Baltimore mayor apparently thinks the NRA supports private ownership of rocket launchers — and she's fundraising off it

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh (D) apparently believes that the National Rifle Association advocates for the personal use and ownership of rocket launchers, if one of her recent tweets is to be believed.

As a result, social media users mocked Pugh mercilessly over her assertion.

What's more, however, is that the Pugh campaign has sent out an email using the claim to fundraise.

Say what?

The Baltimore Police Department's latest gun buyback program — which is intended to reduce the number of unregistered weapons on the city's streets — turned up a rocket launcher.

An actual rocket launcher.

Guidelines for the buyback included $25 for high-capacity magazines, $100 for revolvers and bolt-action or pump-action weapons, and $200 for semi-automatic weapons, according to the Baltimore Sun. The city also offered $500 for fully automatic weapons.

The rocket launcher reportedly fetched $500, though it wasn't fully automatic.

One of items taken in by Baltimore's gun buyback program--what appears to be spent surplus rocket launcher. Waiting to hear how much city paid for it pic.twitter.com/XQsr67repg
— Jayne Miller (@jemillerwbal) December 19, 2018

Pugh was apparently unable to contain her glee — or disgust — that such a weapon had turned up at the department's buyback event.

On Twitter, Pugh wrote, "As of today we removed over 1800 guns and 1 rocket launcher from the streets of #Baltimore. And yet the @NRA thinks somehow rocket launchers are good for Baltimore. Perhaps a name change is in order: The National Rocket Association. @Everytown."

As of today we removed over 1800 guns and 1 rocket launcher from the streets of #Baltimore. And yet the @NRA thinks somehow rocket launchers are good for Baltimore. Perhaps a name change is in order: The National Rocket Association. @Everytown
— Mayor Catherine Pugh (@MayorPugh50) December 22, 2018

What else?

Just a day before Pugh made her tweet about the NRA and rocket launchers, Baltimore Sun reporter Justin Fenton published an email about the gun buyback program.

Sharing a copy of the fundraising mailer, Fenton wrote, "Mayor Pugh's campaign is touting the $500 the city paid for an inoperable rocket launcher during the gun buyback event and is using it to raise election money."

Mayor Pugh's campaign is touting the $500 the city paid for an inoperable rocket launcher during the gun buyback event and is using it to raise election money pic.twitter.com/xTsgAcgiFu
— Justin Fenton (@justin_fenton) December 21, 2018

TheBlaze has found zero evidence that the NRA endorses, encourages, or otherwise advocates private ownership or use of rocket launchers by civilians.