Representatives from the pro-gun control organization Momsrising.org was escorted out of National Rifle Association (NRA) headquarters in Fairfax, Va., Thursday afternoon after staging a disruptive demonstration against the leading gun-rights group.
Moms Rising members attempted to enter NRA headquarters to deliver petitions, which they claimed had been signed by mothers across the country, advocating for a federal assault weapons ban and universal background checks. But apparently the concerned mothers’ actions were disruptive enough to warrant a call to the police, who escorted the protesters away from the NRA building.
Moms Against Rising claimed on its Facebook page that the NRA called the police on “mothers, children, and families.”
“Today, the NRA has demonstrated that they don’t want to listen, that they don’t want to hear from families, and that they don’t want to have a productive conversation to make America’s families safer,” MomsRising.org executive director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner said after her group’s demonstration necessitated police action.
Momsrising.org is a mothers-focused feminist organization that emulates the tactics of the progressive group Moveon.org, according to a 2007 New York Times profile of the group. The group was founded by two Berkeley, Calif., women and functions on the support of donations from private donors and foundations.
The group previously advocated for universal health care for children, as well as for environmental regulations and paid sick leave for workers, but has now made gun control one of its primary pro-mother issues.
President Obama posed with and promoted the life story of a Moms Rising member in September 2010. The group has also met with former Obama administration Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.
The group presented a “Superhero Award” in 2010 to embattled Democratic senator Bob Menendez.