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.
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.
Bernice King also called out the tweet as “regrettable” and “very unfortunate” given her father’s nonviolent stance.
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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