Tom is arrested at NRA Headquarters Again
NRA again refuses to respond to 1999 letter; Tom arrested for trespassing
I was in Washington D.C. on April 5, 2005 for a press conference related to an outrageous NRA promoted bill that provides immunity to the gun industry from civil lawsuits. After that press conference I went to the NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Virginia to again ask for a response to my 1999 letter. (see original letter )
The NRA knew he was coming. Local TV news crews there at the scene to cover my protest, noted that NRA security had been walking around their parking lot and obviously checking out the news crews. When Iarrived, I carried the same sign that Icarried at the protest of the NRA convention 11 days after Columbine.
I went to the front door of the headquarters, where I was met by an NRA employee. With my 1999 letter in my hand, and an updated one written to the current NRA president, I tried to open the door, but it was
locked. I looked at the employee and asked if he would please let him in. The man only grunted. Then I asked if he would please deliver my letter to those inside. Again, just a grunt and a shaking of the head. Then Iasked the man if he had any children or had ever lost a loved one to gun violence. Same response.
Frustrated with the NRA reception, I began to march up and down the NRA’s driveway. As I marched at least one NRA employee snapped photos, but nobody would talk to me. Within 20 minutes Fairfax County
police officers arrived. An NRA security officer was asked if they wanted me to leave, and he said yes. I was asked to take my sign and march on the public sidewalk, where it was legal to do so, and told that I would be arrested for trespassing if I failed to leave their property.
I said I understood that, but that the NRA would never pay attention if I did that. So, I was arrested—handcuffed and taken to the county jail facility. A magistrate released me on my own recognizance. I have to return in August to face the charges.
“Why bother with such tactics?” some will ask. “Why blame the NRA?” others will ask. For me it’s a matter of principle. I never have said I hold the NRA directly responsible for my son’s death. But I do hold them responsible for promoting easy access to guns as well as weak gun laws that make guns so accessible to kids and criminals and spouse abusers and to others who should not have guns. I believe that an organization that promotes such reckless policies should be willing to face those who are affected by those policies, even if indirectly.
But the NRA won’t do so. The NRA has refused to talk to me. Why? Well, you’ll have to ask THEM, because they’ve never told me. In public statements they have said they don’t think that a tragic death should be ‘used to make a political statement.’ Oh, so parents who lose children should not lobby for change related to their child’s death? Even six years later? They should just shut up?
If that’s the case, then should Mothers Against Drunk Driving not exist? Its most successful advocates have been moms who’ve lost kids to drunk drivers. Does the NRA condemn them for making political statements and seeking political change? The fact is that many people in America's history have done great things as a result of tragedy. We often make social changes in response to tragedy. We don't take kindly to someone saying we should be silent.
The NRA just doesn’t have the guts or compassion to face victims. They have repeatedly lied to me, telling me they’d respond to my letter, but failing to do so. They speak loudly to members of Congress, but haven’t an ounce of courage to face this one father who lost his son to gunfire. Not an ounce.
And then, to add insult to injury, there’s another twist. After my arrest at the NRA, I asked my friends what happened to the sign I was carrying. They didn’t have it. They were too occupied with taking photos and watching what was happening to me. So we rewound the tape in my video camera. We saw that the police took the sign from me, but then set it down along a wall at the NRA’s building.
That sign was very special to me, for it was the one I carried on April 1, 1999, when I protested against the NRA Convention in Denver. I also carried it numerous times to protest against my elected officials, attaching other signs to it to match the occasion.
As tough as it was, I asked my friends to drive back to the NRA headquarters right after leaving the police facilities. I dare not leave the car at the NRA, for fear of being arrested again. So one friend went into the building lobby and asked about the sign. It was after 5:00 p.m. by then, so he was told that a new security hift have come on duty and did not know about it. The other friend called the NRA the next day and asked about the sign and was told someone would call him back. They never did.
A few weeks later I decided to call myself, talking to the person they had contacted in their public relations office. Suzie was pleasant. She said a man named Andrew would call me. As of two weeks later, I received no such call. I called Suzie again. She referred me to the security office. A man there told me the police took the sign. I told him I had video showing the sign being put down, and that the arresting officer told me he did not take the sign that day. There was a long pause.
I was then sent to a man named Stefan (he refused to spell his difficult last name), who very sternly told me that this was a legal matter and that I could only speak to their General Counsel (legal team), and that I was NOT to contact ANYbody else at the NRA. He suggested I have my attorney contact them with questions. I told him that I didn’t have an attorney and that I was just a dad looking for a sign…He then rudely repeated the instructions to call general counsel…OK, I got it…But what I don’t have is my sign…
