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On Friday, National Rifle Association leaders, speaking at the first NRA convention since the Newtown school massacre, heavily criticized the anti-gun lobby for misdirected hysterics. Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action said “Our freedom is under attack like never before … when a deranged criminal murders innocent children, they blame us.”
The speaker stressed that it was time to stop demonizing law abiding gun owners for violent acts committed by a handful of mentally unstable criminals.
Following the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Connecticut, the anti-gun lobby became vocal and a national debate is currently taking place on new gun laws. The war is being fought in backrooms of legislatures, between lawmakers at every level, and at courts. Several states including New York have already adopted stricter gun laws, while others have failed to pass such measures.
Last month, a proposal backed by President Barack Obama asking for stricter background checks for gun purchases failed to gain tract against heavy opposition from the NRA and its allies. Speaking on that issue, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, thanked those who opposed the background checks proposal and said, “That’s your victory … It’s the victory of the American people.”
The Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, however warned that the fight was not over, because supporters of the ‘background checks’ proposal have vowed not to give up.
Cruz went on to air a challenge to Vice President Joe Biden (who was not present at the convention and is a supporter of the proposal for mandatory background checks of gun owners) to engage with him in a debate over stopping crime. He said, “If he believes the answer to violent crime is not prosecuting felons and fugitives, not prosecuting gun crimes, but going after the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens, I would like to invite the vice president to engage in an hour-long conversation and debate.”
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Texas Governor Rick Perry came on stage following a video showing him shooting a gun. Perry said, “Someone clearly impaired, filled with hate, commits a horrific crime … in the wake of these tragedies, you can almost set your watch by how long it takes for people who hate guns, hate gun owners to begin another campaign to add a new set of federal gun laws on the books.”
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre emphasized that gun owners were law abiding citizens like teachers, firefighters, volunteers, moms and regular taxpayers. He said, “The media and political elites can lie about us and demonize us all they want, but that won’t stop us … We are Americans, we are proud of it and we are going to defend our freedom.”
The NRA expects at least 70, 000 attendees at the convention at Houston, Texas.
