To be completely honest, it did seem awfully reasonable of the NRA to say that the recent actions of open carry activists were too outlandish, a little too reasonable for the group actually. Well, it turns out that being reasonable and conscientious is something that the NRA just cannot commit to.
The NRA originally released a statement criticizing the groups for open carrying assault weapons inside of restaurants and other public places (yes, kids are usually present). They called the actions “weird” and said the activists “crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness.”
Needless to say, the activists threw a hissy fit about the statement and demanded the NRA to redact its statement, and redact they did.
“Now, the truth is, an alert went out that referred to this type of behavior as weird, or somehow not normal,” said Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “That was a mistake. It shouldn’t have happened.”
The NRA attempted to disassociate itself from these open carry crazies before anyone started in and made some kind of connection. The initial statement was a good idea, especially for the NRA. But crying gun activists raised such a fuss about it that the NRA abandoned its small inkling of rationale and common sense that turned out to be all too rational for the gun lobby.
Josh is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. Follow him on Twitter @dnJdeli.