MSNBC Host Pushing to Restrict Gun Advocates' Opportunities for Free Speech
As the campaign against the National Rifle Association continues in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida shooting, one MSNBC host is adding his voice to the mix of ever-growing activism in favor of gun control.
MSNBC “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough spoke out against the NRA on Friday evening as he called on video streaming services nationwide to ban the group’s channel — NRA TV — from their platforms completely.
The demand comes as numerous liberal activists have pressured major companies such as Amazon, Apple and Google to ban videos from the NRA, according to The Daily Caller.
“Lawyers from @Apple @amazon @Google and @RokuPlayer should watch these disturbing videos and remove this channel,” Scarborough said. “They incite violence and could make anyone streaming them liable.”
Scarborough, along with co-host Mika Brzezinski, has posted a series of tweets suggesting there might be boycotts against many well-known companies if they don’t stop supporting the NRA.
“Hey @FedEx, I’ve been a fan of your company from the start,” Scarborough tweeted. “Please do the right thing and stop supporting an organization that attacks America’s heroes who protect us from terror attacks.”
“Please support our law enforcement officers so we can keep supporting you,” he added.
“I hope @FedEx does the right thing and stops propping up the NRA,” Brzezinski wrote Friday. “They incite violence with their ads and attack America’s law enforcement officers. I support businesses that support our American heroes and will not support businesses who make their jobs harder.”
And in the wake of the Florida shooting, which claimed the lives of 17 people, companies like United Airlines and Hertz have severed ties with the NRA as pressure continues to bear down from the nationwide campaign.
Yet many, including the NRA, have instead pointed to the failures of law enforcement and the FBI after they received numerous warnings about suspected shooter Nikolas Cruz — and did nothing.
However, the backlash against the NRA has not gone away, with high-profile celebrities like Alyssa Milano adding to the pressure.
“The only way to really begin to chip away at the power that the N.R.A. holds over our country, and perhaps even our democracy, is to begin to almost shame companies that are in partnership with the N.R.A.,” Milano told Deadline.
“What a campaign like this allows is for a cultural hack,” she added. “We’re going to hack that by being responsible citizens and voicing our concerns.”
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