It didn’t take long this morning for the NRA to issue a statement concerning events in Dallas. And it’s a model of brevity.

“On behalf of the more than five million members of the National Rifle Association, and especially on behalf of our members from the law enforcement community, I want to express the deep anguish all of us feel for the heroic Dallas law enforcement officers who were killed and wounded, as well as those who bravely ran toward danger to defend the people and city of Dallas. With heavy hearts, NRA members honor their heroism and offer our deepest condolences to all of their families.”

If this seems briefer than NRA statements concerning other recent tragedies, it might be because it’s lacking any claim that “if only” the victims had been armed, this could have been avoided. They were armed.

It’s missing any of the complaints about the horrible effects of gun-free zones around schools or other facilities. Not only was this not a gun-free zone, a number of people were openly carrying weapons.

It’s missing any statement about the need for concealed carry, open carry, or reduced barriers to carry. Texas, and Dallas, “enjoy” all those civilizing rights.

It’s missing any statement of about how “only a good guy with a gun can stop a bad guy with a gun,” because as it turns out, even a whole lot of good guys with guns could not stop this bad guy, not without risking even more lives. Instead, it took a robot. With a bomb.

It’s missing even a mention that the weapon here was a gun, one that allowed the shooter to command a large area, to precisely target law enforcement, and to shoot a large number of people very quickly. But then, that omission is typical.

Also oddly still missing from the NRA’s statement is any mention of the shooting of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, even though Castile was a licensed gun owner and a practitioner of concealed carry. Where was the anguish and the condolences for his family?

It’s almost as if the NRA is trying to create a very selective narrative, for a very select group.