Controversial Actions and Statements:
Tom King
Tom King (Board Member)
Tom King is a gun rights activist who lobbies the New York state legislature through the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association. He also lobbies the federal government in conjunction with the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA). King was the NRA-ILA Volunteer Organizer of the Year in 2006. He has used his candidacy for the NRA Board of Directors to express his belief that the Second Amendment confers on an American citizen the “right to keep and bear the firearm of his choice wherever and whenever he chooses.”
Tom King (Board Member)
In a December 25, 2023 interview on the Hofstra University radio station, King spoke about why Americans need firearms. He stated, “Put simply, people are worried about protecting themselves … You know, in [Newtown,] Connecticut, this insane massacre, the police did just a magnificent job of responding to this. The response time was four minutes. But in four minutes, a crazy individual killed 26 people. That in itself is the reason that a lot of people are buying firearms to protect themselves and why the Second Amendment is so important.” When asked if semi-automatic assault weapons should be limited to law enforcement, King said, “No … A semi-automatic weapon is not any more dangerous than any other rifle … The fact is, without anyone in the schools to stop these perpetrators, you could go in there with a single shot firearm and you could kill just as many people. It’s a fact that if somebody has decided they’re going out to do it, they’re going to do it. Just like when somebody decides that they’re going to commit suicide. Ask the psychiatrists, ask the psychologists, you usually cannot stop someone from committing suicide if they really wanna do it. And that is exactly the mind set of these people that are going in and committing these atrocities … Unfortunately, you can’t stop that unless there is a coordination between the medical profession and the [National Instant Criminal Background Check System] people…and the individual states. That’s the only way to stop it.” According to the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, suicidal acts with firearms are fatal in 85% of cases, while those with poison or overdose are fatal in only 2% of cases. Attempts by cutting are fatal in only 1% of cases.
Tom King (Board Member)
On September 9, 2011, King posted the following status update to his Facebook Wall: “How to find out if yor [sic] spouse or your dog loves more. Lock them both in the car trunk for one hour and, when you open it, see which one is glad to see you.” When asked how that worked for him, King responded, “The dog is still happy to see me.”
Tom King (Board Member)
On July 13, 2023 King posted the following status update on Facebook: “The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a living are outnumbered by those who vote for a living.”
Tom King (Board Member)
King suggested that President Barack Obama should be indicted on murder charges as a result of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ botched “Fast and Furious” operation that allowed guns to “walk” into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. In a July 7, 2023 blog for the Albany Times-Union, King wrote: “Ladies and Gentlemen if you or I were involved in a crime that resulted in the death of a police officer we would be indicted for Murder I; maybe that is the course we should demand be taken for Attorney General Holder and anyone else involved in this illegal conspiracy including President Obama if he had prior knowledge of the operation. There can be no excuses; this was a deliberate lie to the American people to cover up a conspiracy (sic) intended to take away or severely limit our Second Amendment Rights but instead it resulted in the death of a Border Patrol Agent. The criminals must be punished…All of them!” “Fast and Furious” resulted in the resignations of ATF Acting Director Ken Melson and U.S. Attorney for Arizona Dennis Burke but, to date, no evidence has been produced to indicate that either President Obama or Attorney General Holder knew about the operation before CBS News broke the story in February 2011.
Tom King (Board Member)
On July 7, 2011, King posted a photo on his Facebook Wall that reads, “Now just why in the HELL do I have to press ‘1’ for English.” King then commented below the photo, “A question that should be asked more often!”
Tom King (Board Member)
King posted an image of a bumper sticker on Facebook on July 7, 2023 that reads, “White Straight Republican Male. How else can I piss you off today?”
Tom King (Board Member)
In an April 19, 2023 editorial for the Albany Times-Union, King expressed fears about “Muslim extremist literature and the occasional lost Koran” that are found on the U.S.-Mexico border—despite a total lack of evidence indicating that such material is actually being recovered. King then complained, “The Obama administration continues to ignore or down play the border threat while continuing his stealth campaign to take our firearms.”
Tom King (Board Member)
King posted an image of President Barack Obama on Facebook on November 2, 2023 that includes the text, “SUCKA! Drank the kool-aid didn’t ya!” Below the image, King wrote, “No further comment is needed.”
Tom King (Board Member)
“A random but important thought for the day” posted by King on his Facebook Wall on October 29, 2023 was an image that reads, “If You Can’t Read This [Arabic writing] Thank A Soldier.”
