Another venue, another cancellation for a National Rifle Association (NRA) fundraiser that is expected to take place in Brooklyn next month.
According to reports, Grand Prospect Hall, 263 Prospect Avenue in Park Slope cancellation of the event late yesterday, just one week after students across the nation walked out in support of stricter gun laws for National School Walkout.
This is the second venue to cancel on the Friends of the NRA event. Late last month, Gargiulo’s a famed Coney Island restaurant canceled on the pro-gun organization, amidst outcry from local lawmakers.
On Monday, representatives of the area, including Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, City Councilman Brad Lander, Assemblyman Robert Carroll, Assemblywoman Jo Ann Simon and State Senator Kevin Parker released a joint statement denouncing the event and committing themselves to pushing for gun reform laws.
“The NRA is no friend of Brooklyn and its residents who want safe places to raise healthy children and families. If they were, they would cease demonizing the classmates and parents of mass shooting victims, and instead engage in a nationwide movement that demands common-sense gun reform. We cannot dream of supporting a fundraiser anywhere in this community for this organization, particularly one that may be engaging in irresponsible gun raffles and the like. Rest assured, we are prepared to protest if the NRA comes into our community on any day,” read the joint statement.
Originally scheduled for April, the events was expected to feature raffles giving away away rifles and knives to attendees, according to a Brooklyn Friends of the NRA flyer.
Gun Reform has come to the forefront of legislative calendars in the wake of the deadly Feb. 14, Marjory Stoneman High School shooting, in which 17 students and teachers were killed by 19-year-old Nickolas Cruz. Cruz opened fire on the campus using an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle.
Currently, the Trump administration is floating a proposal to arm school teachers and staff with guns, backing off from an earlier measure to increase the minimum age to purchase a gun from 18 to 21 years old. Last week, the White House vowed to help provide “rigorous firearms training” to some school teachers, according to the Washington Post.
