The National Rifle Association is advising attendees at its annual convention in Dallas to avoid a local restaurant that is donating this week’s proceeds to organizations dedicated to gun regulations.
In a tweet late Friday, the gun rights group shared a picture of a receipt from Ellen’s, on which a message says money will be donated to organizations “dedicated to implementing reasonable and effective gun regulations.” The NRA warned attendees to “steer clear.”
“Why go there when there are so many other great choices,” the NRA said.
Attn @AnnualMeetings attendees. Steer clear of Ellen’s in downtown Dallas! Why go there when there are so many other great choices. ?#sorrynotsorry #StandAndFight #DefendTheSecond pic.twitter.com/joX7pPoPm4
— NRA (@NRA) May 5, 2018
Some NRA convention attendees have already dined at the restaurant, and the owner of the restaurant, Joe Groves, claims he overheard “vile, racist, moronic conversations” coming from their tables. Some examples he provided included someone saying to an African American manager, “You know, the reason we need our guns is because of the blacks” and to Hispanic servers, “Do you keep your illegals in the back?” according to the Dallas Morning News.
Groves claims he is not an opponent of the Second Amendment, but rather someone who thinks more can be done to promote gun safety. “As the owner of a restaurant and as someone who cares about these issues, being pro-Second Amendment and being pro-safety are not incompatible,” he explained.
Later in the day Saturday, Groves told BuzzFeed that his restaurant has received multiple threats, some saying they were going to “shoot the place up.”
According to the Dallas Morning News, Groves and his friends began to think about gun reform following the deadly summer 2016 shooting that killed five law enforcement officials.