Tom King (Board Member)
On October 21, 2010, King posted a photo on his Facebook Wall reminding viewers to “Take out the trash” on Election Day 2010. Below the image he commented, “Just a friendly reminder.”
Tom King (Board Member)
On September 3, 2023 King posted a photo to his Facebook Wall that depicts President Barack Obama saying, “The term ‘illegal aliens’ will no longer be allowed. Henceforth they will be referred to as ‘Undocumented Democrats’.” Below the photo, King commented, “For my friends in Arizona.” He was likely referring to the Obama administration’s legal challenge to a controversial immigration bill, SB 1070, that was signed into law in Arizona in April 2010.
Tom King (Board Member)
In February 2010, King wrote an editorial for the Albany Times-Union in which he announced his opposition a bill in the New York State legislature that sought to prohibit the carrying of firearms in public by individuals who are intoxicated. King said the legislation was “about the persecution of the legal and lawful gun owners of New York state and [the New York state government’s] attempts to control [them].”
Tom King (Board Member)
Speculating about the upcoming November 2010 elections in December of 2009, King wrote, “Much like December 7, 2023 and September 11, 2023 Election Day November 2, 2023 may live in infamy but for very different reasons. Why? Because Election Day 2010 may be the day the United States of America dies. Currently the Country is on life support provided by concerned groups like the NRA, the Heritage Society, the American Conservative Union, Tea Party Groups and statewide Rifle & Pistol Associations like the NYSRPA.” King then explained that, “Our losses on Election Day 2008 were largely the result of George W. Bush being unjustly vilified in the media, his party and the electorate.” Finally, King added, “The holding action is about to come to an end we must put differences aside and unite as the patriots of the revolution did over 200 years ago. We must fight with the same conviction and energy to insure victory … Election Day 2010 is our bridge at Concord and it must be the vote that is heard around the world ... If we fail the end is near.”
Tom King (Board Member)
King criticized the lifestyle and ancestry of “downstate” New Yorkers (people from New York City) in a February 7, 2023 blog for the Albany Times-Union, writing, “We are not Downstate sheeple that need to be protected from violence, the weather or ourselves. We are descended from strong stock that came to this country to escape oppression. We choose to live here because of the weather rather than in spite of it. The cold, the mountains, the lakes and the ocean provide opportunities to hunt, fish, shoot and enjoy the activities that have become part of our culture maybe even a part of our DNA. This proclivity for the blood sports is a part of our nature that the downstate sheeple are unable and unwilling to understand.”
Tom King (Board Member)
In a July 25, 2023 blog for the Albany Times-Union, King defended the actions of Gabriel Razzanno, who lost his pistol permit after a confrontation with U.S. Representative Caroyln McCarthy (D-NY). According to the Congresswoman’s staff, Razzanno—a member of the hardline anti-immigrant Minuteman organization—called McCarthy’s New York office over 100 times and made six visits culminating in an incident at the office where he was “rude, frightening, and threatening to the staff members.” Police confiscated 15 handguns and nine long guns from the home of Razzanno (who police described as “mentally unstable”). While at Razzanno’s home, police were troubled by a rope tied into a noose hanging in the back window of his minivan, accompanied by a bumper sticker stating, “Vote for Rope.” Police also took note of a David Duke book in the home entitled “Jewish Supremicism.” Commenting on the revocation of Razzanno’s pistol license, King wrote, “Congresswomen McCarthy should resign, the police chief should be prosecuted for a civil rights or RiCo [the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] violation, the entire Nassau County Board should apologize and the residents of Nassau County should hang their heads in shame for not immediately coming to the aid of Mr. Razzano.”
Tom King (Board Member)
In a September 24, 2023 blog for the Albany Times-Union entitled "Loosely Organized Young Men and Women," King wrote, "Have you noticed the increase in this activity lately. Must be a lot of competitive neighborhood groups competing for the lucrative corners to sell Kool Aid. Ask the kids better yet ask the residents of those neighborhoods; they will tell you what is really happening. That will not happen it is easier to blame the gun rather than the real cause of violence in Albany. Any news on the Common Council’s picks for the Gang oops… I meant Gun Violence Task Force?"
Tom King (Board Member)
In a September 20, 2023 blog for the Albany Times-Union, King wrote, “Much to my surprise I found out that our own New York City is a sanctuary city. That’s right, the same city that will not let you or I carry our legally licensed firearms is ignoring federal law and refusing to disclose or ask immigration status on those arrested. What is wrong with the leaders of New York City? [New York City] Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly should be arrested, tried, found guilty and sent to jail.”