Bob Barr

It's the anti-gun people who are nuts
Mainstream Americans go to the NRA convention

A recent editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution almost gleefully proclaimed that the influence of the National Rifle Association was waning. The newspaper cited as evidence a recent vote in the U.S. Senate that had gone against the association.

Well, now, there's a real piece of deductive reasoning. I suppose the same editorial writer would conclude that Planned Parenthood was on its last leg if it lost a vote in Congress to the pro-life movement, or vice versa.

I wonder what the anti-NRA editorial writers would say if a single one in their group had attended the NRA's recent 133rd annual convention, from which I just returned. Perhaps the title of the story would be, "Fewer attend NRA convention than live in New York City!" Fact is, they'd have a difficult time coming up with an anti-NRA headline if they actually wrote an accurate story about the convention.

You see, notwithstanding that there are more people in New York City, this year's Pittsburgh NRA convention set an attendance record. Over the course of the convention's weekend-long run, more than 61,000 people visited the booths, workshops and meetings. And, unlike at recent rallies in American cities "celebrating" sports teams' victories, there wasn't a single act of violence, not a single arrest, no wild drinking or drug-induced demonstrations. It simply was an example of thousands of Americans coming together to share stories, look at the latest wares from sporting companies, see friends, listen to political leaders and have a good time.

Come to think of it, I suppose that's precisely why the convention generated so little attention from the so-called mainstream media. And it's also precisely why the convention gives the lie to the premature obituaries that represent the prejudices of so many in the media.

Care to hazard a guess as to the most popular seminar during the convention? If that question were posed to someone from one of America's larger circulation newspapers, it probably would be answered with a snide comment about "assault weapons" or "Saturday night specials." Actually, the most popular seminar happened to be one conducted by my fellow NRA board member Ted Nugent. Ted is popular among grassroots Americans because he is an avid environmentalist and protector of America's wetlands, forests and wildlife. He is a hunter and quite an excellent one at that. But he consumes what he hunts. He hunts responsibly. And he understands the positive relationship between hunting and protecting wildlife and wildlife habitats. He's done more to tangibly protect America's wildlife and open spaces than any 10 major anti-gun advocates.

Wonder who received the loudest standing ovation at the business meeting of the NRA's board of directors? No, it wasn't some deranged "gun nut" (to begin with, there are none of those on the board). It was a Virginia middle-school student. This young man was the plaintiff in a lawsuit last year, in which he successfully argued that his school violated his First Amendment right to free speech when it told him he couldn't wear an "NRA Summer Camp" T-shirt.

What made this case particularly interesting is that the ACLU and the NRA joined forces to defend the student's constitutional rights. The case, and the strange bedfellows it spawned, didn't make many headlines. That's probably because it didn't fit the prejudices of many in the media who think the NRA is a fringe organization, or maybe because those same folks know in their heart that the NRA is not a fringe organization but rather decidedly mainstream.

The mainstream nature of the NRA's membership -- nearly 4 million -- was evident throughout this convention as it has been at every other NRA convention. It is evidenced in that its members vote in larger percentages than the population at large, and they are unashamedly patriotic and religious. They work hard. They put their hand over their heart when the flag passes by. They respect our leaders (even if they don't agree with every policy), and they support those who defend our shores and our communities.

There was no vitriol or shouting at the convention -- except, that is, by the handful of anti-NRA demonstrators who gathered outside the hall to protest a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney.

Speaking of the vice president's visit, because of the security that always attends such a visit, the start of the dinner at the convention was delayed more than an hour. Can you imagine what would happen if the patrons at a major sports event or concert were kept waiting for an hour? Can you say the word "riot"?

Yet, at the NRA convention, with thousands waiting an hour for the dinner hall to open after the vice president's speech, there was no violence, no shouting, no fight, no banging on the doors. But then, I suppose good manners and patience, well in evidence at the NRA convention, are not the stuff of headlines.

Former U.S. Rep. Bob Barr is a frequent commentator on political and social issues and the chairman of the American Conservative Union Foundation's 21st Century Center for Privacy and Freedom