Dallas restaurant harassed by NRA donates $15,000 to gun safety group

Threats and intimidation backfired in Dallas over the weekend after NRA members attacked a popular restaurant for supporting the gun safety movement.

Now the owner of the Dallas West End eatery, Ellen’s, has announced that on Mother’s Day he’ll present a $15,000 check to the local chapter of Moms Demand Action, a national gun safety group.

And a lot of that money came from patrons backing the restaurant — some from thousands of miles away.

“I put a significant amount of personal money into it, but the rest came from patrons of the restaurant as well as people calling us from South America, Asia, from countries all around the world,” says Joe Groves.

During the NRA’s 2018 annual convention in Dallas, some members noticed that at the bottom of Ellen’s receipts was printed a call for “reasonable and effective gun regulations.” The NRA tweeted an image of a receipt, telling its followers to “steer clear” of the restaurant.

Polling confirms that that a vast majority of Americans share the restaurant’s view. But NRA members soon launched a smear campaign against Ellen’s, including graphic threats of physical violence.

“We’ve had people calling and say they’re going to shoot the place up,” Groves reported.

Despite the threats, more and more businesses, large and small across the country, are standing up to the NRA’s bullying and its radical, deadly agenda.

In the wake of the school massacre in Parkland, a number of major corporations ended their longtime alliances with the NRA.

And the strategy is working. After Walmart and Dick’s Sporting Goods made public moves to pull back their gun sales, their brands enjoyed a spike of approval from consumers.

More recently, Dick’s has taken the additional step of hiring a lobbyist to further advocate for gun safety initiatives.

Meanwhile, the NRA’s annual convention turned out to be a rocky affair. Playing out amidst the backdrop of the group’s shadowy ties to Russian operatives, the NRA took lots of hits for demanding that American school teachers be armed at all times, while also agreeing to a no-gun policy during Trump’s speech at the convention.

That’s because the Secret Service was in charge of security for Trump’s speech. And the Secret Service categorically rejects the rhetoric that more guns equals more safety.

As for Ellen’s, Groves thinks the gun group completely mishandled the situation.

“In the end, I think the NRA helped us, not only in allowing us to make this generous contribution, but ultimately to create the conversation we need to have.”