Sandy Hook shooting forces NRA into silence

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has gone silent on social media after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting that left 20 children dead.

The shooting has once more put the contentious issue of gun rights in the spotlight, with opponents of lax gun laws on the offensive.

The powerful gun lobby's Facebook page was taken down on Monday.

The Wall Street Journal reported that its Twitter feed has been silent since Friday following a barrage of vituperative messages after the shooting.

Shutting down their social media channels is likely not permanent but rather a way to avoid the controversy exploding on their walls and feeds.

The NRA was said to have 1.7 million likes on Facebook and over 63,000 followers on its Twitter account.

The group has declined to formally comment on the murders.

After the Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting this summer, the NRA did not halt its social media outreach.

Its first Tweet after that shooting was: "Good morning, shooters. Weekend plans? Happy Friday!" reported USA Today.

Officials for the group said that they had not heard about the shooting before tweeting the remark.

On Friday, the NRA canceled a "Tweet & Greet" with country musician Colt Ford on Twitter but refused to say if it was linked to the shooting, said the New York Daily News.

The National Rifle Association is the largest gun lobby group in the United States and is said to have a great deal of influence on Capitol Hill.

The NRA remains one of the largest civic organizations in the US with over four million members reported the New York Times.