Rep. Kathleen Rice Under Fire After Calling NRA 'Domestic Security Threats'

Rep. Kathleen Rice, a Democrat from Garden City representing New York's 4th Congressional District, has come under fire from the National Rifle Association and conservatives after she called the firearms advocacy group and one of its spokeswomen a "domestic security threat" on Twitter.

Rice's comment was spurred on by a tweet by Dana Loesch, an NRA spokeswoman, who was responding to comments about the death of Philando Castile, a black man and licensed gun owner who was killed by a police officer during a traffic stop in Minnesota last July after telling the officer he was carrying his licensed firearm.

In response to a comment that Castile was killed because he was black, Loesch said, "He was also in possession of a controlled substance and a firearm simultaneously, which is illegal. Stop lying." Despite the fact that Castile was a legal gun owner, the NRA never released a statement about his death, which many on the left thought was because of his race.

Rice took umbrage with Loesch's comments. "So if a white guy was shot dead during a routine stop w/ a legal gun & a joint in his car, #NRA would stay silent? You're the ones lying," the congresswoman tweeted.

Rice then went on, making her claim against the NRA.

The backlash to Rice's tweet was swift, with many on the right calling for her to resign or saying they were going to join the NRA or buy guns specifically because of Rice.

The NRATV twitter feed, a network where Loesh is a frequent contributor, spent the entire weekend attacking Rice and her comments multiple times, calling for her to resign.

Even in the face of the backlash, Rice stood by her comments. The next day, Rice spokesman Coleman Lamb released a statement on behalf of the congresswoman. "The NRA's message no longer has anything to do with protecting Second Amendment rights," he wrote. "Their leaders and spokespeople are depicting the United States as a country on the brink of civil war, and actively encouraging violence against political activists and the free press. That's extremely troubling to Representative Rice, as it should be to all law-abiding gun owners and NRA members. We're not afraid to call this behavior from NRA's leadership exactly what it is."

Rice doubled-down on her comments over the weekend, criticizing the NRA for not condemning the armed white supremacists that were marching in Charlottesville.

What do you think of the congresswoman's comments? Is Rice correct about the NRA or should she apologize?

Photos: Kathleen Rice's Office/National Rife Association