Even A Gun Blogger Who Called Trayvon Martin “A Semi-Literate Violent Criminal” Says Ted Nugent Is Ruining The NRA’s Image

Well-known gun blogger Bob Owens slammed NRA board member Ted Nugent for promoting a video on Facebook that depicted Hillary Clinton being shot, writing that “In one stupid and pointless post, Mr. Nugent has done great harm” to the NRA’s efforts to market itself to the public.

In his May 11 blog post condemning Nugent’s actions, Owens implored the NRA board member, “If you can’t control yourself, sir, maybe it’s time to man up and resign, before you cause any more damage to the NRA and the 5 million people it represents.”

On May 10, Nugent posted a fake video that graphically depicted Bernie Sanders murdering Hillary Clinton with a handgun during a presidential debate, writing the comment “I got your guncontrol right here bitch!” above the video.

Owens’ condemnation of Nugent is particularly significant, given Owens’ own history of incendiary rhetoric. In October 2015, Owens authored a post at his blog suggesting that “radical” Democrats will be hanged after starting a civil war against Republicans. Owens illustrated his post with an image of gallows.

In fact, on the very same day Owens condemned Nugent, he also wrote a post calling deceased Florida teenager Trayvon Martin “a violent, drug-abusing thug who appeared to get off on hurting people,” “a semi-literate violent criminal,” and slamming an upcoming musical about Martin’s life, which he claimed would be “whitewashing a black heart.”

Owens’ website, Bearing Arms, is a co-sponsor of the NRA’s annual leadership forum, an event that will feature remarks from Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans as part of the NRA’s annual meeting in Louisville, KY, from May 19 to May 22. Nugent will also deliver a speech at the meeting.

In his blog post on Nugent, Owens worried about the negative effect he believes Nugent has on the NRA’s image:

The anti-gun media is of course loving this.  Nugent’s decision to share this stupid, pointless and violent sentiment of one Democrat Presidential candidate murdering the other in cold blood perpetuates the unwarranted stereotype that gun owners in general (and the NRA in specific) crave the deaths of opponents. The much different reality of the matter is that we regularly “slaughter” with facts, logic, and reason.

Thanks, Ted.

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As an NRA member, I want to communicate to the world that is not who we are as an organization. This filth is not what we represent as part of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights group. In particular, this is beneath Nugent as a member of the Board of Directors of the National Rifle Association.

I’ve watched the NRA pour incredible time and effort into a 19-spot campaign over the past year depicting us for who we really are, “Freedom’s Safest Place.”

In one stupid and pointless post, Mr. Nugent has done great harm to that image, giving enemies of the natural right to bear arms more ammunition to depict us as being violent, dim-witted, and crude.