During television appearances on Sunday to push back against calls for gun control legislation in the wake of the deadly Orlando shooting, two officials for the National Rifle Association admitted that people at bars should not be carrying guns.
During an interview on ABC’s “This Week,” Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA’s lobbying arm, was asked about Trump’s recent suggestion that the shooting at the Orlando night club could have ended sooner if people in the club had been armed.
At first Cox said that “the policies of that night club — the gun free zone — did not prevent that terrorist of going in and mowing down innocent people.”
“What Donald Trump has said is what the American people know is common sense: If somebody had been there to stop this faster, fewer people would have died,” he said.
But when pressed on whether people who are drinking should be armed, Cox said, “No one thinks that people should go into a nightclub drinking and carrying firearms. That defies common sense. It also defies the law.”
And during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre made similar comments.
“I don’t think you should have firearms where people are drinking,” he said. “But I will tell you this. Everybody, every American starts to have — needs to start having a security plan. We need to be able to protect ourselves, because they’re coming. And they’re going to go for vulnerable spots, and this country needs to realize it.”
He later clarified his view in a tweet:
Wayne LaPierre: I want to clarify my comment: if you’re going to carry, don’t drink. OK to carry in restaurants that serve alcohol.
— NRA (@NRA) June 19, 2016
