The following statement is from OWAA Executive Director Brandon Shuler and the OWAA board’s executive committee in response to a May 9 op-ed letter in the Huffington Post.
The Huffington Post recently published a letter advocating “simple, responsible reforms” in firearms policy that was authored by Dan Ashe and signed by 11 others.
Ten of the signatories are distinguished members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America and identify themselves in the letter as members of the Circle of Chiefs. The Circle of Chiefs is designated as OWAA’s conservation council.
To be clear, the Circle of Chiefs does not set policy for OWAA. That authority lies solely with OWAA’s board of directors, who are elected by the full OWAA membership. On this matter, the author and the signatories are speaking for themselves, and not for OWAA.
“The signatories of the Huffington Post op-ed stand by our opinions as stated in the text,” said Ted Williams, signatory of the letter. “These opinions should not be construed as reflecting in any way official positions of the OWAA or the Circle of Chiefs.”
OWAA respects the rights of all individuals to express their opinions, but as an organization of professional communicators, we avoid advocacy on issues not related to journalism.
Some OWAA members may agree with the points made in the letter. Some may not. But the letter’s content does not represent OWAA policy. ♦
OWAA response to Huffington Post letter
