P.R. FAIL: NRA Pretends It Never Had An Enemies List

HUFFINGTON POST: A controversial list of 494 people and organizations that the National Rifle Association considered “anti-gun,” and which received significant media attention in recent weeks, has apparently been removed from the gun lobbying group’s website. The list was posted online Sept. 17, 2012, but on Monday, clicking on the page that once housed the list brought up a note reading “Page Not Found.” The Internet archive “Wayback Machine” captured an image of the page as it looked in late January. The NRA’s “enemies list” — which contained dozens of celebrities, as well as doctors, clergy members, journalists, Hallmark Cards Inc. and the PTA — underscored how many influential and generally respected people and groups the NRA opposed. The roster was initially intended as a boycott list, but over time had grown to include private citizens like teachers and social workers. In the aftermath of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, questions were raised about the nature of the list. At least one large company, 7-Eleven, was trying to get itself off the list, to no avail. The nation’s largest convenience store chain reportedly could not get anyone at the NRA to explain why the company was on the list. But plenty of listed celebrities were proud to have been identified as anti-gun. Sir Patrick Stewart, the British actor, wrote on Twitter that the NRA enemies list was “the most prestigious list I’ve ever made.”  MORE