The National Rifle Association (NRA) was harshly criticized after wishing everyone "all the guns and ammo" in a tone-deaf Christmas message that prompted critics to call out the gun advocacy organization after yet another year of senseless gun violence.
The Gun Violence Archive counted at least 635 mass shootings so far this year, through mid-December.
But that statistic was far from the NRA's mind when it tweeted:
"Merry Christmas from the NRA—America's longest-standing civil rights organization. We hope Santa brought you all the guns and ammo."
You can see the NRA's tweet below.
This year alone the NRA found itself at the center of an even more impassioned push for comprehensive gun control measures after numerous high-profile mass shootings.
These include one at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas; another in Buffalo, New York involving a White supremacist who targeted Black staff members and customers at a supermarket; and one at a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado that prompted several survivors to testify about gun violence and hate crimes before members of Congress.
People quickly decried the tweet's insensitivity, and many criticized the organization for its relentless campaign to keep deadly weapons largely accessible to wide swaths of the American public.
The NRA has been criticized for tone-deaf social media posts before.
For instance, the organization angered critics over the summer after its official Twitter account posted a tweet commemorating Independence Day, declaring that the "only reason" Americans are "celebrating Independence Day is because citizens were armed."
That tweet came in the wake of a mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois, after a lone gunman opened fire on a July 4 parade procession, killing six people and injuring 36 others.
The tweet remained up even while Highland Park residents sheltered in place during the manhunt for the shooter.
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