NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- With massacres roiling America, the White House is pushing hard against civilian access to guns best suited for slaughtering crowds. In a new piece for SPIN magazine, brand-new American and award-winning gonzo journalist Matt Thompson set out to panic-buy the paradigmatic rampage machine: an AR-15.
Disturbed by both the bloodbaths and the idea of being left helpless in a culture packing serious heat, Thompson hopped in his Chrysler and headed to a local sporting goods shop in southern Oregon. His mission: to join the legions of owners of the style of rifle that has become notorious as the gun of choice in scores of mass shootings from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, to recent murder sprees at a July 4th parade in Highland Park, Illinois and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.
Spoiler: Thompson succeeds, and with jaw-dropping ease obtains a weapon so notorious that for more than two decades, it has been banned in his home country of Australia.
A best-selling author with a broken nose and a University Medal in literature, Thompson has discussed philosophy over sardines with Maoist guerrillas in bamboo forests of the northern Philippines while later learning from the Muslim warrior tribes of the south to respect jinnsas intel sources. He’s taken drunken, disastrous road trips with Serb nationalists in Kosovo; undergone traumatic shamanic rituals in Colombia; run headlong from rampaging riot police in Iran, and competed in underground X-rated game shows in Portland, Oregon. Long based in Australia, Thompson has now moved to the Pacific Northwest.
Thompson’s dive into high-powered gun purchases is the latest in SPIN’s unflinching and profound coverage of topics ranging from the horrific dog meat trade in China to Bob Guccione, Jr.’s explosive interview with ostracized anti-vaxxer Robert Kennedy, Jr.
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SPIN is one of the most recognizable names in music and pop culture. In early 2020, SPIN launched a new generation of the legendary media group, putting the brand back where it belongs — at the center of the zeitgeist. Recent digital covers have featured some of today’s biggest stars, including The Black Keys, YungBlud, Machine Gun Kelly, Jack Harlow, Denzel Curry, Run the Jewels, and Kehlani, coupled with probing journalism and in-depth interviews, hit series 5 Albums I Can't Live Without, A Day In the Life Of, and Artist x Artist, as well as original videos.
