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N.R.A. Attacks Obama in Video N.R.A. Attacks Obama in Video
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — A Web video published by the National Rifle Association on Tuesday suggests that President Obama is an “elitist” and a “hypocrite” because his daughters have protection while he opposes posting armed guards at the nation’s schools. WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association provoked a furious response from the White House on Wednesday by releasing a video accusing President Obama of being an “elitist” and a “hypocrite” because he opposes posting armed guards at schools, while his daughters have Secret Service protection.
The video, which appears not to have been broadcast widely on television, has generated ire among Democrats and gun control advocates who say it improperly drags the president’s daughters into the national debate over guns. The video also raised, for some people, questions about whether the gun rights organization might have been too strident, even for its own members.
Posted at a Web site called N.R.A. Stand and Fight, the video starts by asking, “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” The White House lashed out at the N.R.A. even as Mr. Obama stood with young children to unveil broad proposals to create tougher gun laws and use the power of the presidency to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
The video does not show Mr. Obama’s daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11. But it suggests that Mr. Obama holds their safety to a different standard than he is willing to offer for other children in the country. “Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight,” said Jay Carney, the White House press secretary. “But to go so far as to make the safety of the president’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.”
In a strongly worded statement, the White House press secretary Jay Carney lashed out at the N.R.A. The N.R.A. video refers to Mr. Obama’s strong reservations about the group’s idea to prevent school massacres by posting armed guards at all of the nation’s schools.
“Most Americans agree that a president’s children should not be used as pawns in a political fight,” Mr. Carney said. “But to go so far as to make the safety of the President’s children the subject of an attack ad is repugnant and cowardly.”
The N.R.A. video is a reference to Mr. Obama’s stated skepticism about the group’s idea to prevent school massacres by posting armed guards at every one of the nation’s schools.
“I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools,” Mr. Obama said during a recent interview on the NBC News program “Meet the Press.” “And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem.”“I am skeptical that the only answer is putting more guns in schools,” Mr. Obama said during a recent interview on the NBC News program “Meet the Press.” “And I think the vast majority of the American people are skeptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem.”
A week after the shootings at a school in Newtown, Conn., Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive and vice president of the N.R.A., held a news conference in which he called for more security in schools and an end to the “gun-free zones” that are common around many school buildings. The video, posted at a Web site called N.R.A. Stand and Fight, starts by asking, “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?” The video does not show Mr. Obama’s daughters, Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, but it suggests that Mr. Obama holds their safety to a different standard than he is willing to offer for other children.
The N.R.A. does not appear to have spent much money paying for the video to run as an ad on television. But it still generated ire among Democrats and gun control advocates who say it improperly dragged the president’s daughters into the national debate over guns.
Kim Anderson, a top official with the National Education Association, a teachers’ union, said the video “demonstrates a level of insensitivity and disrespect that N.E.A. members wouldn’t tolerate in any classroom in America.”
The video prompted quick declarations of outrage among liberal talk show hosts and on Twitter, with many people saying that the N.R.A. had gone too far by referring to the president’s children.
But the video also generated expressions of support, with some conservatives criticizing the president for standing with children at his event. On Twitter, N.R.A. backers used the hashtag #standandfight to express support.
“Patriots, we must back the #NRA in their efforts to preserve our liberties,” one person wrote on Twitter.
The N.R.A. has been the subject of intense criticism in some quarters since the Newtown shooting. Shortly after the massacre, Wayne LaPierre, the chief executive and vice president of the N.R.A., held a news conference in which he called for more security in schools and an end to the “gun-free zones” that are common around many school buildings.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Mr. LaPierre said at the time.“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Mr. LaPierre said at the time.
But the organization has said its outright rejection of any new restrictions on guns has led to a surge in new members, suggesting that its historic influence on Capitol Hill is not about to wane.
In a second video posted to its “Stand and Fight” website Wednesday afternoon, the organization replays parts of Mr. LaPierre’s news conference and suggests that the “elite” media and the president are out of touch with everyday Americans.
“America agrees with Wayne and the N.R.A.,” the four-and-a-half minute video says.