NRA's ad targets Obama children
2013-01-16 18:47
Washington - Hours before President Barack Obama was due
to unveil proposals on Wednesday to prevent mass shootings like the one in
Newtown, Connecticut, last month, the National Rifle Association (NRA) released
an advertisement that referred to his two school-aged daughters.
"Are the president's kids more important than
yours?" a narrator says in the 35-second television and internet spot.
"Then why is he sceptical about putting armed
security in our schools when his kids are protected by armed guards at their
schools? Mr Obama demands the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes, but he's
just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security."
Obama's two children, who attend private school in
Washington, DC, receive Secret Service protection.
"It is disgusting on so many levels," said
former Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs during an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe on Wednesday.
"This reminds me of something... an ad that somebody
made at two in the morning after one too many drinks, and no one stopped it in
the morning," Gibbs said.
Gun control activists and gun rights advocates have said
in recent days that they could find common ground, particularly over the issue
of expanding background checks for potential gun owners.
The NRA ad's tone, however, and the personal nature of
the attacks speak to the cultural gulf that divides both sides.
The clip, called Stand and Fight
The idea has been at the centre of the NRA's response to
the 14 December shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, in
which 20 children and 6 adults were killed.
The ad is airing on the Sportsman Channel, a cable
network, but will likely receive a much larger viewership on news stations and
through the internet.
The NRA, which says it has about 4 million members, also
announced earlier this week that it would produce a nightly one-hour cable talk
show hosted by gun advocate Cam Edwards on the Sportsman Channel.
"I am sceptical that the only answer is putting more
guns in schools," Obama said in a recent interview with NBC's Meet
the Press .
“And I think the vast majority of the American people are
sceptical that that somehow is going to solve our problem."
In a survey released on Monday, the Pew Research Centre
found that people favour putting armed guards or police officers in more
schools by a two-to-one margin, 64% to 32%.
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