Via Goldy, who offers this transcript of what he says are July 23 remarks delivered in Silverdale by NRA spokesman Brian Judy. The alleged remarks by Judy focus on Initiative 594 and one of its funders, Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer:
Hanauer talks about his family, and theyâre from Germany. They had a pillow manufacturer in Germany. And in one of the last paragraphs he talks about his family being run out of Germany by the Nazis. Itâs like [slapping noise; laughter]. How stupid can they â you know? Now heâs funding, heâs put half a million dollars, toward this policy, the same policy that led to his family getting run out or Germany by the Nazis. You know, itâs staggering to me, itâs just, you canât make this stuff up. That these people, its like any Jewish people I meet who are anti-gun, I think, âare you serious? Do you not remember what happened?â And why did that happen? Because they registered guns and then they took them. And now youâre supporting gun con â you come to this country and you support gun control? Why did you have to flee to this country in the first place? Hello! Is anybody home here? Itâs justâI donât know.
Cheryl Stumbo, a survivor of the Jewish Federation shooting in 2006 and the author of this recent Slog op-ed, responded on behalf of herself and Initiative 594:
The offensive rhetoric from a senior lobbyist at the National Rifle Association is out-of-touch with what the vast majority of Washingtonians want: a reasonable, productive discussion of solutions to reduce gun violence in our communities. Developing those solutions has been a major part of my life since the attack on my co-workers and me eight years ago, and I am honored to have been joined by other survivors of gun violence, gun owners, hunters, law enforcement, and current and former NRA members. We've come together because Washington state needs everyone working together to be part of the solution to making our communities safer â and fringe ideas like Mr. Judy's are part of the problem.
In addition, the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle has condemned the comments, calling them "deeply offensive."
I've reached out to the NRA for comment and haven't yet heard back.
UPDATE: Nick Hanauer responds:
Anyone who follows the extremists from the Gun Lobby generally, or the NRAâs Brian Judy in particular, isn't surprised by this kind of racist hate mongering. If you want to sell a lot of guns, you need people to be afraid. I got involved in this issue area to try to bring some sanity to it. Background checks are to gun ownership what seat belts are to car ownership. Common sense.
