September 13, 2014 07:37 PM UTC

Sister of Sandy Hook Victim Demands Accountability From Gardner, Beauprez

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• by: Colorado Pols

SUNDAY UPDATE #2: The Denver Post's story on Tom Ready's comments was corrected late this morning, though their 180-degree misquote of what he said is unfortunately what their print subscribers are reading today:

*Editor's note: The article has been edited to correct the statement "There is still question about whether it really happened, Sal." The previous edit stated 'no question.' Lynn Bartels will follow up with a print correction in a future edition.

Not the fourth estate's finest hour, but we're glad to see the correction. Now if the Post can make sure as many people see the correction as saw the misquote to begin with…

Kidding, we know. It just kind of sucks like that.

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SUNDAY UPDATE: As a reader notes in comments, in addition to the Denver Post story published Saturday's failure to mention Republican Pueblo commissioner candidate Tom Ready's recent fundraiser attended by Senate candidate Cory Gardner and gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez (see below), it appears to have severely misquoted Ready's response to questions about whether the Sandy Hook shooting was a "hoax." The Post story quotes Ready responding in last week's debate, emphasis ours:

"There is no question about whether it really happened, Sal," said Ready, when questioned about the Newtown post.

When in fact, as video of the exchange plainly demonstrates, Ready said:

"There is still question about whether it really happened, Sal."

Again, here is the video. The statement in question comes just past the one minute mark:

Obviously, a correction is needed. And the 180-degree difference between the misquoted version and the accurate one is…notable.

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​Yesterday, we talked about the growing national scandal over the suggestion by Republican Pueblo county commissioner candidate Tom Ready in a debate this week that the mass shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut in December of 2012 may have been faked. One Colorado resident we know of close to that tragic event is Jane Dougherty, whose sister Mary Sherlach was the school psychologist at Sandy Hook Elementary. We speculated yesterday morning that she might not have much nice to say about Ready's theorizing.

We were not disappointed:

My name is Jane Dougherty and I'm from Littleton, CO. My sister Mary Sherlach was the school psychologist killed at Sandy Hook Elementary.  It is appalling that Representative Cory Gardner and Bob Beauprez attended an event at the home of Tom Ready, someone who believes that the tragedy in Newtown was a hoax. This is an insult to me, my family and to the many Coloradans whose lives have been touched by senseless gun violence. These two candidates want to represent the state of Colorado, yet they are willing to take money from an extremist, aligning themselves with someone who has dismissed the lives of six courageous adults and twenty little children. It is shameful and repulsive. I am calling on both of them to immediately disavow this conspiracy theorist and apologize to the Sandy Hook families and the people of Colorado.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut similarly finds this whole business quite detestable:

Reading reports that @CoryGardner is supporting election of a Sandy Hook "denier" in Colorado. That is sickening.

— Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) September 12, 2014

With the connection of Ready's comments in a relatively obscure county commissioner debate in Pueblo to high-profile campaigns for the U.S. Senate and governor of Colorado, the story has taken on national significance. Concern that Ready could do harm to Republican campaigns well above his level is evident to us in a Denver Post story up now that fails to mention Gardner and Beauprez's attendance at a GOP fundraiser at Ready's home in late August at all. At this point, with the story already spreading on much bigger media outlets than the Post, that's probably not going to contain the damage.

And on a pretty basic moral level, we think Jane Dougherty should not be ignored.