US gun lobby chief calls gun control activists 'civil terrorists'

The newly elected president of the National Rifle Association (NRA) has branded gun control activists who are critical of the agency’s role in continued gun violence across the United States as civil terrorists.

Oliver North claimed on Thursday that gun control activists, like those who have emerged following a deadly February shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, were engaged in “civil terrorism” as they pushed for stronger gun laws.

"They call them activists. That’s what they’re calling themselves. They’re not activists — this is civil terrorism. This is the kind of thing that’s never been seen against a civil rights organization in America," North told The Washington Times.

"You go back to the terrible days of Jim Crow and those kinds of things — even there you didn’t have this kind of thing," he added, referring to a period renowned for its segregation laws against the African American population in the US after the Civil War.

North also claimed that the NRA was the target of a “cyberwar.”

The pro-gun lobby group has been a target of fierce protests in recent months, after a deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland reignited a national debate over gun control laws.

PressTV-At least 17 dead in Florida school shooting

At least 17 people have been killed and several others injured in a shooting at a high school in the US state of Florida.

Survivors of the shooting, which left 17 dead and 17 injured, have repeatedly pointed the finger of blame at the NRA for its decades-long campaign to block tougher gun laws. They have also called on companies to break ties with the association and also companies that manufacture military-style weapons.

North called the shooting in Parkland a "travesty" and a "failure on the part of the local authorities and unfortunately the FBI as well." He claimed that gun control advocates had "confused the American people" about the attack.

Days after the school massacre, a student survivor blasted President Donald Trump and many US lawmakers for receiving money from the NRA, which fervently opposes gun control across the nation. The NRA poured into tens of millions in the 2016 election campaign of Trump.

PressTV-Trump blasted for receiving NRA funds

A Florida student slams the US president and other lawmakers for receiving money NRA lobby group.

Gun control activists want the US Congress, many of whose members are up for re-election in November this year, to ban the sale of assault weapons like the one used in the Florida rampage and to tighten background checks for gun buyers.

The majority of Americans support stricter gun control laws but have little hope that Congress will pass such measures, according to a poll.

The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll released last month showed 66 percent of Americans preferred US gun laws to be tightened and just 8 percent said there was an excellent chance of stricter gun laws passing Congress in the next year or so.

According to a study published at the Journal of Child and Family Studies in April, from 2000-2018, 66 deaths occurred across 22 mass shootings at US schools.

It is estimated that there are between 270 million and 300 million guns in the US, about one per person, according to the New York Daily News.

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