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Connecticut governor says the NRA has 'become a terrorist organization
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy delivers remarks during the final Joining Forces event in the East Room of the White House November 14, 2016 in Washington, DC. Malloy said the NRA has become like a "terrorist organization."(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Connecticut governor says the NRA has 'become a terrorist organization

When a Connecticut mayor called for mentions of the National Rifle Association to be removed from state laws, Gov. Dannel Malloy piled on, saying the NRA has “in essence become a terrorist organization,” according to Fox 61.

How it started

Connecticut residents must go through a basic safety training course and get certified before getting a firearm permit, and state law lists NRA training as a course that meets that requirement.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin called on Connecticut legislators to remove the NRA’s name from laws.

“The idea that the NRA should be recognized as a voice for gun safety is ridiculous,” Bronin said. “If the NRA had its way we wouldn’t be permitting in the first place. This is an organization that opposes universal background checks despite the fact that overwhelming majority of Americans and even a large number of NRA members support universal background checks.”

Gov. Malloy’s comments

Malloy agreed with Bronin that the NRA should be removed from state laws, and took his criticism of the organization even further.

“They act quite frankly in some cases as a terrorist organization,” Malloy said. “You want to make safer guns? We will boycott your company. That’s who they are. That’s what they do.

“The NRA today is a far cry from the NRA that in 1999 said that teachers shouldn’t carry weapons in schools. Or in the 90’s said we should have universal background checks. They have in essence become a terrorist organization.”

The NRA’s responses

NRA spokespeople responded separately to both Bronin’s and Malloy’s remarks:

To Bronin, a statement from NRA spokesperson Catherine Mortensen:

“No organization in the world does more to promote the safe and responsible use of firearms than the NRA.

“The NRA’s Basics of Pistol Shooting course is the best training available for anyone seeking to carry a concealed firearm for self-protection. By eliminating the NRA training and standards for Connecticut’s permit holders, Mayor Bronin is putting politics above the safety of Connecticut citizens.”

To Malloy, a statement from NRA spokesperson Jennifer Baker:

"The NRA is comprised of over five million law-abiding citizens many of whom are teachers, doctors, policeman, farmers , moms  and dads residing in Connecticut. So let’s be clear Governor Malloy just called tens of thousands of his constituents terrorists.

Voters are fed up with politicians who engage in political stunts and childish name calling rather than serious policy discussions aimed at making our schools and communities safer. A perfect example is the absurd political stunt to remove NRA trainers from the permitting process in Connecticut. No organization in the world does more to promote the safe and responsible use of firearms than the NRA.

The NRA’s Basics of Pistol Shooting course is the best training available for anyone seeking to carry a concealed firearm for self-protection. Public safety isn’t improved by eliminating the NRA training and standards for Connecticut’s permit holders or by calling people who disagree with you terrorists.

NRA members love our children and want them to be safe just as much as anyone else we just disagree that punishing  law-abiding citizens who want to exercise their  constitutional  right to self-defense  is the way to achieve that goal.”

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