The NRA had a convention this weekend. Let’s look at how the press covered it:

The AP:

While gun-control groups acknowledge the NRA’s influence in government, those activists say the NRA is out of step with most Americans.

“Unfortunately it’s because they have a ton of money and they do a very good job with their propaganda,” said Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

Guess they didn’t get the memo that most Americans have a favorable view of the NRA. And, of course, the Brady Campaign is the king of propaganda and lies. Despite the NRA’s rhetoric on guns, they (unlike the Bradies) have never lied about them to my knowledge.

Houston Chronicle:

With nearly 4 million members and millions of dollars to donate to political campaigns, many lawmakers and other observers say the NRA is the most powerful lobbying group in Washington.

I thought that was the AARP? KVIA comments that Political left verbal target for NRA at convention. The Houston Chronicle notes some jabs at liberals too. Actually, they’re targets are people who are anti-gun. The NRA has supported people like Reid and Dean.

And the latest political bogeyman, Tom DeLay, was there. That’s what everyone is telling us. Apparently, DeLay went there to seek shelter.

DeLay also noted the gun debate is overheated and gun folks should be nice to anti-gun folks. And DeLay went there to duck his ethics controversy. Apparently, this ethics controversy also afflicts every other member of Congress.

Leave our guns alone. This quote’s pretty funny:

But Eric Howard, a spokesman for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, said he doesn’t think the NRA speaks for most Americans when it comes to gun control in the United States.

“It’s an organization that refuses to take any reasonable measure to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and children,” he said.

Really? You mean like supporting background checks and hosting a program to teach kids about guns? I think Eddie Eagle has saved more children than the Brady Bunch.

And the LA Times, being surprisingly non-hysterical about the assault weapons ban, notes that the industry has changed a lot since the expiration of the assault weapons ban:

The 60,000 people expected this weekend at the National Rifle Assn. convention will find that a cottage industry has sprung up since they last met.

Gun companies are offering to beef up firearms by adding high-tech accouterments and high-capacity ammunition clips — accessories that were outlawed in certain combinations until Congress let the assault weapons ban expire in the fall.

And this is unbelievable because it appears in the LA Times:

Critics of the gun industry say assault weapons are too powerful to allow civilians to own them. They say they can be deadly in the wrong hands, believe they helped fuel gang violence in recent years and say there is no reason that hunters need to carry such potent firearms.

But thousands are sold each year — there are about 2 million circulating in the United States — and they hold a special allure for some gun aficionados.

That’s partly because of their practical attributes. They are lightweight and increasingly accurate, which helps in shooting competitions. Because many are built to military standards, they are considered durable and able to withstand harsh weather conditions.

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said the public had no reason to be concerned with changes in the marketplace of weaponry, and he dismissed the devices as cosmetic.

“None of these affect the performance capability of a firearm,” he said. “They only affect the way the firearm looks.”

Posted in uncategorized on April 18th, 2005 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |