NRA blasts doctor who testified before Congress in gun violence hearing: 'Gun control extremist'

 NRA spokesperson calls attacks on guns an attempt to 'destroy the Second Amendment'

The National Rifle Association (NRA) hit back at Yale School of Public Health Dean Megan Rainey's claims during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last week that Republican-controlled areas are hardest hit by shootings compared to blue cities like Chicago.

"The labeling of firearm ownership as a 'public health crisis' by gun control extremists is an old and tired concept," NRA spokesperson Billy McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.

McLaughlin said, "It aims to erode Second Amendment rights through coordinated action between the government and gun control lobbying groups." "This strategy was on full display in Dr. Megan Rainey's testimony before Congress."

Rainey, whom McLaughlin called "a known gun control extremist", has been involved with Moms Demand Action, a progressive grassroots group that advocates stricter gun control and a federal assault weapons ban.

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McLaughlin said, "He has supported a ban on publicly owned semi-automatic rifles since 2013 and has consistently attacked the NRA." "This pattern of behavior among activists shows a concerted effort to reframe the gun ownership debate in a public health context to effectively dismantle our Second Amendment."

GOP Sen. John Kennedy and Rainey sparred during a committee hearing last week that examined gun violence as a "public health crisis."

When Kennedy questioned why the shooting rate was so high in Chicago, Rainey claimed that Mississippi, Louisiana and Missouri "actually have higher rates of death from firearms."

The exchange generated a response from conservatives on social media, who pointed out that Chicago has a much higher "gun murder" rate per 100,000 people than those states. Additionally, some took issue with Rainey's random selection of three red states, while crime statistics are most useful at the local level, where crime is controlled.

Asked by Kennedy about Chicago's gun violence rates, Rainey responded that "the environmental conditions, along with the lack of good education, are easy access to firearms."

He said, "There have actually been studies that when you green vacant lots and renovate abandoned buildings in urban areas, you see an increase in gunfire and violence in the surrounding neighborhoods, as well as stress and There is also a reduction in depression."

But McLaughlin said his claim is "misleading" because "it relies on mixing data from different age groups to create a dangerous story."

"This statistical manipulation is a key part of their tired strategy to strengthen the case for restrictive gun control measures," he said.

Data reviewed by Fox News Digital shows Chicago's gun murder rate has ranged between 25-29 murders per 100,000 people since 2019. In 2019, Louisiana, Missouri, and Mississippi saw 12.5, 9.3, and 13 gun homicides per 100,000 people, respectively.

A recent report from the Heritage Foundation shows that since 2002 the murder rate in Democrat-run "blue counties" has been higher than in "red counties", heralded by prominent liberals such as California Governor Gavin Newsom and Refutes a popular point of view. Billionaire George Soros.