cockles of my heart if they sued the snot out of the Observer.

[Sensei]

Here is my reply to The Observer's editor:

Dear Mr. Glassberg:

Thank you for your prompt response and attention to this matter. Soon after receiving your email, Kevin Hall sent me a message and explained that he called Tactical Arms Manufacturer, Inc. (TMF) on their website phone number and spoke with Mr. Rinkor while conducting his research for this story. Since your last email, I have been made aware of new information regarding this story which you may find interesting.

First, I believe that it is now safe to say that TMF is not a family owned business in Huntersville, NC like the story alleges. Not only is their area code a Florida prefix, they are listed with the Better Business Bureau in Orange Park, FL. This is further supported by the fact that their ATF FFL is registered to Orange County, FL. Even their website domain name is registered through GoDaddy on 1/4/11 to the following:

Ken Rinkor
410 Blanding Blvd.
#9-102
Orange Park, Florida 32073
United States


Moreover, it appears that Mr. Rinkor has no real background in the firearms industry. A quick review of this credentials reveals that his eduction is in IT with several jobs in the computing industry before creating TMF last year. There is no evidence that Mr. Rinkor has ever actually produced a firearm other than the fact that he created a very amateur appearing website.

Next, it appears that Mr. Rinkor is now disputing the claims made in the story on his Facebook page. Here is the quote that he posted:

I would like to clarify a recent article where comments that I made during an interview with an economic reporter asking about how the recent talk of banning semi-automatic rifles and high capacity magazines. Two sound bites from a twenty minute interview are finding their way into several articles. In each article the writers have taken it upon themselves to suggest I support a ban on high capacity magazines. To set the record straight I do not agree with our government banning anything that responsible adults can buy.

My opinion that people do not need high capacity magazines for personal protection is based on a less sensitive debate amongst shooters. Why use 30 rounds when you can get the same job done with 10. For persons who shoot often you have heard the saying “Spray and Pray”. For those who need a 30 round magazine to hit the target 10 times. Well, all I have to say is, there’s room for improvement.

My comment about not knowing why people need 30 round magazines was in response to a question of why people need 30 round magazines, not whether I support a ban on high capacity magazines. The reporter used my comment to support his own view about the ban. I assure everyone, it was not my view.

Finally, I believe that this information raises serious questions as to how The Observer learned of this source and vetted the authenticity of Mr Rinkor's position in the firearms industry. Did he call your organization, or did the author's stumble across this obscure individual while trying to write the piece? If it is the former, it does not appear that any effort was made to verify the accuracy of his claims. On the other hand, if your organization contacted him, how did you learn of his company and why would you use this source over more established entities in the firearms industry? For example, FNH is a major firearms manufacturer for the military and their US headquarters is located just down the road in Columbia, SC. They would be a local source that is a much more credible representation of the industry's position on the issue of gun control.

I look forward to hearing the results of The Observer's investigation into this matter. Many of us in the shooting industry feel that the story used a factitious source to push an particular point of view on the topic of gun control. This type of behavior is not what we expect from a newspaper of The Observer's caliber.

Sincerely,

XXX

[Cincinnatus]

I bet you'll get some mealy-mouthed platitudes in response to that. Their real response is "damn, we got caught." But I doubt they will actually desist in doing the same thing again. This sort of thing is SOP in the news business now days. They don't seem to care what readers think, only what idiots like Chris Matthews and his ilk will think of the politics of their position and the furtherance of their shared agenda.