Activist David Hogg has a new target – Vice President Mike Pence. Hogg took to Twitter on Sunday to demand that Pence not speak at the National Rifle Association convention on May 4. Since the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, Hogg has been attacking the NRA and their members, holding them responsible for the 17 people that were killed.
Hogg is promoting a petition on George Soros funded MoveOn.org titled “Demand Mike Pence cancel his speech to the NRA convention on May 4.”
His tweet to his 777,000 Twitter followers links to a petition that makes a similar demand of Nick Ayers, the vice president’s chief of staff. The Dallas gathering is of the NRA’s political lobbying arm, not the broad membership meeting.
Demand Mike Pence cancel his speech to the NRA convention on May 4 https://t.co/IBgOohJg0K @moveon
— David Hogg (@davidhogg111) April 29, 2018
The petition reads:
Mike Pence is scheduled to speak at the NRA convention in Dallas on May 4. This is a slap in the face to Americans—from Parkland to Chicago to Nashville—hurting from gun violence. It’s also a signal to young people organizing historic actions that the NRA’s extremist agenda and donations are more valuable to Mike Pence than the lives lost. Sign now to demand Mike Pence pull out of the NRA convention.
Despite some of the most shocking mass shootings in American history, Mike Pence thinks it’s a good idea to be a headliner at the NRA’s convention in Dallas on May 4. It’s scheduled to take place just days after police officers were critically wounded by a suspect at a Home Depot right there in Dallas.
It’s sad that Pence is so dismissive of the American lives lost in Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, and Parkland—not to mention the thousands of people killed every month by gun violence.
The majority of Americans want politicians to stop gun violence with common sense reforms. But rather than using his platform to advocate for peace and common sense safety, Mike Pence is rewarding extremists in the NRA.
Trump, Pence, Ryan, McConnell, and the rest of the GOP seem happy to continue making excuses for gun violence because the NRA throws millions of dollars at their party.
Enough! We must hold all politicians to basic standards of decency.
Tell Mike Pence to drop out of the NRA’s convention and stand with the majority of Americans who want real action to end gun violence.
So far, the petition has accumulated 42,199 signatures with a goal of 50,000.
His tweet was met with mixed reviews. Many brought to Hogg’s attention that the NRA is not the issue with gun violence.
Demand the Vice President cancel a speech to a group of law abiding citizens standing up for the Constitutional rights of all Americans? Listen to yourself! Absurd!
— Barry Bahrami (@BarryBahrami) April 29, 2018
You must not realize #NRA instructors teach gun safety to tens of thousands of people every year, including children through the Eddie Eagle program. But ok, you do you.
— Barry Bahrami (@BarryBahrami) April 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/dinot33/status/990633977126899712
They need a bogeyman to distract from the missing logic to banning AR15s — At least if their goal is truly savings lives. (e.g, multiples of people die annually by people using knives vs rifles (let alone AR15s) but they won't ban knives 'cuz a knife-ban targets innocent.)
— Willie the Liberty Pimp (@libertyfarmer4u) April 29, 2018
Demand the Vice President cancel a speech to a group of law abiding citizens standing up for the Constitutional rights of all Americans? Listen to yourself! Absurd!
— Barry Bahrami (@BarryBahrami) April 29, 2018
You meant to say an organization that is funded by the gun industry to lobby on their behalf. Stop using the 2A and citizens as a front!
— B-Mamafa (@LisiateW1) April 29, 2018
Wrong. You're eating up their propaganda. Educate yourself!https://t.co/32ogQzdphI
— Barry Bahrami (@BarryBahrami) April 29, 2018
You’d be all excited if he was speaking at Planned Parenthood because they actually advocate killing humans where the NRA advocates protecting yourselve from being killed
— Randy (@texaspa7) April 29, 2018
Somebody cancel that nobody @davidhogg111 twitter account. Nobody cares or wants to hear what he has to say. He's on a self glorification trip!! #shutupwhydontya
— George Nelson (@geo_popo09) April 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/PhillipLuttazi/status/990632562895785984
Last month, Hogg used his Twitter following to attack Laura Ingraham and was successful in forcing dozens of companies to pull advertising from her show, The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, after she taunted him about his college rejections – something he had previously mentioned.
He was apparently much less successful in a later effort to sic his Twitter followers on investment banks who manage stock holdings in the company that makes Smith & Wesson handguns.
Hogg has become the public face of gun control since his high school, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Florida, was hit by an assault-rifle-wielding gunman and 17 people were killed, The Washington Times reported.