The National Rifle Association released a video showing a disabled woman with a semi-automatic firearm warning of politicians who might “exploit” the coronavirus pandemic to “push gun control.”
Carletta Whiting, a breast cancer survivor who has a fibromyalgia-related disability, appears in a four-minute video posted to Twitter on Saturday afternoon, which evoked the ire of some gun control advocates. Whiting’s health situation makes her particularly vulnerable to the COVID-19 virus, which has killed hundreds of people across the United States.
“I hope I survive the coronavirus. That’s up to God. What’s in my control is how I defend myself if things go from bad to worse. You might be wondering why I’m holding this,” Whiting said as she loaded a magazine into her rifle, put a round into the chamber, and fired a shot.
“I know from history how quickly society breaks down during the crisis, and we’ve never faced anything like this before and never is a Second Amendment more important than during public unrest,” she said.
Americans are flocking to gun stores because they know the only reliable self-defense during a crisis is the #2A.
Carletta Whiting, who’s disabled & vulnerable to #coronavirus, asks Dems trying to exploit the pandemic: Why do you want to leave people like me defenseless? pic.twitter.com/wDeEYHqzOU
— NRA (@NRA) March 21, 2020
Citing the 2005 gun confiscation of law-abiding citizens in New Orleans amid the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Whiting said a similar roundup could happen again.
“Police actually went door to door, stripping our society’s most vulnerable people of their guns, which was their only means to protect themselves. It would be foolish to assume it couldn’t happen here. It already has,” Whiting said.
“What’s happening today feels eerily similar in Champaign, Illinois. The mayor has assumed the power to ban gun transfers, citing the coronavirus pandemic in New Orleans. The mayor has issued an emergency order allowing her to ban the sale and transportation of firearms,” she added.
Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen signed an executive order earlier this month, declaring a state of emergency for the city. The order triggers a preexisting 2006 regulation that enables a flurry of measures, including the power to ban the sale of guns, ammunition, alcohol, and gasoline.
After word of the order got out, the NRA sent out an alert urging members to “swiftly” oppose it. The city later issued a clarification Facebook that said, “There is currently no firearm ban and no intent to seize property or close businesses. Additionally there are no restrictions on the sale of alcohol or gas or the ability to enter or leave Champaign.”
Firearm and ammunition sales have skyrocketed across the country amid growing anxiety surrounding the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s no surprise why sales of guns and ammunition have skyrocketed,” Whiting said. “Even liberals in California are lining up because they know the government will not be able to protect them.”
Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, took offense to the NRA video saying in a tweet, “Mainstream gun owners have left the NRA, so now they’re reduced to telling people to stockpile assault weapons, instead of food, to get ready for the coming Coronavirus civil war. So sickening.”
