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Potato, Potahto

I just want to highlight a letter to the editor that was printed in the Sept 8th edition of the Economist:

SIR – Your article on Mexico and drugs stated that “Mexican victims of drug violence are often killed with firearms smuggled in from the United States, where slack gun laws make automatic weapons easy to obtain” (“Plan Mexico”, August 18th). Actually, automatic weapons (those that continue firing when the trigger is held down) are costly and difficult to obtain legally and illegally in the United States. A buyer must first pass a thorough background check and apply for a permit that costs nearly as much as an ordinary firearm. If you meant semi-automatic weapons, then the distinction should be clarified. Semi-automatics are easier to come by and are used for a variety of legitimate reasons, including hunting, but the rate of fire is slower. I hope this helps inform those who think the United States is akin to a Yemeni gun bazaar.

The failure to make that distinction irritates the hell out of me. It happens in the press all the time - though I hold the Economist to a higher standard than the local paper or any televised report, so it was disappointing to see them make this error. At least they allowed themselves to be corrected by printing the letter. Thank you for catching it and writing in to educate them, Josh Nims, whoever you are.