NRA unleashes attack on local business for resisting its racism

A Dallas restaurant is fighting back against the racist atmosphere the NRA has created. And the extremist gun group reacted with a petty and vindictive attack.

Ellen’s, a restaurant in downtown Dallas where the NRA is holding its annual convention, had a message printed on its customer receipts: “Thanks for visiting Ellen’s! A portion of this week’s proceeds will be donated to organizations dedicated to implementing reasonable and effective gun regulation.”

Most Americans consider that a sensible message — especially following the mass shootings at Columbine, Sandy Hook, Aurora, Parkland and the daily murders all around the country. But it angered the NRA.

The group tweeted an image of an Ellen’s receipt. “Attn @AnnualMeetings attendees. Steer clear of Ellen’s in downtown Dallas! Why go there when there are so many other great choices.”

Joe Groves, the owner of Ellen’s, said he added the message because of what he heard from NRA convention attendees. “I’m making a list of the vile, racist, moronic conversations overheard from NRA attendees eating at the restaurant,” he wrote on Facebook. “They don’t even speak softly.”

He told the website Eater that the attendees have insulted his wait staff with racial epithets. One person reportedly asked a Latino staff member, “Your illegals are kept in the kitchen, right?”

Another NRA fan reportedly told black employees they “don’t sound black” and asked if they were from India.

“The only reason we need our guns is because of the blacks,” another attendee reportedly declared.

But these repugnant statements are part of a pattern for the NRA and its supporters. The group has embraced racism and bigotry as part of its pro-gun advocacy.

At the convention, NRA board member Ted Nugent released a gun line branded the “American spearchucker series.” The racist term “spearchucker” is a derogatory reference to African people.

Nugent has repeatedly used racist terms and the NRA has not removed him from his position with the organization. Over and over again, Nugent has said “n*****,” and was even defended by the Trump presidential campaign, for which he was a surrogate.

He also described President Barack Obama as a “subhuman mongrel.”

The rest of the NRA isn’t much better.

NRA head Wayne LaPierre referred to areas with blacks in New York as evidence that “looters ran wild.” And he has pushed bigotry towards Latinos with wild claims about “Latin American drug gangs.”

LaPierre also attacked President Obama, noting, “Eight years of one demographically symbolic president is enough.”

Despite its zeal to defend gun owners, the NRA refused to respond quickly to the shooting death of Philando Castile, a black gun owner who was shot to death by police.

Grant Stinchfield, an NRA TV host, said gun violence in America was because of “minorities killing each other.”

The NRA has fostered a safe space for bigotry and hatred. And the owner of Ellen’s saw the result of that behavior from NRA convention patrons. So he decided to take a stand against it.

That simple move made the NRA melt down — and look even more out-of-touch in the process.