The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today condemned the gun industry trade group the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) for kicking off its annual gun trade show, the SHOT Show, on the national holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated with a Remington rifle in 1968.
This is not the first time that pro-gun organizations have drawn fire over the issue of inappropriate scheduling: the National Rifle Association (NRA) was strongly criticized
for holding its 1996 convention on the first anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, as well as for opening its 1998 convention on the 30th anniversary of Robert F. Kennedy's assassination.
"This macabre timing is only the latest addition to the gun lobby's bent for inappropriate and insensitive scheduling," said VPC Executive Director Josh Sugarmann. "While most Americans will be honoring Dr. King's memory, SHOT Show participants will be reveling in a celebration of firearms."
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational foundation that conducts research on violence in America and works to develop violence-reduction policies and proposals. The Center examines the role of firearms in America, conducts research on firearms violence, and explores new ways to decrease firearm-related death and injury.
