A former Nevada state lawmaker and current congressional candidate wrote an open letter to the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association renouncing his membership in the wake of last week's deadly mass shooting in San Bernardino, California.
"Our country is facing a tragic gun violence epidemic, and we cannot ignore it," former Nevada Assembly Speaker John Oceguera, a Democrat who is running for Congress, wrote in the letter to NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre on Thursday.
Oceguera penned the letter the day after 14 people were killed and 21 wounded when a husband and wife opened fire on a holiday party in Southern California. The FBI is investigating the attack as an act of terror, and ISIS has said the perpetrators were followers of the group.
In a live interview Sunday morning with MSNBC, Oceguera — a lifelong gun owner who grew up in a family of hunters — said the San Bernardino attacks represent a tipping point of sorts.
"Finally, this week, when the U.S. Senate can’t pass a bill to restrict gun ownership of those who are on the FBI’s watch list, who can’t even get on an airplane but they can buy a gun, at that point, I said enough is enough," he told MSNBC. "The NRA has a stranglehold over our members of Congress and I’m just not going to stand for that."
Oceguera said in his letter to the NRA he no longer wants to be associated with a group that opposes legislation that would make it harder for terrorists, criminals and people with mental illness to get guns.
"I cannot continue to be a member while the NRA refuses to back closing these loopholes. Therefore, I resign my membership in the NRA, effective immediately. Please remove my name from your membership list," he wrote.
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Oceguera told MSNBC he's seeking "reasonable solutions" to the country's gun problem and that those who are critical have misunderstood him.
“It always goes to the extreme and that’s part of the problem. The NRA is just unreasonable. They won’t negotiate at all and I think that’s wrong, and that’s why I took the stand that I did," he explained.
Oceguera sponsored NRA-backed legislation in 2011 streamlining the concealed carry permitting process and barring extra gun restrictions in state parks.
He's part of a four-way Democratic primary to challenge Republican Rep. Cresent Hardy. The district leans Democratic.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
