Leon W. Russell, Chair of the NAACP Board, said an NRA ad "is a clear attempt to make us see enemies in our own neighbors"

July 11, 2017

BALTIMORE – The NAACP issued the following statement after the National Rifle Association (NRA) released an ad that blatantly promotes violence towards an unnamed enemy.

“The NRA’s advertisement twists footage from protests – and the freedom of speech and assembly – into a symbol of violence, using the words of conservative media provocateur and NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch to incite hatred,” said Leon W. Russell, Chair of the NAACP Board.

“The content of this ad is so disdainfully divisive that despicable does not even begin to accurately describe it. This ad is a clear attempt to make us see enemies in our own neighbors, in yet another display of the NRA’s most baseless and overplayed tactic: Fear mongering.
“The release of this ad comes on the heels of a year riddled with gun-related killings and increasing attacks against African-Americans. Gun violence often disproportionately impacts communities of color, which is why the NAACP supports common sense gun regulation, policies and programs to keep all Americans safe.
“We have seen first-hand the kind of devastation that the NRA’s ad is encouraging and we will not remain silent as long as it still occurs.”

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