National Rifle Association board member Charles L. Cotton wrote that the victims of a mass shooting in a Charleston, South Carolina church died because of Reverend Clementa Pinckney's advocacy for gun safety laws.

Pinckney, along with eight others, was killed by a gunman during a June 17 attack at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church.

In 2013, Pinckney, who was also a South Carolina State Senator, introduced legislation to require more comprehensive background checks on gun sales and supported several other gun safety measures during his career as a legislator.

In a post on an online forum for Texas supporters of the concealed carry of handguns, Cotton wrote, “he [Rev. Pinckney] voted against concealed-carry. Eight of his church members who might be alive if he had expressly allowed members to carry handguns in church are dead. Innocent people died because of his position on a political issue.”

At the bottom of Cotton's post was an image that promoted NRA membership:

Cotton, who is active in Texas NRA affiliate group Texas State Rifle Association, faced criticism in February for his assertion that corporal punishment for children could prevent him from “having to put a bullet in him later.” According to Talking Points Memo Cotton wrote:

“I'm sick of this woman and her 'don't touch my kid regardless what he/she did or will do again' attitude,” Cotton wrote in a thread titled “HB567: Corporal punishment in schools.” “Perhaps a good paddling in school may keep me from having to put a bullet in him later,” he added.

Cotton is listed in the NRA's magazine as a member of the board of directors, with his term expiring in 2017.

According to NRAOnTheRecord.org, Cotton has served on the NRA board for more than a decade and has also served on the Board of Trustees of the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.