Black Lives Matter activists are responding to the National Rifle Association after the gun rights group sent out a series of chilling ads attacking the "violent left." In a video response replicating NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch's conservative call to action, activists from the Los Angeles chapter of BLM refer to the ads as "dangerous propaganda" which create "gun-toting racists," and call for their removal.
"When the NRA issues a public call to their constituents, inciting violence against people who are constitutionally fighting for their lives, we don't take that lightly," said a member of BLM LA in the response.
"They use their new president to enact a 'law-and-order administration,'" she continued, over ominous music and a dark background. "All to make them shoot first, to make them ask questions later, make them scream, 'I thought he had a gun in his hand' and 'I feared for my life' and 'he matched the description of a suspect' and 'she was threatening us' — until the only option left is for black people to disrupt the systems that keep us oppressed and build the kinds of communities in which we want to live."
The video comes as a response to Loesch's widely criticized ad where she called upon supporters to fight "this violence of lies with the clenched fist of truth."
The "truth" Loesch referred to is ambiguous — almost as vague the NRA's initial response to the death of Philando Castile, which was a statement on Facebook, telling their followers they "will have more to say once all the facts are known."
Castille was shot and killed on June 6, 2016 by officer Geronimo Yanez after being pulled over during a traffic stop. According to dash cam video and accompanying audio, Castille could be heard telling the officer he is armed before reaching for his license and registration, just before the officer shot him seven times.
And now, after over a year of silence about Castille's wrongful death and in the wake of Officer Yanez's acquittal, the organization finally addressed the case — albeit unwillingly. On Sunday, Loesch was forced to speak about Castille's death during a heated debate with Women's March co-organizer Tamika Mallory on CNN. On behalf of the NRA, Loesch called his death "absolutely awful" and "a terrible tragedy that could have been avoided." Loesch concluded her statement, telling viewers, "There are a lot of variables in this particular case and there were a lot of things that I wish would have been done differently. Do I believe that Philando Castile deserved to lose his life over a [traffic] stop? I absolutely do not."
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