The National Rifle Association (NRA) disagreed with Donald Trump’s stand on permitting guns in places such as nightclubs, where people drinking could have a wider access to firearms. The organization stated that guns in nightclubs go against the law and common sense.
The remarks went as a response to Trump’s comments, in which he suggested that the Orlando massacre would have been prevented if some of the victims had been armed, as reported by ABC news.
“If some of those wonderful people had guns strapped right here, right to their waist or right to their ankle, and one of the people in that room happened to have it and goes ‘boom, boom,’ you know, that would have been a beautiful sight folks,” Trump said at a rally on Friday.
According to Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, what Trump said is what American people know as common sense: if somebody had been there to stop the situation faster, fewer people would have died.
However, he said during his interview with ABC, that no one thinks that people should go into a nightclub drinking and be carrying firearms. That behavior defies common sense as well as the law, he added when asked about Trump’s comments.
Happy to meet @realdonaldtrump. Our position is no guns for terrorists—period. Due process & right to self-defense for law-abiding Americans
— NRA (@NRA) June 15, 2016
In addition to Cox’s stand, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre commented in a separate interview with CBS a similar position. LaPierre stated that he did not think that people should have firearms when drinking.
Although he said that everybody in America need to start having a security plan. American people need to be able to protect themselves “because they are coming, and they are going for vulnerable spots” and the country needs to realize it, LaPierre added.
He later tweeted to clarify his remarks during the CBS’s interview and concluded by saying that “if you are going to carry, do not drink.” LaPierre also added that it was okay to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol.
Double stand?
Even though the NRA have stated its opposition to the alcohol and firearms mix, it has long pushed for laws that allow people to carry loaded guns in bars and other places that serve alcohol, as reported by the Huffington Post.
Back in 2014, when South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley signed a law allowing residents to carry guns in bars and restaurants, she specifically thanked an NRA lobbyist and presented him with a pen for his work related to the bill.
Source: ABC News