The Washington Times attacked a program started by the Bush administration, which offers free gun locks to veterans, by conspiratorially suggesting that the program could be used to create a gun registry.

In a January 6 article, Times White House correspondent Dave Boyer wrote that the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) offer of free gun locks is “raising concerns about a government-run gun registry” because a letter received by veterans asks them to return “their name, address and number of guns in the home” if they would like gun locks.

The article quoted an anonymous veteran who suggested that the letter could represent evidence of “a gun registry in disguise.” The source also told the Times that he feared the letter would spark “rumors” that “Big Brother is going to take [veterans'] guns away.”

The free gun lock program that the Times is fearmongering about started in 2008, during the administration of President George W. Bush, according to NPR. The program was modeled after Project ChildSafe, which is a project of the gun industry trade group National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). In 2009, the VA began to provide funding to NSSF, an ardent opponent of gun registries, to provide free gun locks to veterans.

According to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, “At least two studies have found that the risk of suicide increases in homes where guns are kept loaded and/or unlocked.”

The Times is a frequent source of false and conspiratorial information about gun violence and firearms laws. In September 2014, Times reporter Kelly Riddell misrepresented cosmetic changes to the form the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives uses to process gun background checks to falsely claim an Obama administration “policy change” meant prospective gun owners would have to disclose their race and ethnicity for the first time. In fact, a similar question has been on the form since at least 2001.

The Times also has an unethical relationship with the National Rifle Association. The conservative paper's editorial board is headed by past NRA president and current NRA board member David Keene. While Keene is supposed to disclose his ties to the NRA when appropriate, he has not always done so when making arguments that mirror the NRA's positions in the Times. Washington Post media reporter Erik Wemple has also questioned the advertising agreement between the Times and the NRA where a “special pullout section” touting the NRA featured reprints of previously run pro-gun articles authored by Times reporters.