NRA Posts Image Threatening Pro-Gun Control Lawmakers Including A Bullet Pointed At The Head

The NRA posted a disturbing photo to Twitter and in an online article that seems to be threatening two lawmakers sponsoring gun control bills.

A picture is worth a thousand words, and a picture of two people with bullets scattered on and around them, including one pointed at the head, makes an even more powerful – and threatening – statement.

Perception is reality. No doubt the NRA would say they see nothing threatening about this photo at all. After all, they’re “just” bullets, right? 

If one of these women were your mother, sister, or spouse, how would you feel if you saw this image?

 

The NRA, targeting Democratic State Senator Roxanne Persaud and Democratic Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon, posted this tweet Monday. The link goes to an editorial at an NRA publication, America’s 1st Freedom (which most people would think is freedom of speech, not freedom of guns). It begins:

What’s an anti-gun state legislator to do when the state in which he or she lives already has some of the most restrictive gun-control laws in the nation? Realistically, short of banning all guns and ammunition magazines, what’s left to do in the state of New York?

Democrat State Sen. Roxanne Persaud and Democrat Assemblywoman Jo Anne Simon think they have the answer—make it nearly impossible for anyone to buy ammunition. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio was not pleased, and made his objections clear:

So did Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams:

CNN reports that “Persaud called the image ‘outrageous’ and said it contains ‘subliminal messages of violence,'” and “Simon said the photo was ‘clearly’ intended to be ‘threatening and intimidating.'”

New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer called for the Justice Department to “immediately investigate these scare tactics that threaten our democracy,” and accused the NRA of “putting the lives of elected officials at risk by posting their snapshots surrounded by real bullets.”

New York City Council Speaker Melissa MarkViverito called it “irresponsible & dangerous”:

The Guardian called the photo “threatening,” while blogger Joe Jervis didn’t mince words, labeling it a “TERRORIST THREAT.”

Others took to Twitter to denounce the threat as well:

 

 

 Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license