All day Wednesday, Jay Leno had been bullied by the gun control lobby. For simply appearing at the NSSF’s annual SHOT Show industry trade show, Shannon Watts (paid representative of Michael Bloomberg) used every dirty trick in the book to make it seem like Leno is personally responsible for slaughtering children. Nevermind that the NSSF actually supported some gun control measures or that they have an extensive program that’s all about gun safety. All Shannon needed was to imply that the former Tonight Show host was being paid by the big bad “gun lobby” and her minions did the rest. Twitchy followed the Twitter-based bullying closely, and it looks like their anti-gun bullying worked . . .

Here are a couple selected tweets for your reading pleasure:

@shannonrwatts: Use our Fast Tweet page to call out @JayLeno for hosting an event w/ gun lobby: http://every.tw/jokesonleno #JokesOnLeno pic.twitter.com/r3B0Eb4WPC @ahalltoo: Shame on @JayLeno for emceeing event hosted by a gun lobby group from #Newtown. @MomsDemand #JokesOnLeno @MomsDemand: Attention Moms: Tell @JayLeno that shilling for a gun lobby group from Newtown is irresponsible and unacceptable with #JokesOnLeno @xtinel: [email protected] set to tell jokes at a gun lobby event, but parents who lost children to gun violence aren’t laughing @MomsDemand #JokesOnLeno

After a full day of this kind of abuse, Leno had enough and backed out. From the NSSF . . .

We are clearly disappointed by Jay Leno’s decision not to perform at the 2015 SHOT Show State of the Industry Dinner. He unilaterally cancelled his promised appearance due to pressure from the anti-gun lobby, which included false statements about our industry and its commitment to genuine firearms safety, which we attempted to personally correct with him, but to no avail. We are not deterred by their publicity seeking nor are we unfamiliar with the bullying political tactics of the gun control groups that seem to have as little respect for the First Amendment as they continually demonstrate with regard to the Second Amendment. We are proud of the many programs that we run that meaningfully contribute to public safety including our long standing Project ChildSafe and Don’t Lie for the Other Guy initiatives in addition to our members everyday work in compliance with comprehensive federal and state laws. We will not allow the lawful commerce in firearms nor our industry to be demonized and we will continue to speak out for the Second Amendment rights of the millions of law-abiding citizens who are our customers. Despite Mr. Leno’s cancellation, we look forward to having our biggest and best State of the Industry Dinner to date with a performer that respects the contributions of our industry and the customers it supports.

It’s all part of the larger tactic that Moms Demand Action (a wholly owned subsidiary of Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns) is using to try and make gun ownership socially unacceptable. If they can shame gun owners into the darkness, then no one will stick up for them when the next assault weapons ban proposal comes around. Part of that effort is making anyone associated with anything firearms-related appear evil by association, so no one will make the same mistake.

From Alan Scott on the Moms Demand Action Facebook page:

We will change the culture and make guns even more socially unacceptable than cigarettes. As they should be, since guns put all of us at risk.

Making gun owners social outcasts and shaming anyone who even comes near them. Sounds like they really do “support the Second Amendment” and want to work with gun owners to come up with “common sense” solutions. Totally not all about eradicating gun owners like a disease. No, not at all.