National Rifle Association officials have not gotten off a round since the acquittal last month of former Minnesota police officer Jeronimo Yanez in the shooting death of Philando Castile.
The nation’s leading advocate for self-defense is drawing heavy criticism from media personalities, gun opponents, and even some fellow firearms advocates for its silence over the verdict in the July 2016 slaying. Castile had a permit to carry a concealed weapon and was shot during a traffic stop after he informed the officer he was armed.
Trevor Noah, the Comedy Central personality, expressed the feelings of many critics in a widely circulated routine: “It’s interesting how the people who define themselves by one fundamental American right—the right to bear arms—show that once race is involved, the only right that they believe in is their right to remain silent.”
But where many see nothing but racial insensitivity or worse in the NRA’s non-reaction, others see political calculation and caution regarding a highly unusual if terrible episode of gun violence. The NRA declined repeated requests for comment, and it has taken no position beyond a brief, non-committal reference to the case last year.
“It’s not surprising,” David Codrea, an author and firearms blogger, said in an interview. “There is a prominent police presence in the NRA and on its board. It’s a source of revenue and gravitas. They are supersensitive to the fact that everybody wants to blame the NRA when there is a mass shooting, and they want to counter that by trumpeting their excellent relationship with law enforcement – even if the rest of the gun community doesn’t agree.”
That would include the National African American Gun Association. “After Castile’s death, the hypocrisy of the NRA is even more apparent,” Louis Dennard, Minnesota director for the group, wrote at Vox.com. “Even if you remove race from the equation for a moment, why should I give money to an organization that has barely said anything about a gun owner who was killed by a police officer?”
NRA data from 2015 indicate that 16 of the association’s 76 board members – about 21 percent – are current or former law enforcement personnel. And the board’s membership is 71 percent white, according to an analysis by Mother Jones magazine of 2015 membership data -- somewhat less heavily white than the U.S. population as a whole, according to the latest census.
Yet despite its police representation, the NRA has condemned heavy-handed law enforcement in previous instances, such as the roundup of lawfully owned weapons after Hurricane Katrina, said Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave.
Several gun experts noted the Philando Castile case is an outlier, suggesting caution against drawing generalizations from it. Prominent gun enthusiasts were unable to recall a situation in which a permitted owner of any race was killed in this way; concealed-carry permit holders are statistically an extraordinarily law-abiding demographic.
“Has there been another case where a concealed-carry permit holder was shot by a police officer during a traffic stop? No, definitely not,” said John Lott, head of the Crime Prevention Research Center and author of “More Guns, Less Crime.” “I have never heard of it happening before – that somebody reveals himself to be a permit holder and then is shot. Certainly not a case involving a traffic stop like this.”
Some gun groups have chosen to focus on the future, calling for more uniformity in police interactions with legal gun owners -- which they say vary widely and unpredictably by region and even by individual officer.
“I’m not going to second-guess a jury verdict in a criminal matter,” Second Amendment Foundation founder and Vice President Alan Gottlieb told RealClearInvestigations. “But we want to see better training of police so this kind of thing doesn’t happen.”
The foundation has called for an independent probe, noting that Castile “was a legally armed private citizen who may have done nothing more than reach for his identification and carry permit.” Other gun rights groups have issued advisories to members on handling police encounters.
“First, pull over immediately,” said an article on the U.S. Concealed Carry Association’s site. “Shut off the motor. Put on the hazard flashers. Roll the window down halfway. Turn off the radio. If at night, turn on the interior lights. And above all, put your hands on the steering wheel. Do NOT go fumbling for identification or insurance cards—wait until you are asked.” But Philando Castile was asked for his license and proof of insurance. Tim Schmidt, president and founder of the Wisconsin-based association, declined requests for an interview.
Although police dashcam video shown at trial did not show what Castile was reaching for in the car -- a factor in the officer’s acquittal -- the Virginia Citizens Defense League has been using the video to tailor its advice to members, now that it has been released to the public.
“In watching the video, the takeaway I emphasize to our members is: You’ve got to pay attention to what’s being said,” Van Cleave, the league’s president, said in a phone interview. “It seems Philando Castile thought he had to show the permit. It’s better to put your hands on the wheel until the officer says what he wants you to do. The cop didn’t even ask for the permit. He asked for the driver’s license and insurance. Castile did say ‘I have a firearm on me,’ which he was not required to do. We tell members – if you’re going to notify – not to say, ‘I have a gun.’ Say ‘I have a permit to carry.’ If a guy says ‘gun,’ officers reach for their weapons.”
Van Cleave, a former sheriff’s deputy, pointed out that Yanez appears nervous in the prelude to the shooting and had a profanity-laced emotional collapse immediately afterward.
“If you’ve ever done really high-level training, the thing that becomes clear to you is how quickly things can go south,” he said. “We tell our members to keep the situation calm on your end and hope the officer will do the same.”
Other gun owners are having a hard time getting past the verdict. Prominent NRA personality Colion Noir declined an interview request, but did put up a thousand-word post on TwitLonger after the jury’s decision.
“My legal mind can see why they couldn’t get to Manslaughter in the Second Degree based solely on the facts at hand,” Noir wrote, “but Yanez walking away from this case a free and clear man is just wrong.”
