The March issue of the National Rifle Association’s monthly publication, The American Rifleman, features a photo of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman from Arizona who was shot in the head during a constituent meeting in 2011.

The photo, taken last month at an announcement about proposed legislation to expand background checks for firearms purchases, carried the headline in large letters: “Target Practice.”

The article, written by Chris W. Cox, the executive director of the N.R.A.’s lobbying arm, described Ms. Pelosi as an “arch anti-gunner,” and said the proposal was being “deceptively marketed to the public” and was “a broadside against gun ownership in America.”

On Friday, a political reporter at HuffPost, Jennifer Bendery, posted photographs of the article on Twitter, setting off rounds of criticism about the juxtaposition of the headline and photo.