Ted Nugent's 'anti-Semitic' rant sparks outrage; gun owners call for NRA ouster
This Aug. 16, 2013 file photo shows Ted Nugent performing at Rams Head Live in Baltimore. (Photo by Owen Sweeney | Invision via The Associated Press)
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1.2kshares
The National Rifle Association is facing mounting pressure from gun owners to distance itself from longtime board member Ted Nugent after the "Cat Scratch Fever" rocker posted shocking anti-Semitic images and messages on Facebook.
On Monday, Nugent posted a photo of 12 prominent American Jews and accused them of being the driving force "behind gun control." The post called Michael Bloomberg the "Jew York City Mayor and also mentioned Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, among others. He called them "punks" and said they would "deny us the basic human right to self defense and to keep and bear arms while many of them have paid hired armed security." An Israeli flag appears next to each photo.
The image has circled in white supremacist groups for years, according to theAnti-Defamation League.
In a later post, Nugent shared a photo of Nazis rounding up Jews, and described both Jews and gun control advocates as "soulless sheep to slaughter." He alsodescribed Jews who support gun control as "Nazis in disguise."
He also blasted Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership after the group criticized his anti-Semitic post.
Nugent's posts faced huge backlash and triggered calls of anti-Semitism, The Washington Post reported. Some regular supporters said he went too far, and many followers who agree with his pro-2nd Amendment stance called on the NRA to kick Nugent off the board.
Bob Owens, editor of the pro-gun site BearingArms.com, said many gun rights advocates are "simply done with Nugent."
"They're tired of feeling that they have to defend his half-baked rhetoric and simple-minded outbursts," Owens wrote. "Many people are calling for him to resign from the NRA Board and for him to have his membership stripped from him."
Owens said Nugent "owes the world a sincere apology," and has no business on the board if he can't do that.
Gun owners took to the comments on Nugent's original post to register their displeasure.
"Uncle Ted, I support (many) of your viewpoints, and have been a long term fan of your music, but this time you've gone way over the line," wrote one user who also called the post "disgraceful."
"You sank low here," wrote another user. "I am a Jewish conservative gun owner. This is just [expletive] hate. I've always supported you, but [expletive] you Ted."
"As a religious Jew who testified with you in the Michigan Senate for relaxing gun laws and strengthening the 2nd Amendment, I'm absolutely disgusted but not at all surprised that you are showing what I always suspected: that you are a Jew-hater and a piece of crap," wrote conservative political commentator Debbie Schlussel.
Robert Farago, publisher of pro gun The Truth About Guns website called Nugent's remarks "disgusting" and said the NRA needed to take action.
"The NRA should distance itself from Mr. Nugent. They should revoke his membership and remove him from their Board," Farago wrote.
Jewish Human Rights groups have also denounced Nugent, the Huffington Postreported.
"Ted Nugent has every right to advocate against gun control laws. However he won't be getting a free pass for his anti-Semitic bigotry," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, in a statement. "There are Jews on both sides of the gun control controversy and Nugent knows it. He owes our community an apology. He can start by removing the offensive graphic and if he won't, we urge Facebook to do it for him."
"Regardless of one's views on gun control, this kind of scapegoating of an entire religious group is completely unacceptable and completely divorced from reality," said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League.
Facebook has responded to users reporting the incident by saying that the post "doesn't violate our Community Standards" regarding hate speech.
The NRA issued a statement to the Washington Post, saying, "individual board members do not speak for the NRA." The organization has been silent on the matter on social media channels.
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