Call out NRA’s LGBT tokenism

Washington DC, 26 February 2020 – The National Rifle Association would have you believe it’s suddenly LGBT-friendly.  The evidence?  It has a gay employee.

Gay D.C. resident William ‘Billy’ McLaughlin, who serves as Digital Director for the National Rifle Association spoke at a meeting of some 50 people, where he is reported to have said:

When I started at the NRA I assumed a culture of anti-LGBTQ – but it was the opposite,” he said. “Our former executive director stood up at our annual meeting and said, ‘We fight for you whether you’re black, white, rich, poor, gay or straight, because your life matters equally. You have every right to be proud of it and every right to defend it, and the National Rifle Association is proud to represent you.’”

According to Washington Blade, McLaughlin was quoting from remarks by Chris W. Cox, former executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, which coordinates the NRA’s congressional lobbying efforts.

Here are some documented remarks NRA leaders and policy makers have made over time:

Ken Blackwell, NRA Board member:  “If love and commitment make a marriage, why cannot brothers and sisters marry? Or fathers and daughters?

“What the District Council has done is to open the door to polygamy, to incest.

“There is no basis in law or logic for denying such persons their desire for so-called marriage equality.  The reason I call this measure counterfeit marriage is because these false marriage bills have the same effect on true marriage that counterfeiting money has on real money. Secret Service Agents are trained to spot counterfeit money.”

Wayne Anthony Ross, NRA Board Member (quote sourced from Coalition against Gun Violence) “ ‘homophobe’ … [is used]  to designate one who is disgusted by sexual perversion, in which sense it is quite incorrect, because fear or terror, either reasonable or unreasonable, is implied.”

and this gem: “[The 2009 Anchorage Homosexual Rights Ordinance, which outlawed employment discrimination against LGBTQ people] seems to give extra rights to a group whose lifestyle was a crime only a few years ago, and whose beliefs are certainly immoral in the eyes of anyone with some semblance of intelligence and moral character. It is a shame that you folks don’t have some causes you could become involved in that are of benefit to society in general. Instead, you support degenerates.”

And high-profile former NRA board member, Ted Nugent:  “If the NBA had any true gay convictions, the NBA should host a Homosexual Night. During halftime, the homosexuals could come down on the court, hold hands and prance around the court to music by the Village People. The NBA could then give each homosexual a pink basketball as a symbol of solidarity.”

Meanwhile, the pinned tweet on McLaughlin’s Twitter profile page is this:

I wrote an op-ed about being gay and working for the @NRA . The tolerant left called me homophobic and fat. Conservatives called me a patriot and a friend. I am proud to be gay and proud to work for the world’s greatest civil rights org. Thanks, @TomiLahren , for having me on.

 

ACTION:

Let’s give Mr McLaughlin the benefit of the doubt and assume he had the colossal ignorance of having no idea the NRA was virtually synonymous with anti LGBT sentiment, and educate him.

Please contact ‘Billy’ McLaughlin through one of the channels below and give him the following message, personalized to your liking:

 

I’m amazed anyone can be gay and at the same time support the NRA.  I’m a member of One Pulse for America, founded by George Takei after the horrific Pulse nightclub shooting, when a homophobic killer took the lives of 49 people because they were gay.  He should never have been able to obtain any weapon. We’re trying to stop this happening again, and wonder why you aren’t.

In the meantime, open this link https://www.onepulseforamerica.com/action-alert/call-out-nras-lgbt-tokenism/ to see a small fraction of what NRA board members think of your lifestyle.  NRA board members call gay people immoral degenrates. You’re being used.  Tell me, how do you manage to support such people?

Phone: (NRA) +1 877-672-2000

Email: (NRA – tell them it’s for Billy McLaughlin) membership@nrahq.org

Facebook: (I couldn’t find him; any one have any luck, let me know)

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/BillyNRA

 

Once you have made contact, fill out the three fields below and click the orange banner to report taking action!