The National Rifle Association's Freedom Action Fund launched a nearly million-dollar national ad campaign on Tuesday ahead of the Senate hearings on Neil Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court.
"Your right to keep a gun in your home for self defense survived at the U.S. Supreme Court by only ONE VOTE," the ad's description warned.
"Four Supreme Court justices believe you have the right to defend yourselves with a gun. Four do not," the ad's narrator said. "The men and women of the NRA will not let anti-gun elites strip away our rights or our freedom."
Though the foundation's ad does not endorse Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch, it comes as the Senate is set to begin hearings on his nomination. The NRA's lobbying arm has endorsed the Gorsuch pick and called his record "impressive."
"President Trump has made an outstanding choice in nominating Judge Gorsuch for the U.S. Supreme Court," Chris Cox, head of the NRA's lobbying arm, said when Gorsuch was first nominated. "He has an impressive record that demonstrates his support for the Second Amendment. We urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, just as it did in confirming him to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit by a unanimous voice vote."
For its part, the foundation said its ad campaign is intended to "educate Americans on the importance of Second Amendment rights and the role of the U.S. Supreme Court in protecting them." The group said the ad will run through March 22 and will be shown on broadcast, cable, satellite, and digital platforms nationwide. McClatchy, which broke news of the ad, said the NRA plans to spend almost a million dollars on the effort.
"The Supreme Court played a pivotal role in affirming our Second Amendment rights in its historic Heller and McDonald decisions," Cox, who is also president of the NRA Freedom Action Foundation, said in a statement. "But it's critical for Americans to remember that their basic right to keep a gun in their homes for self-defense survived at the court by only one vote. This ad campaign highlights that important reality."
Update 2:53 p.m.: This story has been updated for clarity.