
After the mass shooting in Las Vegas, the NRA is pulling ads supporting Republican candidates in Virginia, but not for long.

The NRA is cynically pulling campaign ads in the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas — but only temporarily.

The gun extremists appear to believe that the country only needs eight days to forget about the worst mass shooting in modern American history, allowing them to exploit the gun issue to assist an ally.

According to Medium Buying, a firm that tracks ad spending, the NRA's Political Victory Fund has postponed running ads that it planned to run in Virginia. Instead, the NRA will begin running its advertising on Oct. 10.


The group has endorsed Republican Ed Gillespie for Governor, along with his running mate Jill Vogel. The NRA is also backing John D. Adams, the Republican candidate for Attorney General.

The NRA praised Gillespie in an endorsement release in August, hailing him as "a leader in the growing national movement to expand our Second Amendment freedoms."

Ralph Northam, the Democrat in the governor's race, is an Army veteran and a hunter who has described himself as "a staunch advocate for commonsense gun safety laws."

The NRA has often gone silent after mass shootings, as it has this time, with the hopes that it can wait out grief after the tragedy. Then, when the conditions are more favorable for its violent messages, the NRA promotes advertising that calls on gun owners to confront protesters with a "clenched fist."

As the NRA cowers and tries to wait out the situation, groups like Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense In America are stepping up. Founder Shannon Watts released a statement on the shooting.

"I am sickened and heartbroken that, once again, American families will be torn apart by gun violence," she said. "My thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones, whose lives will never be the same."

She added, "While details are still unfolding, one thing is for sure: It doesn’t have to be this way. Americans should be able to go to concerts, to night clubs, to elementary schools and movie theaters without worrying about the threat of gun violence. While we grieve for the 50 people shot and killed and the more than 400 who are hospitalized, we must also act in their honor. Gun violence is preventable."

The NRA doesn't want anything done about gun violence in America because their ideal world is one in which the country is awash in firearms, no matter the risk to children and families. They go silent while still intending to back candidates who will enact their agenda unquestioningly.

But millions of Americans want something to be done, to stop attacks like the ones in Las Vegas, Charleston, Newtown, and so many other American cities and towns. And they will not be silenced.