Source: News & Observer
Just days after 19 children and two adults were killed at an elementary school in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson was among several extremist Republicans attending the NRA annual convention as a keynote speaker.
Not only did Robinson’s controversial NRA appearance make headlines, but a sermon Robinson gave just a day after the mass shooting at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York that killed 10 people is drawing statewide criticism.
In the clip, Robinson told churchgoers in Nash County that he owns AR-15 rifles – a gun that has repeatedly been used in mass shootings, including in Buffalo and Uvalde – stating, “I’ll tell anybody, I got them AR-15s at home and I like to go target shooting and all that. That’s not what they’re there for,” Robinson said.
“I’m not ashamed to say it, I’m probably not supposed to say it, but I’m gonna say it anyway — I got them AR-15s in case the government gets too big for its britches,” he continued. “‘Cause I’m gonna fill the backside of them britches with some lead. I’m going to say it to you plain: Your boy ain’t going down without swinging.”
Several state leaders, including North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein, have condemned Robinson’s alarming speech, calling it “dangerous.”
“An elected official advocating violent overthrow of our government shames NC and puts our safety and our democracy at risk,” stated Gov. Roy Cooper in a tweet.
“Robinson’s statement is incredibly dangerous,” stated AG Josh Stein in his tweet. “To say that you have an AR-15 to shoot government officials is simply unacceptable. We need leaders who are focused on serving the public, not pushing pretend culture wars. We are better than this.”
As The News & Observer noted, this is not the first time a North Carolina Republican has touted violent rhetoric against the government. Last September, U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn warned there could be “bloodshed” if elections continue to be stolen, saying he was willing to “defend liberty at all costs”, according to The News & Observer.
Robinson’s latest controversy adds to a growing list of inflammatory and divisive remarks that have often targeted communities across North Carolina.
