The National Rifle Association said it’s “shameful” that President Obama would blame the group for this week’s mass shooting in California.
“The National Rifle Association is not to blame. Neither is our Second Amendment freedom. An act of evil unfolded in California. President Obama used it not as a moment to inform or calm the American people; rather, he exploited it to push his gun control agenda,” Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, wrote in an op-ed published in USA Today.
“The NRA is calling on the president to stop exploiting tragedies to push his failed political agenda,” he wrote. “It’s shameful. Given the reality that he’s unlikely to listen, however, we will continue to stand and fight for law-abiding gun owners who are both disgusted and heartbroken by these heinous acts — whether committed by madmen, gang members or terrorists.”
“The NRA will neither accept the blame for the acts of murderers, nor apologize for fighting for our right to defend ourselves against them,” he said.
While Democrats have said the shooting shows that tighter gun controls are needed, Cox argued that California already had those controls in place, which didn’t appear to help.
“And the fact remains that California has already adopted President Obama’s gun control wish list: ‘universal’ background checks, registration, waiting periods, gun bans, magazine bans and an expansion of prohibited gun categories. But those laws did nothing to prevent this horrific crime from taking place. Nothing,” he wrote.
Cox also called out President Obama’s foreign policy, which he said “has made us less safe,” and said Obama’s plans on gun control would make Americans less safe.
“The plain truth is that the president cannot keep us safe. And his policies would leave us defenseless. That’s why our Second Amendment right to defend ourselves must be protected. It’s not just a constitutionally guaranteed freedom. It’s a natural, God-given, human right,” Cox wrote.
“President Obama’s response is not one of unity, but rather a condescending lecture that we need more laws to restrict us from defending ourselves,” Cox concluded.
Cox’s op-ed comes after a shooting in San Bernardino, Calif., by a radicalized couple that left left 14 dead and 21 others injured. The FBI said Wednesday it is treating the shooting as a potential terrorist act, but no motive has been confirmed.
