Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) called out the NRA for not caring about gun owners and being a grifting scam.
Adam Kinzinger Calls The NRA A Grifting Scam
Video of Kinzinger:
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Transcript via ABC’s This Week:
KARL: So help me understand, how did you — how did you go from being somebody that was kind of right in line with the gun lobby on this to somebody who thinks it time to change these laws?
KINZINGER: Look, it’s a journey of, you know, getting sick of seeing the mass shootings, you know, being a strong — look, I’m a strong defender of the second amendment. And one of the things I believe that for some reason is a very rare thing is that as a person that appreciates and believes in the second amendment, we have to be the ones putting forward reasonable solutions to gun violence.
You know, the reaction of my colleagues of the NRA to say, hey, if you want to come and take my guns — so I’m going to walk around, I’m going to go into the Michigan State Capitol with my AR because I can — by the way, can I make a point that open carry, especially with ARs, is one of the more insane things. Maybe out West it works fine. I’m not going to go after it there.
But to walk into the State Capitol of Michigan with a gun because it makes you feel tough, these are the kinds of things that second amendment supporters are doing no favors to defend that second amendment in the next generation
So for me, I woke up the morning after Vegas — the Vegas shooting, I had shot a bump stock before, I heard the audio from that shooting, I knew that was a bump stock and I called for banning bump stocks — which, by the way, was ultimately done and because of that, the NRA basically said, Kinzinger is a rhino or whatever their language was, and I realized especially then, the only thing the NRA cares about is raising money on your back — they don’t really give a lot of money to people. They can get people upset. And they’re competing with another group called Gun Owners of America.
You think the NRA is crazy, look at the Gun Owners of America. These are the ones that believe that there should be zero restrictions on owning guns. And now NRA has to compete with this group for crazy because that’s where they get their money from.
The NRA has become — it’s gone from defending rights of gun owners, it has become a grifting scam. And all you have to do is look at the last few years of the grifting scam of the NRA to know that that’s true.
Adam Kinzinger Explains What The NRA Really Is
Kinzinger has already shown that he is willing to break with his party to do the right thing for his country by serving on the 1/6 Committee, and now he has taken it further by calling for changes to the nation’s gun laws.
Kinzinger is on the inside and he described perfectly the real power of the NRA. The NRA’s power isn’t in money, or even the ability to attract voters. The NRA’s real power is its ability to get people angry.
Elected Republicans are afraid of that anger because they think it will cost them their jobs.
The NRA is a con. They don’t really care about gun owners and their rights. The NRA is all about conning for cash and selling more guns.
Instead of being looked at as lobbyists, the NRA should be viewed as a con, and lawmakers should not be afraid to call their bluff.
Mr. Easley is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association