Close Reading: NRA encourages Open Carry Texas to chill out

Prepared to exercise deadly force in the bread aisle

Prepared to exercise deadly force in the bread aisle

There is so much to like about this letter from the National Rifle Association to open carry demonstrators, not the least of which is its jaunty opening sentence. “Here at NRA, we are big fans of responsible behavior,” it begins, “legal mandates, not so much.” For a moment I hoped it would continue in that vein, and the NRA had released a letter written by Jackie Mason. But it quickly adopts a more serious tone, suited to its purpose as maybe the first ever public communication from the National Rifle Association urging people to be a little less nuts for guns. It detours into a long, slippery-slope argument about a particular kind of new safety device, but mostly it sends a message to Open Carry Texas: ” just because something can be done doesn’t mean it should be done.” Now that’s a thesis.

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