Foreign news

The lawsuit against the NRA is just a tool for party conflict

Published

5 years ago

August 10, 2020

Editor’s note: Li Yun is a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Military Research of the Department of War Research, China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Academy of Military Sciences. The article reflects the author’s opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

On August 6, New York State Attorney General Letitia James announced a lawsuit calling for the dissolution of the National Rifle Association (NRA). She said that the association is full of corruption and some executives are wantonly squandering public funds, causing irreversible damage to the association’s ability to operate as a non-profit organization. The lawsuit caused an uproar as soon as it was announced.

As we all know, in the United States, the “right to bear arms” is not only a social issue, but also an ideological and political one. Its direct legal basis is the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The NRA is not only the largest organization supporting this right in the United States, but also one of the most powerful lobby groups. Moreover, even if the NRA’s executive corruption case is established and some executives are brought to justice, it does not mean that the NRA can be dissolved. Even if the NRA is dissolved, it doesn’t mean that gun violence, a chronic disease of American society, can be solved overnight.

So why is the New York State Attorney General doing this? Given that New York State is governed by the Democratic Party, Letitia James is a Democrat, and that it is less than three months to the presidential election, the lawsuit is more like a tool of the party struggle. With the U.S. economy falling by as much as 32.9 percent in the second quarter, the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is approaching 5 million, and Trump still lags far behind Biden in the polls, the Democratic Party may intend to take this lawsuit to launch a new attack on Trump.

The NRA has been a firm supporter of Trump since the 2016 election. Last month, the NRA once again made it clear that it supports Trump’s re-election. The prosecution of the NRA at this time will not only divert the association’s resources from the Republican Party, but also make it unable to play its full role in supporting Trump’s election.

At the same time, the Democratic Party can also use this lawsuit to unite its own voters and further mobilize voters to actively participate in voting. Many experts regard the failure of Democratic voters to actively participate in voting as an important reason for Hillary Clinton to lose the presidential election in 2016. To prevent history from repeating itself, the Democratic Party will have to use various issues to mobilize its own voters.

However, the Democratic Party’s move may backfire and help the Trump’s campaign. The “right to bear arms” is a highly controversial topic in the United States. Raising this topic at this time can divert people’s attention from the dismal economy and the Trump’s failure in handling COVID-19. Also, it could cause a fierce response from Trump supporters, given their ardent support for the NRA, and help the Republican Party mobilize its base.

Obviously, the Republicans are also aware of this potential. As soon as the New York prosecutor announced the lawsuit, Trump scolded it as a conspiracy by the Democratic Party. He said: “Just like Radical Left New York is trying to destroy the NRA, if Biden becomes President your GREAT SECOND AMENDMENT doesn’t have a chance. Your guns will be taken away, immediately and without notice. No police, no guns!”

No matter what the real purpose of lawsuit is or whether the lawsuit is successful, the lawsuit will further tear apart the American society which has been extremely divided ideologically. Politicians, both Democratic and Republican, are well aware that the lawsuit will further exacerbate social fragmentation. The lawsuit and the response of the two parties to the lawsuit have shown that, for the sake of party interests, the two parties have given up their efforts to bridge social fragmentation and unite the people and no longer hope to win votes from the opposing camp. The campaign strategy of both parties is to take advantage of the extreme fragmentation of American society to mobilize their own voters to vote.

Therefore, our next focus should not be on the final outcome of the lawsuit and its impact on the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but on the impact of the lawsuit on the presidential election in November. Whether this lawsuit is the “last straw” that overwhelms Trump or Trump’s “August surprise,” let us wait and see.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)

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Foreign news

French Envoy Seeks Collaboration With NAN To Boost Seamless Relationship

Published

1 month ago

February 5, 2025

The Gleamer

The new French envoy to Nigeria, Marc Fonbaustier, on Wednesday called for collaboration with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) toward strengthening the mutually beneficial relationship between the two countries.

Fonbaustier, who is the French ambassador to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, made the call when he paid a courtesy visit to Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, NAN’s Managing Director, in Abuja.
The ambassador said that his purpose of visiting was to pay tribute to the MD, and to seek collaboration in three areas with a view to promoting stronger, seamless and fruitful partnership between both countries.

He added that Nigeria and its people were hospitable, especially to the foreigners and ambassadors alike.

He added that Nigeria was a country with so much energy, strength, stamina and so many talents.

In Nigeria, with the population of this size, it is inevitable that the elites of the country are very outstanding, “and there may be a Franco/Nigeria moments now”, he jokes.

According to him, France and Nigeria can collaborate more and learn from each other.
“I could feel it particularly during the state visit of President Bola Tinubu which took place in November 2024.

“I was there and I could see the intensity, the strength and the scope of the partnership, and I am here to scale up that partnership in all sectors.

“I am coming here for three reasons, first, to pay a tribute to the NAN MD and his team for the quality of this agency. We can testify that the contents that you publish are very factual, and also very well set up and structured.

“You do fact checking and you really do try to provide the community with quality information. I think, as a French ambassador, I can recognise that as part of a living democracy,” he said.

The French ambassador said the second reason for the visit was to intimate the NAN MD of France’s eagerness to go on partnership with NAN saying he hoped for assurance of a seamless, fluid and easy relationship.

He said that his third reason stemmed from his observation that NAN recently signed some partnership framework agreements with Egypt and China, saying “it may be time to think of balancing this partnership with others”.

“Especially with French, and to talk with Agence France-Presse (AFP) to see if there’s ground for a closer relationship between NAN and AFP.

“Which is also a recognised agency like yours, and I bet you the sky will be the limit to the collaboration, ’’he said.

Responding, the NAN MD informed the envoy that the agency was African’s biggest news content provider on account of its size.

Ali gave the envoy a little details of the agency’s operation and its outreach, saying “as our continent’s biggest news content provider, we have offices nationwide and in selected African countries.

“We have offices in countries such as South Africa, Cote d’ivoire, Addis Ababa, and then we have offices also beyond the shores of Africa. We have in New York and we are the only resident wire service in the United Nations.

“At a time in the past, the agency had 11 foreign offices, including Moscow, and presently, we are trying to re-open some of our shut offices, especially in London.
“We value partnership and understanding that we have with similar news organisation such as Reuters and, incidentally, we have a long standing relationship with AFP which you just raised.
“I know for years we have exchange of news between NAN and AFP but it’s a cooperation that we will like to strengthen and with your greater involvement,’’ he said.

The MD commended the ambassador for reaching out and engaging with some Nigerians communities to douse the tension of the allegation made by the Nigeriens.

He also lauded the envoy’s leadership and visibility to Nigeria and the ECOWAS, “which has helped to douse the perception and misconceptions about France, especially in the Sahel”.
“I think you have helped to reverse some of this perceptions. I thank you for the kind words that you said about the agency and about our management.

“We also see partnership as an important tool in checking the spread of fake news.
“We’ve seen instances where fake news has done great deal of damage, and with the coming of social media it has done even greater damage.

“Our country is facing a lot of challenges, one of which is the increasing insecurity, and the social media has been used by those who do not want to see our country to prosper,” Ali said.
He further said that NAN was a credible news agency that always fact check to correct the wrong narratives by those who are in the business of causing troubles.

He also told the envoy that the agency has its content in the Nigerian indigenous languages, starting with Hausa and it would proceed to Yoruba and Igbo languages later, “then later in future to French.

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