Mayor Dwaine Caraway receives death threats after asking NRA not to come to Dallas

Feb 22, 2018

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After the deadly shooting in Parkland, Florida that took 17 lives, Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway decided to take a stand agains the NRA.

And now he’s receiving death threats.

Dwaine Caraway spoke with TMZ to detail his issues and spoke on the scary resopnses he’s received from those “influenced” by the NRA following his call for the NRA to move their convention.

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“It’s a tough deal now, don’t think that they’re happy with me,” Caraway said. “Don’t think that I’m not getting threatening emails and all types of things.”

“Have you had death threats?” asked TMZ‘s Harvey Levin.

“Oh, man, come on,” he responded in a matter-of-fact way. “You should hear some of the stuff [they say]. But it’s okay. My mission: everybody get to the table as citizens. The thing that needs to happen for America is to sit down, look at some rules and laws that’s been on the books for more than 200 years and tweak them for today’s society and today’s generation.”

Caraway, who believes in the second amendment, says he owns guns himself but believes that it’s time everyone came together after the massacre in Florda.

Nikolas Cruz, a former student at Marjory Stoneman High School, opened fire on teachers and classmates last week killing 17 and injuring 23. According to NBC News, Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder and is looking to plead guilty in exchange for a sentence of life without parole.

“A child’s life is worth more than a hundred million dollars,” Dwain Caraway said in the interview. “It’s not the money we’re dealing with now—it’s the future of these kids. Those kids in Florida—guess what, those that are the survivors, they have to live with this mental anguish of bullets crossing their heads, and screaming for their lives, the rest of their lives. Sometimes you have to take on Goliath just to begin the conversation.”

The NRA responds

Dwaine Caraway said the NRA event scheduled for May 3-6 is inappropriate in light of the recent school shooting, according to the Dallas Morning News.

The NRA has been largely criticized after the Parkland massacre by critics who say the gun-rights group is padding the pockets of lawmakers in Washington and keeping them from passing measures that could curb gun violence.

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The NRA responded swiftly to Caraway’s request.

Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA’s managing director of public affairs, told News 8 the group is ready to return to Texas for the first time since they hosted their annual convention in Houston in 2013.

“No politician anywhere can tell the NRA not to come to their city,” Arulanandam said. “We are already there. Dallas, like every American city and community, is populated by NRA members. Our members work in fire stations and police departments. They save lives in local hospitals and own businesses in communities urban and rural throughout this country.”

Looking for change

The NRA convention, scheduled to be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, will reportedly include firearms displays and exhibits. The NRA’s national elected officials will also participate in leadership meetings. According to the NRA website, ammunition sales are permitted, but on-site firearm sales are not.

In a written statement, Dwaine Caraway said it’s “time to put the heat on the NRA.” He followed up his written comments with a news conference outside City Hall in which he decried high-powered civilian-owned weapons and gun violence in Dallas, referencing both the 1963 Kennedy assassination and the deadly July 7, 2016, ambush on police.

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According to reports, the NRA has a large financial incentive to keep their convention in Dallas.

Dallas Morning News columnist Robert Wilonsky wrote:

City Hall said Monday that the NRA’s taking most of the convention center that first weekend in May — pretty much everything except the old Memorial Auditorium, Ballroom A and some meeting rooms. The rent would normally come to $410,618.

But according to numbers provided Monday, the city is giving the NRA a $22,840 discount. VisitDallas, the city’s tourism bureau, will pick up the rest of the tab, worth upward of $387,000.

According to the Dallas Morning News, Dwaine Caraway said asking the NRA to reconsider was “a tough call” but would put the city’s residents first. He said the NRA’s draw to the city would lead to demonstrations and that the organization needs to “come to the table” and be part of a solution.