As artists like Paul McCartney, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Demi Lovato and Andra Day made appearances during March for Our Lives demonstrations for gun control this past Saturday, the rapper Killer Mike was on the Internet, explaining his support of gun ownership in an interview with NRATV, the broadcasting arm of the pro-gun lobbying and advocacy organization.
NRA host Colion Noir opens the video by addressing the protesters directly. “What are you really marching for? Because from where I’m standing, it looks like a march to burn the Constitution and rewrite the parts you don’t like in crayon,” he says. Noir goes on to add that “no one can point this out better than Killer Mike.”
“My daughter goes to Savannah State University,” Mike later tells Noir, referencing the fatal shooting last summer of Christopher Starks, a junior at the school. “There was also a shooting on that campus. Talked to my wife and daughter after that, the decision was we’re gonna go to Savannah, she’s gonna get a gun and train more.” (In its statement on Starks’ shooting, Savannah State requested students with knowledge of anyone possessing a firearm to alert school authorities.)
But by Sunday evening, following an online outcry from fans and gun control advocates, Killer Mike issued an apology for his appearance on the show and said the NRA misused it “as a weapon” against Saturday’s marches. Mike added that his appearance was intended to focus on gun ownership by black Americans. “I did an interview about black gun ownership in this era,” Mike said in his statement. “That interview was used a week later to disparage a very noble campaign that I actually support … I want to say first I’m sorry guys. I do support the March — and I support black people owning guns. It’s possible to do both.” The position isn’t new for the rapper — a year ago, he appeared on the Tavis Smiley show to say the NRA has “had a value to me my entire life,” and that he is a member of the organization. “I think that one million black men should go online and just get a year’s membership, and see how you like it.”