Fox News is reporting that Maryland Democratic Party Secretary Robbie Leonard is under fire for suggesting last month on social media that his followers should “dox” Second Amendment activists for appearing at a state House Judiciary Committee meeting wearing T-shirts that had the message “We Will Not Comply.”
“Doxing” is described as the act of searching for, and then publishing, “private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the Internet, typically with malicious intent,” according to an online definition.
Fox News also reported that Leonard published one message on Facebook that called gun rights activists “homegrown terrorists.”
In response, the National Rifle Association, which encouraged members to attend the House Committee meeting, fired back at Leonard, recalling that last year, he ran for the Maryland State Senate, reportedly telling the Baltimore Sun in a questionnaire that he taught remedial math courses at a community college.
“Given that the University of Baltimore School of Law, J.D. appears ignorant as to the Bill of Rights,” the NRA stated, “he would do well to avail himself of a remedial course in U.S. civics.”
The Fox News story noted that Leonard had hoped the FBI “runs the name of every witness who is wearing a t-shirt…they’re a bunch of terrorists in the making.”
Social media can sometimes be the message board for social prejudice, and the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action noted in a message that, “The bizarre posts offer a glimpse into the fevered mind of the gun control advocate. Revealing a severe dearth of knowledge regarding the Bill of Rights, in Leonard’s view, federal law enforcement should be employed to intimidate his political enemies for conduct expressly protected under the First Amendment.”
According to the Fox story, “Maryland’s criminal code prohibits doxing.” The news agency also noted that rights activists are protected by the First Amendment. Fox said the state Democratic Party had not responded to a request for comment.
The NRA has been in the news recently, courtesy of The Trace, the Michael Bloomberg-supported news organ that covers the firearms beat from a gun control perspective. In a recent story, The Trace reported that NRA was under Congressional scrutiny and that several investigations have been launched, especially since Democrats regained control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
That’s not the only trouble NRA is facing, however. The New York Times is reporting that NRATV is at the center of some “internal debate” and “internal review.” The Times also raised questions about NRA’s long-time association with the firm that produces NRATV, Ackerman McQueen.
When The Trace reported about the congressional investigations, two other rights organizations came to NRA’s defense. The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Second Amendment Foundation issued a joint statement questioning the legitimacy of those probes.
“Are these investigations legitimate,” CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb wondered, “or are they a deliberately choreographed attempt to distract the NRA’s focus when it needs to be concentrating on the battle now developing on Capitol Hill?”
NRA members will gather for the association’s annual meetings and exhibits next month in Indianapolis. The event is expected to attract tens of thousands of NRA members from across the country.
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