In the days leading up to President Obama’s State of the Union address, the National Rifle Association appears to have tucked away its controversial enemies list in a hard-to-reach corner of its website.
The NRA posted a list of more than 500 people and organizations considered “anti-gun” on Sept. 17, 2012. In recent days, the NRA seems to have removed it after facing public scrutiny. Visitors to that page now are greeted with a “Page Not Found” error message.
But msnbc discovered another version of the list still buried deep within the NRA network on a page labeled “Test.” The URL also suggests the page could have been created as far back as 2010. However, the time-stamp is listed as Feb. 6, 2013.
On Monday, msnbc reached out to the NRA for a response, but they declined to comment.
The hard-to-find list called attention to “organizations [that] have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations” or groups that “lent their name in support of specific campaigns to pass anti-gun legislation.” The wide-ranging lineup includes corporations, national organizations, media outlets and individuals. Practically every celebrity who supports gun control initiatives made the cut, including Beyoncé, George Clooney and Ellen DeGeneres, Jessica Alba, Sally Field, Britney Spears, Sarah Jessica Parker, Meryl Streep, Spike Lee, Barbra Streisand; the NRA list goes on and on.
President Obama is expected to mention gun control during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Many shooting victims or bereaved family members will be attendance for the speech as guests of first lady Michelle Obama or of legislators.
The deadly shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown almost two months ago shocked the nation and energized the gun control debate in the United States.
Sarah Muller