l.a. organizers respond to chilling nra ad targeting activists

Two weeks ago, the NRA released a chilling ad warning against the dangers of progressive ideas and those who promote them. The spot ended with a call to action to do something about activists who “make (people) march, make them protest, make them scream racism and sexism and xenophobia and homophobia.”

This week, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles, Dignity and Power Now, The Reverence Project, RISIST, and Defend Movement responded to the fear-mongering ad with one of their own. Featuring the families of Keith Bursey, Charleena Lyles, and Kisha Michael, who were all killed by law enforcement, the video starts off mimicking the NRA ad which began by claiming all the dangerous things “they” (progressives) do.

In the new ad, an activist explains, “they use their guns to assassinate black people, they use their schools to funnel black students through a school to prison pipeline,” over clips of protests and police brutality before abruptly changing course: “Wait, hold up. What’s with the aggressive fear mongering video tactics?” she asks.

The video then turns into an indictment of fear-mongering and inciting violence: “When the NRA issues a public call to their constituents, inciting violence against people who are constitutionally fighting for their lives — we don’t take that lightly. We know that we are not safe, but we are not scared either. We will continue to produce media, teach students, march, and protest to not only protect the First Amendment as fiercely as the NRA protects the second, but to protect our lives from gun-toting racists,” the representative says.

Check out both ads below!: