There's No Better Time For It': Just Moments After Oregon Shooting, BuzzFeed Reporter Tweeted This

A senior reporter at BuzzFeed briefly took his Twitter account offline after posting a controversial message seemingly calling for gun control in the immediate aftermath of the deadly Oregon shooting Thursday.

"It's just too bad we can't do anything about the unfettered access that people have to guns," BuzzFeed News senior national reporter Joel D. Anderson tweeted.

The message immediately attracted attention online.

Stephen Gutowsi, a staff writer for the conservative-leaning Washington Free Beacon, tweeted to Anderson, "Congratulations on setting a new record on politicization of a tragedy, Joel."

"There's no better time for it because people get comfortable otherwise. So thanks," Anderson replied.

The BuzzFeed reporter added, "This guy — who I don't follow — clearly doesn't know me if he thinks I'm above bringing this up right about now."

As Anderson's tweets garnered more attention, he briefly took it offline.

Image source: Screen grab

BuzzFeed's ethics guide states that “reporters and editors should refrain from commenting in a partisan way about candidates or policy issues.”

A representative for BuzzFeed, however, told TheBlaze Anderson never violated the website's policy.

"Joel's tweets were not in violation of the ethics guide," Weesie Vieira wrote in an email, noting that Anderson's account was back online.

This is not the first time that a BuzzFeed reporter has attracted attention for tweets posted in the aftermath of a shooting.

BuzzFeed editor Rachel Zarrell made headlines earlier this year for a series of pro-gun control tweets she posted while news of the deadly Lafayette theater shooting unfolded.

“Let’s just give everyone guns, right? It’s in the goddamn constitution,” she tweeted at the time, adding, “Don’t pray. Push for gun control.”

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