NYT editorial board: NRA complicit in terrorism

[billh58]

The National Rifle Association is complicit in terrorist attacks with its failure to support gun-control restrictions with broad public and bipartisan support, The New York Times' editorial board said Thursday.

"Few places on earth make it easier than the United States for a terrorist to buy assault weapons to mow down scores of people in a matter of minutes. The horrific massacre in Orlando last weekend is only the latest example," the board wrote, after noting that Al Qaeda in a 2011 recruitment video urged would-be jihadists to take advantage of the abundance of "easily obtainable firearms."

Such attacks are "made vastly easier by a gun lobby that has blocked sensible safety measures at every turn, and by members of Congress who seem to pledge greater allegiance to the firearms industry than to their own constituencies," the editorial board continued. "There is a word for their role in this form of terrorism: complicity."

Pointing to polls that suggest an "overwhelming majority of Americans — including gun owners and even N.R.A. members — support universal background checks" as well as "strong majorities" to block gun sales to suspected terrorists and to also ban high-capacity magazines, the article noted that the NRA opposed such measures even though it has maintained that terrorists should not be able to obtain guns.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/06/nra-terrorism-new-york-times-224433

The right-wing gun lobby clings to the absurd fantasy that a heavily-armed populace is the best way to keep Americans safe. That failed in Orlando, where an armed security guard was on the scene but could not stop the slaughter. The extremist "leaders" from the U. S. gun lobby are far beyond reasoning with, but lawmakers have a duty to respond to their constituents.

Vote for a Democrat who hasn't been purchased by the NRA/ILA/GOA domestic terrorists, or their apologists.

[longship]

1. It really is simple, isn't it?

Happy to R&

[billh58]

3. You are correct, but unfortunately

the very vocal minority of "good ole boys" can't imagine not being armed 365/24/7, and they actually believe the right-wing gun lobby's lies that we mean old Democrats are coming to take their precious.

We must elect honest Democrats to all levels of government in order to dismantle decades of NRA/ALEC bought-and-paid-for legislation which fuels the gun violence epidemic in this country. Public carry of lethal weapons, and stand-your-ground (read vigilante justice) laws should be the first to go.

[etherealtruth]

2. At best the NRA/ILA/GOA are right wing hate groups, at worst domestic terrorists

[billh58]

4. I believe that they

are combination of the two, and are much more dangerous to the average American than ISIS.

[anamandujano]

6. Who needs ISIS when we have the NRA and Trump?

[sheshe2]

5. Yup!

K&R

[63splitwindow]

7. Growing up, some folks had hunting rifles and bird hunters had shotguns. NO ON CARED then

and most of us DON'T CARE now. Some yahoos walking around in public with an AR-15 slung on their shoulder would never have even occurred to anyone then and is insane today, and I would think most hunters from back then would agree.

GOOD ON THE NYT.

[DirkGently]

8. The American RW generally shares a lot of thinking with terrorists.

Hatred of other Abrahamic religions and gay people. Fear of female sexuality. Obsession with people's personal sexual habits. A black / white view of law and morality.

And of course the belief that the best answer for anything bothering you is to blow a hole in it.

[billh58]

9. Promoting the

"best answer for anything bothering you" solution is a successful marketing strategy when coupled with the fear of mass confiscation of guns if even one step is taken toward gun control legislation.

Second Amendment absolutists and NRA/ILA/GOA apologists refuse to recognize that they have been played for fools by the right-wing gun lobby every time they purchase a new "precious."

[Beartracks]

10. +1 n/t