Declare the NRA a supporter of domestic terrorism
Declare the NRA a supporter of domestic terrorism
The Issue
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is more a political lobby than sportsmen's organization. It has spent over $3 million per year since 2013 ($5m in 2021) to keep gun policies antiquated and ineffective. This despite the fact that more Americans have died from gun violence (over 1.5 million) than from all the wars since the Revolution, and gun violence is the leading cause of death for those under 24. Most Americans want some form of gun control but can't have it because the NRA effectively controls the GOP. Thus the NRA has enormous impact on American life by coercing politicians and voters with money and intimidation, and compromising public safety and health.
NRA CEO and multi-millionaire Wayne LaPierre claimed that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." As at Stoneman Douglas High, where three or four armed deputies waited outside during the shooting, this is rarely true and unfortunately doesn't help the shooter's victims. In Las Vegas, where over 500 people were shot with automatic gunfire, the shooter was inaccessible and shot himself before police arrived. At Robb Elementary, police armed and trained to confront shooters waited over an hour to do so. In the wake of these horrific attacks the NRA mobilizes to enrich gun and ammo manufacturers while putting Americans at increased risk of being shot.
Domestic terrorism continues to rise in the Trumpism era. White nationalist groups were eager to claim the shooter in Parkland as one of their own. The NRA facilitates both the arming and the militant ideology of these groups, supporting domestic terrorism. While right-wing politicians divert or attention with imagined threats from immigrants, the NRA does real harm to democracy, spreading anti-government hysteria and the idea of armed insurrection. FBI director Wray recently testified regarding the danger of armed, right-wing extremism amid growing white nationalism. The FBI should stop hesitating and brand the NRA for its leading role in providing cover for this disease.
The victims of Santa Fe High (TX), Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fl), Sutherland Springs (11/5/17), Las Vegas (10/2/17), the 2016 Orlando shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary, Tree of Life Synagogue, Dayton, El Paso, Santa Clarita (11/14/19), Robb Elementary, and on and on deserve more than hypocritical thoughts and prayers. It's time to destroy the number one supporter of domestic terrorism, the NRA.
Please sign the MoveOn.org petition, another petition seeking to designate the NRA a terrorist organization under the Patriot Act, and support the Violence Policy Center.
3,403
The Issue
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is more a political lobby than sportsmen's organization. It has spent over $3 million per year since 2013 ($5m in 2021) to keep gun policies antiquated and ineffective. This despite the fact that more Americans have died from gun violence (over 1.5 million) than from all the wars since the Revolution, and gun violence is the leading cause of death for those under 24. Most Americans want some form of gun control but can't have it because the NRA effectively controls the GOP. Thus the NRA has enormous impact on American life by coercing politicians and voters with money and intimidation, and compromising public safety and health.
NRA CEO and multi-millionaire Wayne LaPierre claimed that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." As at Stoneman Douglas High, where three or four armed deputies waited outside during the shooting, this is rarely true and unfortunately doesn't help the shooter's victims. In Las Vegas, where over 500 people were shot with automatic gunfire, the shooter was inaccessible and shot himself before police arrived. At Robb Elementary, police armed and trained to confront shooters waited over an hour to do so. In the wake of these horrific attacks the NRA mobilizes to enrich gun and ammo manufacturers while putting Americans at increased risk of being shot.
Domestic terrorism continues to rise in the Trumpism era. White nationalist groups were eager to claim the shooter in Parkland as one of their own. The NRA facilitates both the arming and the militant ideology of these groups, supporting domestic terrorism. While right-wing politicians divert or attention with imagined threats from immigrants, the NRA does real harm to democracy, spreading anti-government hysteria and the idea of armed insurrection. FBI director Wray recently testified regarding the danger of armed, right-wing extremism amid growing white nationalism. The FBI should stop hesitating and brand the NRA for its leading role in providing cover for this disease.
The victims of Santa Fe High (TX), Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fl), Sutherland Springs (11/5/17), Las Vegas (10/2/17), the 2016 Orlando shooting, Sandy Hook Elementary, Tree of Life Synagogue, Dayton, El Paso, Santa Clarita (11/14/19), Robb Elementary, and on and on deserve more than hypocritical thoughts and prayers. It's time to destroy the number one supporter of domestic terrorism, the NRA.
Please sign the MoveOn.org petition, another petition seeking to designate the NRA a terrorist organization under the Patriot Act, and support the Violence Policy Center.
3,403
The Decision Makers
Petition created on October 3, 2017