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NRA gathering in Phoenix this weekend
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When tens of thousands of gun rights activists, collectors, target shooters and hunters – all members of the National Rifle Association – descend on the Phoenix, Ariz. Convention Center this weekend, it could be a pretty rambunctious gathering.
American gun owners, many of whom voted for Democrat Barack Obama because they wanted “change,” are apparently now suffering from “buyer’s remorse.” The evidence is there in the sharp increase in NRA membership renewals and applications, combined with a frenzy of gun and ammunition buying since last November’s election.
The NRA is an organization that historically fights best from circled wagons. Right now, gun owner fear about a Democrat-controlled Congress and Oval Office has those wagons circled tightly, waiting for attack.
So far, however, instead of a full frontal assault on the Second Amendment, the administration has been poking at the perimeter defenses, one trial balloon at a time. Administration officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, have discussed taking measures against so-called “assault weapons,” exploiting the violent drug war in Northern Mexico.
The administration chose not to appeal an order from federal Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly, a Bill Clinton appointee, which stopped the National Park Service from implementing a rule change that would allow concealed carry in national parks. (The NRA injected itself into the lawsuit as a defendant, and the ruling is now on appeal.) Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate just adopted a measure by a lopsided 67-29 vote, which could transform the new regulation into a federal law.
Extremist anti-gun Sen. Frank Lautenberg has introduced legislation aimed at regulating gun shows out of business, and equally-rabid Sen. Dianne Feinstein made it clear to a national audience on CBS’ 60 Minutes that she is waiting in the tall grass to launch an effort to renew the ban on semi-auto sport-utility rifles. Richard Aborn, formerly head of Handgun Control and now running for public office in New York, is ranting for a ban on semi-autos.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi let slip on Good Morning America that she would like to see guns registered.
But they, and the administration, have been put on notice by scores of House Democrats that gun control legislation will face stiff opposition on Capitol Hill.
So, what’s going on here? Has the NRA been making much ado about nothing? Is the organization stirring up the troops just for the sake of saber-rattling?
Actually, quite the contrary; the NRA – along with other gun rights groups – is on a “war footing,” and the Beltway establishment knows it. We essentially have a political stalemate on guns. It is not an ideal situation, but presumably it is better than all-out political warfare.
Were it not for the NRA and other vocal gun rights groups – notably the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and Gun Owners of America – keeping the heat on Congress, who seriously believes there would be widespread private gun ownership today in the United States? Without gun rights activism, what would prevent a hostile administration from rolling over the Second Amendment? Good intentions? Wishful thinking?
Without the political clout of the NRA and the so-called “gun lobby,” which is made up of a cross-section of American citizens – police officers, school teachers, doctors, attorneys, housewives, soldiers, sailors, truck drivers, pilots, politicians, actors and even some journalists who snuck in – who really thinks a contingent of House Democrats would be telling this administration to forget about new gun control measures?
Sure, NRA has made some mistakes, lost some fights and occasionally left some gun owners disappointed. But where would the Second Amendment be without the NRA? A footnote in the history books, perhaps?
If you’re headed to Phoenix, exhibit hall hours are 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday. There’s a free concert Friday night at the Convention Center. The annual members’ meeting begins at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Here's what other Gun Rights Examiners are saying today:
For more info: National Rifle Association
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