Source: Politics<\/p>\n
The National Rifle Association\u2019s position on gun laws has become more conservative due to pressure from grassroots gun rights organizations, Republican former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory said Sunday.<\/p>\n
Asked by host Chuck Todd of NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d to respond to a 1999 clip of NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre arguing in favor of mandatory background checks for purchases at gun shows, McCrory argued that the NRA was a more moderate organization under pressure to go further to the right of its executives\u2019 positions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey’re being pushed, politically, more to the right on this political issue, as President [Donald] Trump was during his term, where he was going to institute some policies. And then, he was pushed to reverse that decision,\u201d McCrory said.<\/p>\n
McCrory blamed institutional breakdown from the federal to local level for not preventing horrific events such as the Tuesday shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, and said gun violence was a cultural problem.<\/p>\n
McCrory, who lost a GOP primary for one of North Carolina\u2019s Senate seats earlier this month to Rep. Ted Budd, said the culture of gun ownership and the symbolism of guns was a manifestation of Americans\u2019 distrust with the criminal justice system and the sentiment that \u201cI’m going to take this into my own hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI was the mayor [of Charlotte] for 14 years and I had reduced the murder rate by over 50 percent due to some tough law enforcement, and some mentoring, and other programs,\u201d he said. \u201cI lost the primary two weeks ago to a congressman who had a gun in his front trousers in a commercial.\u201d<\/p>\n