NYT editorial board: ‘NRA can be beat’

The New York Times editorial board on Friday pushed for gun control after Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Florida high school, insisting that the “NRA can be beat.” 

The paper accused lawmakers of being terrified of the “wealthy gun lobby,” saying Congress has been “held hostage” by the National Rifle Association (NRA) for decades. The editorial board tore into the NRA, calling them an “unyielding obstacle to sensible reform” following mass shootings.

“With midterm elections coming up this fall, America has a chance to get that message across. Candidates must realize that reducing gun violence is a winning and moral issue,” the board wrote. “Aggressive turnout by voters who believe this can defeat the N.R.A. at the polls. Until then, the bloodshed will continue.”

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A 19-year-old gunman allegedly killed 17 students and faculty in a rampage through his former South Florida high school on Wednesday, and has since confessed to the premeditated murders. 

Democrats in Congress renewed calls for gun control measures on Thursday. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rebuked Republicans for refusing to take up the debate. Pelosi said the entire Congress was complicit in the gun violence epidemic and that victims are “paying the price of our inaction” on the issue. 

Republicans, many of whom are now under scrutiny for taking large campaign donations from the NRA, have warned that the shooting should not be politicized or used to implement measures that some lawmakers say would not have prevented the murder spree. 

“But the gun lobby’s stranglehold on our elected officials does not need to continue,” the Times said, “If candidates stand up to the lobby and voters demand that they commit themselves to the sorts of changes that a vast majority of Americans want.”

Since the shooting, Attorney General Jeff Sessions has vowed increased federal prosecution of gun crimes by the Justice Department but opposes new gun laws, instead favoring an approach to prevention focused on working with the mental health community. 

While President Trump has said that making schools safer after the latest mass shooting is a “top priority,” he has yet to weigh in on whether new legislation should be put in place to prevent future incidents.