Actress Milano No Smart Cookie on Second Amendment

It’s not uncommon for members of the Hollywood elite to demonize the National Rifle Association, but former child star Alyssa Milano took it a step further by injecting race into the conversation. Members of the National Center’s Project 21 black leadership network are responding to the smear.

In a tweet sent out last week, Milano – previously seen in “Commando,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Alyssa Milano’s Teen Steam” – asserted the NRA and its NRATV media affiliate “would be labeled a terrorist organization with hate propaganda programming that incites violence” if it were “run by black or brown people.”

Guns served as an equalizer for blacks during Jim Crow and segregation. Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice recently pointed out how guns saved her family from marauders during the Civil Rights era. And the organization has always sought to protect the rights of people of all races.

For trying to smear gun rights advocates with a poorly crafted racial comments meant to cause division, black conservatives affiliated with Project 21 are calling Milano out.

For example, Project 21 Co-Chairman Stacy Washington, a U.S. Air Force veteran who has worked with the NRA, questioned Milano’s credentials to speak about race:

I’m not sure why Alyssa Milano is suddenly an expert on race relations. She’s not black, nor has she spent a significant portion of her career working for or with blacks. In fact, Milano’s Hollywood acting career has been typical in its lack of integration.

Our country faces difficult issues surrounding race: progress is stymied as many of those called on to comment are as uninformed as Milano.

If we apply Milano’s leftist standards to her activist credentials, we find her acting career to be lily-white. She has never stood up for more roles for blacks or minorities with such vigor. She doesn’t even seem to star in movies with people of color.

Does Milano volunteer or donate to disadvantaged communities of color? She’s not a civil rights leader. I’m sure she doesn’t read Sowell, Williams or Swain. Why should we care what she thinks about the Second Amendment or the National Rifle Association?

Stacy also sent Milano a few tweets of her own.

Project 21 member Emery McClendon, a tea party activist and U.S. Air Force veteran, added about the history of gun rights:

It’s very hard to believe that Alyssa Milano actually understands American history. Apparently she didn’t do any research on the NRA before making such an absurd comment. Then again, she is an entertainer.

The Second Amendment was placed in our Constitution to give us a clear example of how we can defend ourselves from a tyrannical and abusive government. The NRA has a clear history of helping Americans of all colors understand that God-given right.

If the NRA was spearheaded and run by minorities, it would have the protection of every American citizen as it first priority. That is mainly why it was created. When American’s think about the NRA, they shouldn’t equate them with terrorism or as a militant group.  They should praise and thank them for helping us preserve our Founding Principles.

I would urge Alyssa Milano to rethink her ridiculous comment.

Using rhetorical judo, Project 21 member Richard Holt, a political strategist and another U.S. Army veteran, sought to use Milano’s comment as a “teachable moment” for the NRA:

Alyssa Milano made a great point when discussing how we see people with guns in our society.

When we picture the gun debate, the NRA is always careful to show us white sportsmen and hunters. What about the black youth who are terrified they won’t make it home from school? What about the poor single mother living “in hell,” as Trump said, in housing projects where drug lords and criminals roam virtually free?

The NRA got its start teaching former slaves how to arm themselves in self-defense. The NRA has a history to be proud of, but I think Milano’s comments have the greatest impact in asking: why has the NRA run away from its own history?

Why do we frame the gun debate about white rural males while avoiding the tragic reality of law-abiding minorities whose circumstances land them in less than friendly neighborhoods? Although her comments are a bit extreme, they do present us with an important question of how we see guns in our society and emphasizes the racial paradigm of this important debate.



The National Center for Public Policy Research is a communications and research foundation supportive of a strong national defense and dedicated to providing free market solutions to today’s public policy problems. We believe that the principles of a free market, individual liberty and personal responsibility provide the greatest hope for meeting the challenges facing America in the 21st century.