Following this weekend’s deadly mass shooting in Las Vegas, The Roots‘ Questlove turned to Twitter to offer criticism to the National Rifle Association and its supporters, specifically the ones who hold political office.
“just woke up…can’t believe this is where we are now as a nation. Mind you this is w/o context —how in god’s name do they have auto? How?,” Questlove tweeted upon hearing the news of Sunday’s (October 1) shooting at a Vegas concert.
“So, just (really) waking up. It’s not gonna be called “terrorism” is it…& a lot of “our hearts are with” & no NR—man lemme stop,” he added in a separate tweet.
Hours later on Monday (October 2), the Grammy Award-winning drummer began to share the names of politicians who have accepted money from the NRA. He also included the dollar amount each politician accepted from the organization.
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Questo began with Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, who reportedly accepted $11,900 from the NRA during the 2016 election cycle.
“$11,900 from NRA,” Questlove wrote in a retweet of a message Blunt sent offering his condolences to the families of the Las Vegas victims.
After calling out several more politicians, he shared the link to a story from Splinter News titled “Every Member of Congress Who Took Money From the NRA and Tweeted ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ to Las Vegas.”
Questlove previously criticized the NRA for their silence following the shooting death of Philando Castile.
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“.@NRA we know that NOONE fights so hard for ‘the right to legally bear arms’ more than you do. That said… #PhilandoCastile? Anyone?,” the musician tweeted last year.
For decades, the NRA has advocated for gun rights, and has also kept its members aware of firearm-related bills. According to a report from Business Insider from September, the group spent $3.2 million on lobbying to advance its agenda in the first six months of 2017 — which is more than it spent in all of 2016.
