The National Rifle Association (NRA) criticized comments by a senior federal prosecutor warning that approaching law enforcement with a gun could justify a fatal police response, saying such statements risk “demonizing law‑abiding citizens” as the nation reels from the killing of a man in Minneapolis by a U.S. border agent.
The NRA was responding to remarks by Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, who said that “if you approach law enforcement with a gun, there is a high likelihood they will be legally justified in shooting you,” adding, “Don’t do it.”
In a statement, the gun‑rights group called that view “dangerous and wrong,” urging public officials to refrain from broad generalizations and to wait for the outcome of a full investigation into Alex Pretti’s death.
I’d be willing to bet the Republicans abandon the NRA before they abandon trump.
Edit: the NRA also said this
“For months, radical progressive politicians like Tim Walz have incited violence against law enforcement officers who are simply trying to do their jobs. Unsurprisingly, these calls to dangerously interject oneself into legitimate law-enforcement activities have ended in violence, tragically resulting in injuries and fatalities,” wrote the NRA.
While completely ignoring they supported Rittenhouse showing up to a dangerous situation armed. Don’t think the NRA stopped being pieces of shit.
Unsure if they still are but recall NRA was completely compromised by Russia in Trump’s first term. That whole bit with Butina (unsure if spelled correctly basically slept with a bunch of higher ups due to being affiliated with the NRA) who now (or used) to be in Russias equivalent of congress. Yeah can’t trust that organization. Sure the money dried up somewhat but still some channels available to push out some messages on their behalf.
Oh sure now that it’s a white guy they’ll make a statement. I don’t recall hearing anything like this when Philando Castile got shot. Or Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend.
The NRA has remained silent when white guys got shot as well. It’s not a race thing its a bootlicking thing. That’s why this mild rebuke is a big deal, they don’t normally say a damn thing when LE shoots someone regardless of the victims race or ethnicity.
Thought of that immediately.
Okay NRA, are you actually concerned? Then start endorsing democrats.
Until then, you’re hypocritical pieces of shit and you can shut the fuck up. You helped put us here.
Great coalition building there.
Back in WW2, resistance fighters took help from racist america despite the fact there were still lynchings going on.
Actions speak louder than words. Words mean nothing. Those resistance fighters received actual material support. What is the NRA offering? Platitudes.
Until the NRA takes meaningful steps to prove they actually care, they can shut the fuck up. They’re pretending to care right now because it’s politically expedient.
So, words mean nothing, but you feel a need to keep reiterating your point.
There’s an old saying, don’t try to get on the train before it stops.
Don’t get upset if people don’t change overnight.
So, words mean nothing, but you feel a need to keep reiterating your point.
As do you.
And “change overnight”? We’ve had 5 years now of that orange-painted rapist destroying everything it touches. If people haven’t changed by now, they’re not going to.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women's_suffrage_in_the_United_States
People began organizing for women’s suffrage in the 1840s. They got the right almost 100 years later.
Five years means nothing. Change is tough.
<wait for the outcome of a full investigation>
I’m waiting for this while I’m ALSO waiting for the Renee Good investigation.
I’m also waiting for the Epstein files that were supposed to ALREADY be released.
I’m getting tired of waiting.
I think we can wait for those exactly as long as palastians are waiting for the results of investigations into Israeli soldiers that misbehaved.
I stand corrected. I assumed in another thread the NRA would remain silent.
This doesn’t justify their existence, however. They are still ultimately simply a propaganda political scheme for weapons manufacturers
They are a money laundering operation to funnel Russian cash to the RNC.
Turn it around.
These people happily demanded gun laws when it was the Black Panthers exercising their rights.
This is close to having a bishop fly a pride flag.
When a white teenager travelles across state lines to branish a gun they do not own, for the purpose of killing peaceful BLM protestors, the NRA and GOP raises hell to make the kid a mainstream fascist icon.
