Al getting fired up to pass the collection plate.
Via Politico:
The Rev. Al Sharpton challenged the National Rifle Association to defend the gun rights of two black men killed in police encounters last week in Louisiana and Minnesota. The victims — Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, respectively — were carrying guns when they were approached by police officers and shot. Video of the incidents sparked protests around the country last week.
“Both of them were killed by police based on ‘they had a gun,’" Sharpton said at his weekly rally in Harlem. "Now I missed the NRA coming out and defending the gun rights they legally had. Where is the NRA? Where is [NRA president] Wayne LaPierre now? Do you have a Second Amendment right or did you not get down, Mr. Pierre, to the 14th, 15th and 16th amendments? Maybe you mean the Second Amendment is for whites only.”
Sterling was approached by Baton Rouge police after they received a call from someone saying a man with a gun had made threatening remarks. Video of the incident shows Sterling on the ground with the officers on top of him. A man’s voice is heard yelling “gun” and moments later, shots are fired. Sterling’s arms are empty and an officer is seen removing an object from Sterling’s pocket.
In Minnesota, a woman videoed herself in the driver's seat of a car while Philando Castile lay bleeding in the passenger seat. The woman, Diamond Reynolds, said an officer pulled their vehicle over for a broken tail light, and that Castile told the officer he had a gun and permit, reached into his pocket retrieve the permit and was shot. The officer, seen on video standing outside the window with his gun drawn, is heard saying , “I told him to get his hands up.”
In Harlem today, Sharpton said, “Where was the gun rights for Castile? Where were the gun rights for Sterling? You came to fight for gun rights when gays were played in Orlando. But are you going to meet me in Baton Rouge to stand up for Alton Sterling?”
Alton Sterling had a 20 year arrest record including battery, domestic abuse and illegal possession of a gun. Safe to say, his possession of a weapon was not legal and probably why he was resisting the officer.
Yes, Al, the NRA came out with a statement saying they found the Philando Castile video troubling. Although we don't know all the facts of the case yet, the police apparently pulled over Castile and his girlfriend because they resembled armed robbery suspects, not because of the alleged story of the 'broken tail light'.