 | |
| Author | Carol Moore |
|---|---|
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Publisher | Gun Owners of America Foundation andLegacy Communications |
Publication date | 1 July 1995 |
| Pages | 494 |
| ISBN | 9781880692226 |
| OCLC | 924909794 |
The Davidian Massacre: Disturbing Questions About Waco That Must Be Answered is a 1995non-fiction book about theWaco siege written by Carol Moore. It was co-published by theGun Owners of America Foundation (Springfield, Virginia) and Legacy Communications (Franklin, Tennessee).
The book presents Moore's interpretations of events concerning the lead up to, during, and after theWaco siege in 1993. The main argument of the book is that theBureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) agents' fear of prosecution for mishandling their botched raid on 28 February 1993 ledFederal Bureau of Investigation tactical agents to destroy evidence later into the siege.[1]
Wessinger, in her review essay reviewing six other works on theWaco siege, believes that the reporting of facts from Carol Moore is "compatible" with the other more scholarly works she reviews. Wessinger makes clear that Moore separates her speculations about the federal government's actions and the facts of the matter, and she compliments Moore's extensive citations.[1]
Dean M. Kelley notes that work is published through theGun Owners of America Foundation, an American gun rights organization, which might impact the interpretation of events (though, he acknowledges that it does not make the speculations untrue). Kelley believes that Moore is not as trustworthy as credentialed scholars, but Moore also is not privy to wild speculations about the federal government's actions either like those ofLinda Thompson and other critics of the federal government. Kelley concludes that, if handled with caution, the book can be "useful and informative".[2]
Gun rights andright-wing activists in the United States have utilized Moore's work for political gain or to push for a right-wing political agenda. For example, Peter R. Quinones forThe Libertarian Institute argued that the federal government sought to regulate gun rights of theBranch Davidians despite the original ATFaffidavit citing legal issues only withDavid Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, not all the rest of them.[3] Furthermore, according toUnited Press International, protestors in front of theWhite House handed out copies of Moore's book in 1997 on the anniversary (19 April) of the Waco siege's end andOklahoma City bombing that was partially inspired by the siege.[4] According toThe Philadelphia Inquirer, copies of Moore's book were found among the various books inFort Washington, Pennsylvania, sold by right-wing andradical right vendors fearful of theend of the world, particularly theY2K bug.[5]