The NRA’s Ill-Timed Tweet After The Boulder Shooting Is Not Going Over Well

For the second time in less than a week, a U.S. mass shooting is dominating headlines after a gunman opened fire in a Boulder, Colorado grocery store. During the Monday afternoon attack, ten people (including one police officer) were killed at a local King Sooper’s store. CNN reports that a suspect is in custody, although his identity has not been revealed by authorities. According to USA Today, he was the only person “to receive non-fatal injuries” in the incident, and “[t]he man, wearing shorts but no shirt or shoes, was taken away by ambulance.”

The attack took place around 2:30 p.m. Mountain Time, and a handful of hours later, the National Rifle Association decided to, uh, add some shaded commentary. It’s not a good look, either, given that the organization tweeted out the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

Is this a failure or a refusal to read the room? Social media feels like it’s the latter.

Beyond that, it’s sadly obvious that the NRA has either completely ignored or misunderstood the words “well regulated.”

“We saw a well-regulated militia on Jan 6th,” tweeted user Susan Sewing. “No thank you. I’ll continue to support any efforts to further amend the existing Constitutional amendment that grants the right to bear arms, until senseless mass shootings and gun violence aren’t considered a necessary by-product.”

Then there’s the question of what the Founding Fathers would think of an endless cascade of mass shootings while a powerful organization continues to defend the purchase of assault rifles by civilians. Your move, Congress.