Uma Thurman, Meryl Streep, Vanessa Williams are in NRA's crosshairs on gun control
Photo credit: Getty Images | From left, Meryl Streep, Uma Thurman and Vanessa Williams.
President Obama speaks on gun control
Gov. Cuomo signs gun control measure
Residents react to Cuomo's gun control legislation
Rockland gun owners unhappy with new law
Cartoonists take aim at gun control
Gun control debate rages: Mt. Vernon shop after Sandy Hook shootings
The National Rifle Association is taking aim at celebrities whom the organization views as opponents to gun rights.
The list includes a virtual who's who of local stars, from Richard Gere of Pound Ridge to Rosie O'Donnell of Nyack, Susan Sarandon of Pound Ridge and Vanessa Williams of Chappaqua. Also on the list are Michael Douglas of Bedford, Ellen Burstyn of Nyack, Uma Thurman of Woodstock, Steve Buscemi of Stone Ridge and Vassar College graduate Meryl Streep.
The NRA says the stars on the list have "lent their name and notoriety to anti-gun causes."
MORE:
Gun control debate: Complete coverage
VIDEO:
Newtown victims fight for gun control
| Security guards find loophole in gun control laws
| Gun control bills passed in state Assembly
PHOTOS:
Gun rally in Albany
| Rockland gun owners unhappy with new law
| Cartoonists take aim at gun control
The wide-ranging list, dated Sept. 17, 2012, also includes actors George Clooney, Sean Connery and Jennifer Aniston, former NFL wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, former President Jimmy Carter, singing groups Boys II Men and the Temptations, the Kansas City Royals baseball team and several now-dead people, including writer and director Nora Ephron, crooner Andy Williams and former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.
The list is maintained by the Institute for Legislative Action, the lobbying arm of the NRA.
In addition to listing purported gun control advocates, the site links to triggerthevote.org, a website that spotlights pro-gun rights videos by celebrities, including rock musician Ted Nugent and actor Chuck Norris.
A separate list targets media outlets that the NRA contends "have assisted in the attack on Second Amendment rights," including The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
As the Obama administration gears up an effort to pass new gun control measures after December's massacre of 20 pupils at a school in Newtown, Conn., many public figures are taking sides.
Actor Bruce Willis told The Associated Press he opposes proposed new gun control laws as an erosion of the Bill of Rights. The Second Amendment guarantees that "the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."
Calls and emails seeking comments from Hudson Valley celebrities and the NRA were not immediately returned.
