From: SSAA, [EMAIL PROTECTED] It all starts with a bang Election-year activism plays prominent role on first day By TIM WHITMIRE BILL CHAPIN Staff Writers The National Rifle Association kicked off its annual meeting Friday with a shot of Big Apple razzle-dazzle and a hefty dose of political realism. In a Charlotte Convention Center meeting room, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre unveiled the group's glitzy new venture, a Times Square theme store dedicated to sport shooting. At the nearby Adam's Mark Hotel, a couple of hundred NRA die-hards gathered for crash courses in nitty-gritty, election-year activism. And thousands of NRA members crowded 170,000 square feet of exhibit space at the Convention Center, hefting handguns and sighting down rifle scopes, testing duck calls and air rifles, trying on hunting vests and electronic earplugs. James Kelly of Long Island, N.Y., was attending his ninth annual meeting in a decade and said he was impressed with the gathering. "There are a lot more people working a lot harder for the right to keep and bear arms," he said. "You don't see it in the exhibits, but it's evident in the conversations you have with people." As they entered the convention hall, visitors were encouraged to sign up to vote by signs reading, "Register to vote or register your gun." Workers were ready with voter registration forms for each of the 50 states - part of the NRA's get-out-the-vote effort. "November 7th, 2000, is ground zero, where we're going to determine if we're going to be successful for the next two or three decades or if we're going to have a tough row to hoe ahead of us," said Glen Caroline, director of the grass-roots division of the Institute for Legislative Action, the NRA's lobbying arm. The election's importance goes beyond the fact that the White House and both houses of Congress are up for grabs, Caroline said. The next president could nominate as many as three or four Supreme Court justices, while the state legislators elected this year will be in charge of redistricting the U.S. House of Representatives based on this year's census results. Chris Manthos oversees the NRA's effort to rally volunteers for sympathetic congressional candidates in 33 states. "Most candidates have enough money. What they need is volunteers," Manthos said. "Stuffing envelopes isn't a glorious job by any means, but those are the kinds of things that really matter." What the NRA wants, Manthos said, is for a candidate to wander into his campaign headquarters, ask a campaign manager who all the volunteers are and be told, "Those are NRA members." "When it comes time to make the tough vote, maybe he remembers that," Manthos said. George Neale of Spartanburg said political activism comes naturally to many NRA members. "A lot of the people that are in the NRA are veterans," said Neale, who served in Vietnam. "We fought for the Second Amendment, and we're not going to quit." A similar feistiness was evident as LaPierre announced the Times Square venture, a theme store called NRA Sports Blast. Though no guns will be sold, the New York store would put the NRA logo smack in the middle of a city with some of the nation's most restrictive gun laws. "Times Square is an American institution," LaPierre said. "It's the marketing center of the United States. I don't know a better place to showcase to the world the shooting sports." LaPierre said the shop will celebrate hunting and all forms of target shooting, with electronic shooting games and virtual trap and skeet and sporting clays. The store also will sell NRA Sports-logo outdoor and camping gear and will feature a restaurant serving wild game dishes. LaPierre declined to discuss the status of lease negotiations or a possible opening date for the store. He said he had not discussed the idea with any government officials, including New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who supports gun control. LaPierre, NRA President Charlton Heston (who appeared only on video at the opening celebration) and U.S. Rep. J.C. Watts, R-Okla., are to be the headliners today, as the NRA holds its annual meeting at 10 a.m., followed by an evening banquet at which Watts is the keynote speaker. Leaders of a coalition of NRA opponents gathered at the Great Aunt Stella Center on Friday afternoon to voice their disapproval of the organization and to set the stage for today's planned protests. Lisa Price, executive director and founder of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence, outlined her group's legislative efforts for this session. She said the group plans to seek General Assembly passage of bills establishing stricter controls over gun shows and requiring adults to keep firearms inaccessible, even in homes where children might only visit. "Any lunatic, any criminal can go to a gun show and buy these weapons," said Michael Barnes, a former congressman and president of Handgun Control Inc., who was in Charlotte to voice his objections to the convention. Price's group also plans to oppose a bill that would prevent N.C. cities from suing gun manufacturers. Protesters plan a series of events today to counter the NRA, capped by a march starting at 5:30 p.m. at St. Mary's Chapel and ending at the Great Aunt Stella Center. A silent vigil was held at Trade and Tryon streets uptown Friday evening. Grass Roots North Carolina, a group that works to maintain free access to firearms, plans its own march this morning to express solidarity with the NRA. Marchers are to go from First Ward Park to the Convention Center in three waves beginning at 8 a.m. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Reach Tim Whitmire at (704) 358-5046 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] Staff writer Jon Goldberg contributed to this article. -------[Cybershooters contacts]-------- Editor: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Website & subscription info: www.cybershooters.org
