NRA Savaged For 'Disgraceful And Exploitative' MLK Tweet
The National Rifle Association has been slammed by people on Twitter for referring to Martin Luther King Jr.’s application for a gun permit in a MLK Day tweet.
“Today, the men and women of the NRA honor the profound life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” the pro-gun advocacy group tweeted Monday. “Dr. King applied for a concealed carry permit in a “may issue” state and was denied. We will never stop fighting for every law-abiding citizen’s right to self-defense.”
Today, the men and women of the @NRA honor the profound life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King applied for a concealed carry permit in a "may issue" state and was denied. We will never stop fighting for every law-abiding citizen's right to self-defense. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/wtSQOO5Kaq
— NRA (@NRA) January 21, 2019
Can't wait until these guys find out how he died. https://t.co/4LQJDZsugB
— Full Frontal (@FullFrontalSamB) January 21, 2019
King did apply for a permit to carry a concealed weapon in 1956, after his house was bombed. UCLA law professor Adam Winkler noted that after the denial, King “gave up any hope of armed self-defense and embraced nonviolence more completely.”
The slain civil rights leader was himself a victim of gun violence ― which many people on Twitter were quick to point out as they criticized the NRA for the “tone deaf” tribute.
Even King’s youngest daughter, Bernice, encouraged the gun group to study her father “and his nonviolent philosophy.”
This is not the full story, @NRA. My father evolved beyond this moment. Your tweet is a regrettable, very unfortunate one, especially on today. I invite you to study him and his nonviolent philosophy @TheKingCenter. #MLK90 #MLK #MLKDay https://t.co/18LytUtRFg
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 21, 2019
You do know that Dr. King was killed by a sniper over 200 ft away; an escaped convict who still managed to buy a rifle and scope from a sporting goods store. A concealed carry permit would not have saved King, but mandatory wait periods and stronger background checks might have.
— Kate (@KateERyan) January 21, 2019
You should be ashamed of yourselves- but of course you won’t be.
— Nelba Márquez-Greene, 🇵🇷🇨🇦 (@Nelba_MG) January 21, 2019
"Also, Happy Earth Day from the National Association for Disastrous Oil Spills" https://t.co/5Gkm9CMMkQ
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) January 21, 2019
Martin Luther King was killed by a gun, you ghoulish, exploitative fucktwits. https://t.co/cTufl6GNHM
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) January 21, 2019
Important context missing here. MLK's granddaughter Yolanda King says she wants a gun free world. Also, invoking the name of a man who was killed by an racist assassins’ bullet to further your political agenda is disgraceful and exploitive. https://t.co/V7YrJLYZuM https://t.co/mb8AY22MHG
— David Carson (@PDPJ) January 21, 2019
The NRA implying Dr. king would be alive if he had a firearm is insane. Maybe Sasha Baron Cohen had it write with his parody about arming kindergarteners and the insanity of how many took it seriously. These people will spew and accept any of this garbage as normal. https://t.co/DHtzymCXEp
— Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) January 22, 2019
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost.