NRA Bump
Posted on 04/13/2004 4:43:41 PM PDT by MissTargets
NRA to draw crowds and protesters Vice President Cheney expected to speak at this week's convention Monday, April 12, 2004
By Michael A. Fuoco, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The National Rifle Association annual convention, beginning Friday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, will offer an array of events and activities to an expected 60,000 attendees, the largest turnout in the organization's 133 years.
Among the events for the convention itself, which runs from Friday through Sunday -- the NRA board of directors also will meet here April 19-20 -- are the annual member meeting; sessions on carrying concealed weapons, gun collecting, women's wilderness wear and hunting in Africa; a game-calling competition; and "God, Guns & Rock 'n' Roll" with rocker and NRA board member Ted Nugent.
The highlight of the convention will be the members' banquet Saturday night at which Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to be the keynote speaker, although that has yet to be confirmed by either the vice president's office or the NRA. The grand ballroom has been sold out and tickets for a satellite broadcast in the main banquet hall are quickly reaching that point, said NRA Public Affairs Director Andrew Arulanandam.
The Exhibit Hall, which is open to current NRA members and those who join at the site, will offer "one of the largest and best displays of firearms, accessories and related items in the country," according to the convention Web site, www.nraam.org.
Among the convention's other attractions will be an NRA store selling fraternal items, sportswear, handbooks and reprint series. There also will be an air-gun range in Rooms 315/316 with a $1 fee for five shots.
And the convention will precipitate one more activity: protest.
A coalition of Pittsburgh organizations, Confluence Against Gun Violence, formed in response to the NRA coming here, will stage a teach-in Thursday at the William Pitt Union at the University of Pittsburgh; there will be a candlelight vigil to remember victims of gun violence Friday evening outside the convention center; and a rally and concert there Saturday evening, coinciding with the NRA members' banquet. The events outside the convention center are being staged with city permits.
Nathaniel Glosser, president of the Rosenberg Institute for Peace & Justice, reiterated previous statements that there are "absolutely no plans to interfere with their proceedings. We have peaceful and permitted actions planned."
He predicted that the Saturday night rally will be the largest the NRA has ever encountered at its convention, estimating more than 1,000 participants.
Arulanandam said the NRA has no problem with the coalition's activities "as long as everything is done in a peaceful and law-abiding manner. We will hold their feet to the fire, making sure they hold true to their word.
"They're exercising their First Amendment rights. We hope they respect our right to exercise our First Amendment right in support of the Second Amendment," he said.
"Our problem isn't with the NRA membership," Glosser said. "We believe most of the membership are peaceful people who use firearms responsibly.
"Our problem is with the leadership of the NRA, their policies with promoting violence by blocking almost every single attempt to keep guns out of the hands of children, criminals and the mentally ill. And our problem is with the racist and bigoted attitudes many of them display."
The NRA has repeatedly denied such charges. In an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette last week, NRA Chief Executive Officer Wayne LaPierre said there is common ground between the two groups -- wanting to keep guns out of the hands of children, the mentally ill and criminals.
Regarding children, the NRA believes avoidance education is the key, not legislation. The NRA, in conjunction with the Allegheny County sheriff's office, will present the NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe Program at five elementary schools in the county this week.
And as for guns in the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, the NRA again is opposed to additional legislation, pushing instead for strict enforcement of laws already on the books, LaPierre said.
LaPierre and Arulanandam said that convention sites are chosen five to six years in advance and there was no political consideration in staging the convention during a presidential year in a state lost in 2000 by George W. Bush, the NRA's endorsed candidate that year.
The NRA's political action committee will meet in September to endorse a candidate but LaPierre came just short of saying that it won't be Democrat John Kerry.
Pittsburgh was chosen because "the area is very friendly to firearms owners and hunters and sportsmen," Arulanandam said. LaPierre noted that 1 million NRA members, roughly one-fourth of its membership, live within 300 miles of Pittsburgh.
Arulanandam said the turnout for conventions has been continually climbing but the Pittsburgh gathering should surpass last year's meeting in Orlando by nearly 10,000 attendees.
"I would say it's a sign that the membership is excited, and the firearms owners and hunters are getting ready for an election year," he said.
"I think anyone who is paying attention will understand that now, more than ever, people value their freedom and they value their Second Amendment rights."
NRA Bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.