When minorities and leftists are massacred for exercising their constitutional 2nd Amendment rights, its a simple Facebook post from the NRA, and the GOP suddenly abandons the 2nd Amendment.
Again, Nazi playbook. They disarmed.the Jews while making guns easier to acquire for their party members.
The NRA was happy to help disarm the Black Panthers back in the day.
This seems like a pretty big deal. It might be just one guy running his mouth, but it could mean something more.
They only have a problem with the ‘walking around armed might provoke law enforcement to shoot you, so don’t do it’ narrative.
They don’t like telling people not to carry guns. That’s all.
The NRA helped pass the ‘Black Panther Law’
I’m not a fan of the NRA and I won’t say this is more than what it is.
On the other hand, if the NRA is breaking with Trump, that could mean big trouble in the midterms.
So according to the NRA shooting law enforcement when armed is always self-defence?
The NRA’s only principle is taking care of itself. That whole “take up arms against tyranny” is a marketing slogan. If it wasn’t, they’d have done something long before this.
NRA can read the writing on the wall forthe post Trump era changes. Gun gonna need a licence, and checks.
Ironically enough before the Cincinnati revolt in the 70s, the NRA stance for decades was against CCW…
Why give a fuck what these race baiting shitbirds have to say? Whenever one of them there uppity colored folks gets murdered by the state, the NRA falls in line to blame the victim. If that victim owned their firearm legally, and was exercising their 2A rights… suddenly the NRA goes quiet.
We’ve seen this for fucking decades. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
The NRA took their mask all the way off and became a pro-violence propaganda outlet right after 911; prior to that, they were actually in the business of educating and advocating for responsible gun ownership.
So again, WHY should we care about what the NRA believes society should think or feel in the face of a blatant state sponsored execution? The only thing I want from the NRA is to see it’s HQ as a plie of smoldering rubble before I croak.
For myself, I think the NRA is both culturally irrelevant AND completely fucking complicit in ALL of this.
Every word you write is true.
That said, to answer your question, the NRA is shitting itself because if gun ownership – or any facet thereof, like open carry – becomes illegal in the US that’s very bad for the NRA, and possibly the abrupt end of the gravy train for them if the rights of 2A suddenly become as irrelevant as, say, the rights of 4A.
This statement is nothing more than spin because even the execs counting the right-wing cash can see that this was murder and not even remotely any legitimate act of law enforcement. They just don’t want to be on the receiving end of growing public anger.
There are probably many NRA supporters that support ICE. If those folks feel their concealed carry “rights” are being violated by ICE (or that they are being put in danger by an ICE response to concealed carry), they may turn against ICE. That would be very good. The more folks against ICE, the better. That is why I am enthused that the NRA responded in this way. It is a small step that hopefully moves toward something bigger.
Against? Really? Did Newsweek forget to read the NRA statement?
It’s cute how they say, “Don’t approach law enforcement with a gun”, when in fact it was law enforcement who approached Mr. Pretti.
*who didn’t have a gun (out)
I so want to reply something about sniping that will get me put on a list, but it’s clear statements from the administration have successfully demonized certain law enforcement agencies.
I know a few cops and generally believe they do a good job. It’s easy to say #ACAB when the headlines are a small percentage of officers. Yeah, yeah, I know
After speaking out against the formation of DHS after 9-11, I admit to accepting it and letting it go. But it’s clearly a huge part of the problem here. Individual agencies would have given more opportunities for checks and balances against the fascists. Letting our fear drive us to one huge overarching national police agency has led to all the problems we feared. This needs to end
There’s no way to justify the way ice has been acting. No way they will ever be trusted again. There are all the memes talking about how we don’t hear from the proud boys and similar ilk because they’ve been recruited, and it’s way too easy to believe. Thats exactly how ice has been behaving.
++++ I read of two states with bills pending to reject ice from any state law enforcement jobs, and it seems like a start. We all need to talk to our representatives and at least get this going
