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In the 2016 U.S. Senate race, I was on the receiving end of more than $3 million in outside negative attacks funded by the NRA, the second-most spent on any Senate campaign in the country.
This is one of the major problems we have. By the way, it was endorsed by leadership on both sides of the aisle and both ends of the Capitol, by the NRA and also by the gun control groups.
Always remember Rahm Emanuel and those of his ilk who are opposed to our fundamental civil right to keep and bear arms when you donate to NRA-ILA or the NRA Civil Rights Legal Defense Fund.
You probably couldn't have found much daylight between the NRA and the Disney company. They probably would've had had identical demographics for the people who really loved those companies.
My position on guns is the same position I've had for a long, long time. That position is that I don't line up a hundred percent with the NRA. I don't see eye to eye with the NRA on every issue.
I was literally sued - drug through court for two years by the NRA and the gun lobby - all because, in my city, we refused to repeal an ordinance which said you couldn't shoot guns in city parks.
A mistake that a lot of us have made, related to those who advocate for gun safety legislation, is that we try to process it through our legislative bodies, and that's where the NRA's strength lies.
We have to go to war against the people who enable the gun violence, the people who stop us from keeping guns out of the hands of mentally unstable people, of felons, and that means the NRA leadership.
Ultimately, the NRA has maybe five million members. We are a nation of 320 million-plus, and it's time we call out those who stand on the wrong side of history and spout the same old NRA talking points.
It's the reckless ideas put forward by the NRA's leadership, and pushed through by fearful legislators, that have allowed systemic gun violence to expand, wreaking havoc on communities of color for decades.
I've been to dozens of concerts where attendees proudly wore NRA hats and t-shirts. In fact, the NRA partners with a number of artists for their NRA Country brand and puts on shows across the country every year.
The NRA isn't a boogeyman organization behind a curtain. The NRA is made up of millions of people who believe in the Second Amendment and the organization is very closely connected to the country music community.
What Bloomberg and his elitist cronies will never understand is what saves the Second Amendment is the tidal wave of support from the majority of the American people. And decade after decade, NRA has been their voice.
You almost have to be of a certain age to understand how hard it was to disseminate the truth before the Internet. After the formation of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action in 1975, we did it, and we did it well.
I'm not in the leftist controlled Rock and Roll Hall of Fame because of my political views, primarily my lifelong militant support of the NRA, the Second Amendment, and my belief that the only good bad guy is a dead bad guy.
I look forward to working with the NRA to come up with ways in which we can use common sense approaches to reduce the level of violence that we see - in our streets, and make the American people as safe as they possibly can be.
Country lyrics often reference the NRA and firearms ownership as a way of life. Artists such as John Rich, Toby Keith, Sara Evans and others regularly play shows at the NRA Annual Meeting, which thousands of NRA members attend.
America to me is where I grew up: in Brooklyn, around other black and Latino people who helped and loved each other. I just want to show people that America doesn't have to be this 'I'm in the NRA, blah blah blah' type of place.
When the NRA is funding your campaign and giving you, you know, millions of dollars, are you likely to pass gun legislation or support it? No, and I think that's the reason why we see members of Congress refusing to do anything.
You know, there's a great discussion - I think that groups like the NRA have been really, really good at trying to divide us by fears, that the ideas that, well, Democrats want to take everybody's guns away. And that's not true.
My belief is that guns are too easy to get in America. My belief is that the NRA has bought much of our congress, to the point that guns are actually the only unregulated consumer product in America. Think about that. It's stunning.
Why can't we get real, sane, sensible gun legislation? Because the NRA, funded by Mossberg, Smith & Wesson, Glock and all the rest of the big dogs in the weapons industry, you know, spread around donations and won't let it move through.
I think that it's very, very hard for the NRA to continue to defend the position that people who are on the terrorist watch list should be allowed to buy firearms in this country. That's their position. I don't know how they stand by it.
The number-one defender of the Second Amendment rights is the National Rifle Association. The NRA works tirelessly to elect pro-Second Amendment candidates, and it fights fearlessly to win tough public policy battles and preserve those rights.
The NRA has become financially dependent on more and more guns being sold - especially the expensive ones. In turn, the NRA has stated that its top legislative priority is to protect gun makers by advocating for legislation that benefits them.
I work tirelessly advocating for gun violence prevention and promoting common-sense gun laws that could spare other parents the pain of having their child taken by senseless gun violence - laws the NRA's leadership has fought against relentlessly.
Individual NRA members, black and white, are publicly questioning why the organization has virtually nothing to say about Philando Castile. Just like with background checks - which most NRA members support - the NRA is out of step with its own members.
The NRA is funded by weapons manufacturers, and those same manufacturers know that they stand to lose some business if we pass common-sense gun legislation. As a result, the NRA contributes money to politicians to ensure that gun control never happens.
By law, super PACs are required to disclose their donors. There are groups that have never had to disclose their donors, non-profits such as the Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood, the NAACP, and the NRA. If you want more disclosure, super PACs are a step forward.
People get so terrified that the government might take their guns away that they stockpile as much as they can afford. They've been led to believe that there will be an outright ban of guns, so they drink the NRA propaganda and spend their money on more weapons.
The Constitution has become a convenient tool and talking point for politicians that get paid by the NRA. The same goes for Americans who just love their guns, so suddenly they're Constitutional scholars who care about what our founding fathers allegedly wanted.
If you don't like the NRA, get a million black people to join. Go to the convention. Realize that this ain't white people in hoods, just regular working class people like you that are probably going to be friendly and engage you. And then add your thoughts to the agenda.
To have people with - with psychological problems have a background check before they can buy a weapon? I don't think the NRA would pull me off that one. If they do, then I need to be pulled off it because... you can't give a weapon to someone who has mental issues, right.
When the NRA wants to prevent gun reform, they funnel money into the campaigns of candidates nationwide to make sure they don't vote for common sense gun reform. Insurance companies do the same to block Medicare for All and prevent us from guaranteeing health care as a right, not a privilege.
For years, I've gone on television and made the case for the Second Amendment - the right to bear arms. I've pointed out that criminals don't follow gun laws, and I've defended the NRA and its members - law-abiding gun owners like me who have nothing to do with mass shootings or violent gun crimes.
For any American who is worried about this country, who feels our core values slipping away, who believes something has to be done to change the direction of our nation before all is lost - the NRA is your refuge. It is your place to stand and fight with Americans just like you, for all that is good and right.
If we continue to fight the National Rifle Association on their home court, which is the legislative front, I think we'll continue to be frustrated. But when you have an ability to go directly to the public, that's a completely different field of engagement, and I think the NRA is not adept at that kind of engagement.
