Posted at 2:01 pm on June 15, 2016 by Ed Morrissey at HotAir

Did the NRA endorse using watch lists to stop gun sales earlier today? Not really, although a tweet from Reuters made it sound that way.

This all started with Donald Trump’s declared intention to get the NRA to work on keeping people on secret government lists from exercising their Second Amendment-protected civil rights. The NRA has long opposed such a move, but they also endorsed Trump last month for president on the assumption that he knows gun-rights issues well enough to stand up to pressure from the gun-control lobby.

Needless to say, this made things somewhat … awkward. The NRA issued a statement that tried to put the best possible face on things while making their position consistent:

We are happy to meet with Donald Trump.  The NRA’s position on this issue has not changed.  The NRA believes that terrorists should not be allowed to purchase or possess firearms, period.  Anyone on a terror watchlist who tries to buy a gun should be thoroughly investigated by the FBI and the sale delayed while the investigation is ongoing.  If an investigation uncovers evidence of terrorist activity or involvement, the government should be allowed to immediately go to court, block the sale, and arrest the terrorist.  At the same time, due process protections should be put in place that allow law-abiding Americans who are wrongly put on a watchlist to be removed.  That has been the position of Sen. John Cornyn (R.-Tex.) and a majority of the U.S. Senate.  Sadly, President Obama and his allies would prefer to play politics with this issue…..read more here