NRA ad uses administration’s own memo to counter Obama’s gun crackdown

The National Rifle Association is softening its message and turning to policy to make the case against President Obama’s push for more gun control.

But the twist in tone doesn’t make the message any weaker; the NRA’s latest ad uses the administration’s own findings to make points against further gun control.

The latest online ad, posted to coincide with Tuesday’s State of the Union address, hones in on a Department of Justice memo that says an assault weapons ban wouldn’t affect gun-violence statistics unless the government initiated “buybacks” of the very same weapons already in the hands of people, Politico reports. Moreover, the memo admits universal background checks are largely useless absent gun registration laws, Politico continues.

NRA chief lobbyist Chris Cox, in the ad, then poses: “Still think President Obama’s proposals sound reasonable?”

The softer tone — and the use of the administration’s own findings to make a case against Mr. Obama’s gun-policy plan — comes in stark contrast to the NRA’s most recent, and heavily criticized, ad. As Politico recounted, in that commercial, which ran last month, the NRA asked watchers: “Are the president’s kids more important than yours?”