NRA Silent Following School Shooting and Calls for Stricter Gun Laws
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David De Lossy/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Groups and lawmakers in favor of stricter gun laws haven’t wasted any time speaking out following the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., but the pro-gun National Rifle Association has been silent.
The NRA, which frequently communicates through social media, hasn’t tweeted since before the shooting and its Facebook page has been taken down, a day after the group boasted of reaching 1.7 million “likes.”.
On Thursday, a tweet went out from the NRA’s official account saying: “@NRA “Did you hear? Our #facebook page reached 1.7 million “likes” today! Thanks for being a friend!”
The NRA couldn’t be reached for comment regarding whether the deactivation of its facebook page was connected to Friday’s mass shooting.
The debate over the nation’s gun laws took center stage on Sunday, when California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she intends to introduce an assault weapons ban on the first day of the next Congress.
Adam Lanza used a Bushmaster .223 semi-automatic rifle at close range to kill children and adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., last Friday.
Two handguns were also found at the scene, but law enforcement officials described the Bushmaster as Lanza’s primary weapon. A fourth weapon was found nearby. The weapons discovered at the school apparently belonged to a family member, possibly his mother, according to authorities.
The NRA was a trending topic on Twitter Sunday with thousands showing their support and distaste for the gun lobbying organization, which plays a significant role in American politics. That role was denied by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his appearance Sunday on NBC’s Meet The Press.
“The NRA’s number one objective this time was to defeat Barack Obama for a second term. Last time I checked the election results, he won and he won comfortably,” Bloomberg said. “This myth that the NRA can destroy political careers is just not true.”
A number of the Sunday news talk shows including, ABC’s This Week, invited an NRA representative on to their shows to discuss gun control. But the programs received a statement from the NRA declining to comment because details of the investigation into the shooting were still pending.
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