EXCLUSIVE: Friends Of NRA To Hold Fundraiser In Brooklyn

BOROUGH PARK/BENSONHURST — It’s fundraising time for the NRA, and they’re making their usual rounds—among them, Southern Brooklyn.

Signs posted outside of a Brooklyn eatery show the fundraising arm of the NRA (National Rifle Associaton) Foundation is having an event at the Rex Manor Catering Hall which sits at the border of Borough Park and Bensonhurst. While the annual fundraiser isn’t listed on their website, the sign indicates the event is to be held at 6:30 pm on April 25. The venue also confirmed.

The event includes dinner, raffles and an auction. At least two guns are listed under “Guns and Prizes,” including the group’s “Gun of the Year,” a Sig Sauer P210 American Standard 9mm pistol.

This marks the third annual Brooklyn event of the NRA affiliate. News of last year’s plans to fundraise stoked anger from some anti-gun and sensible-gun law advocates.

Last year,  the group switched venues twice amid protest from residents and lawmakers. Two restaurants, Gargiulo’s and Grand Prospect Hall, flip-flopped on their decision to host the clubs annual fundraiser following a public outcry.

Despite resistance from activists and local lawmakers, the group quietly rescheduled the event at the Dyker Heights Knights of Columbus. On April 26, attendees entered the columned-lined entryway in front of a small crowd of anti-gun protesters, both groups taunting the other.

Undeterred by protesters, gun-supporters argued their First Amendment guarantees them a right to assemble. The signage promoting this event touts another Constitutional Amendment.

“Gather second Amendment supporters in your community and attend your local Friends of NRA event,” reads the poster.

The announcement comes days after a suspected white supremacist shot and killed 49 Muslims at two New Zealand mosques.  Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern banned the sale of “military-style” guns in New Zealand following the massacre.

Last year, a gunman and former student murdered 17 students in Parkland, FL. No new gun legislation resulted on the federal level. Nearly half the states responded with at least one piece of new gun legislation, according to a New York Times article. There was no new gun legislation on the federal level, however.

Councilman Kalman Yeger, whose district includes Rex Manor, did not respond to requests before post time.