Statement by the Socialist Rifle Association Regarding Twitter Posts by The Minnesota SRA on February 23rd

We are a big tent organization. There will be differing viewpoints on many positions among our members and chapters. However the recent positions taken by the Minnesota Chapter of the Socialist Rifle Association on Twitter and elsewhere are NOT representative of our positions as an organization, and we condemn in the strongest terms the statements made by the Minnesota Chapter.

Fascism is a repugnant ideology which we are fully committed to resisting anywhere and everywhere. But blanket calls to disarm "those who oppose us" and allusions to Marx's calls for "the terror" are counterproductive to our aims, and only feed into right-wing propaganda about socialist beliefs.

We are NOT a vanguard party or revolutionary army. We are an organization that seeks to provide marginalized communities and the working class with the education, the skills, and the advocates necessary to be effectively armed for self and community defense.

We seek, advocate for, and advance an inclusive, safe, and healthy firearms culture in America to combat the toxic, right-wing, and exclusionary firearm culture in place today.

We do NOT advocate to disarm those who disagree with us – disarmament in the West historically has had disproportionate impact on the politically powerless and marginalized.

We DO advocate that vulnerable and repressed communities be equipped with knowledge and skills to defend against very real reactionary threats. This is the most effective means to oppose those who wish us harm.

We protect us.

- The Organizing Committee of the Socialist Rifle Association