This little stunt isn't even the most hypocritical thing the NRA does or continues to do...
To those who say "they promote gun safety and decry gun violence," consider the fact that the NRA has OSTENSIBLY fought to RESTRICT researching gun violence on a large scale. If people are truly interested in reducing gun violence, as opposed to calling some form of "let the cards fall where they may," the NRA is not some godsend... They've made it a point in the past to stymie gun crime research... (
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/26/us/26guns.html?_r=0)
For those too lazy to click links:
"Scientists in the field and former officials with the government agency that used to finance the great bulk of this research say the influence of the National Rife Association has all but choked off money for such work. "
" The amount of money available today for studying the impact of firearms is a fraction of what it was in the mid-1990s, and the number of scientists toiling in the field has dwindled to just a handful as a result, researchers say.
The dearth of money can be traced in large measure to a clash between public health scientists and the N.R.A. in the mid-1990s. At the time, Dr. Rosenberg and others at the C.D.C. were becoming increasingly assertive about the importance of studying gun-related injuries and deaths as a public health phenomenon, financing studies that found, for example, having a gun in the house, rather than conferring protection, significantly increased the risk of homicide by a family member or intimate acquaintance. "
"Language was also inserted into the centers’ appropriations bill that remains in place today: 'None of the funds made available for injury prevention and control at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention may be used to advocate or promote gun control.'
The prohibition is striking, firearms researchers say, because there are already regulations that bar the use of C.D.C. money for lobbying for or against legislation. No other field of inquiry is singled out in this way."
Anyone that thinks the NRA "speaks for the people" is off their rocker. They're a mouthpiece for the gun lobby intent on doing one thing: selling guns. As many as possible.