Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter calls out NRA's 'very unfortunate' tweet linking her dad to gun rights
On Monday the nation celebrated the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., with tributes rolling in from Ivanka Trump and President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence making a fleeting visit to the D.C. memorial honoring the civil rights icon.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) also took the opportunity to mark MLK Day — by connecting King to the battle over gun rights. A tweet from the gun rights group noted that King was once denied a concealed carry permit, suggesting that the civil rights leader might have survived his fatal shooting in 1968 had he been armed.
“We will never stop fighting for every law-abiding citizen’s right to self-defense,” the NRA’s tweet added.
Today, the men and women of the @NRA honor the profound life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King applied for a concealed carry permit in a "may issue" state and was denied. We will never stop fighting for every law-abiding citizen's right to self-defense. #MLKDay pic.twitter.com/wtSQOO5Kaq
— NRA (@NRA) January 21, 2019
But, as many people pointed out in response to the NRA’s tweet, King advocated a policy of nonviolence. Commenters also insisted that rather than using King as an example of the importance of the Second Amendment, the NRA should consider how the man who shot him, James Earl Ray, was able to buy a gun despite being an ex-convict. Many also accused the organization of turning its back on black gun owners.
Please shoot your account.
— Danforth France (@danforthfrance) January 21, 2019
You guys supported the gun control legislation passed in reaction to black rights groups like the Black Panthers, and still today remain strangely silent when law-abiding black gun owners are murdered by the police.
— Brian Heinz (@lundah) January 21, 2019
You should be ashamed of yourselves- but of course you won’t be.
— Nelba Márquez-Greene, 🇵🇷🇨🇦 (@Nelba_MG) January 21, 2019
You do know that Dr. King was killed by a sniper over 200 ft away; an escaped convict who still managed to buy a rifle and scope from a sporting goods store. A concealed carry permit would not have saved King, but mandatory wait periods and stronger background checks might have.
— Kate (@KateERyan) January 21, 2019
"Today we honor an African American man shot to death by a racist with a rifle, but we'll make his life about him trying to get a conceal & carry license, because our view is horrifically myopic."
~ What the NRA really meant
— Oklahoma.Indepedent (@OklaIndepedent) January 21, 2019
Bernice King also called out the tweet as “regrettable” and “very unfortunate” given her father’s nonviolent stance.
This is not the full story, @NRA. My father evolved beyond this moment. Your tweet is a regrettable, very unfortunate one, especially on today. I invite you to study him and his nonviolent philosophy @TheKingCenter. #MLK90 #MLK #MLKDay https://t.co/18LytUtRFg
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 21, 2019
She’s the second King offspring to speak out against politically charged references to her father this week. Martin Luther King III hit back when Pence drew comparisons between King and Trump’s push for a border wall during an appearance on CBS’s Face the Nation.
“Now, Martin Luther King Jr. was a bridge builder, not a wall builder,” Martin Luther King III responded. “Martin Luther King Jr. would say love, not hate, will make America great.”
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