From: Rusty�Bullethole, [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Gun law protest backfires
FROM DAMIAN WHITWORTH IN NEW YORK
A SURGE in support for tighter gun control laws has
resulted in record numbers joining the National Rifle
Association, America's most powerful pro-gun group.
The NRA has seen membership leap to a record 3.6 million
after 200,000 people joined in the past six weeks, apparently
in response to renewed public support for gun control, which
culminated in last week's Million Mom March in Washington.
While there may be popular support for stricter gun control
in the wake of a string of school shootings, those on the other
side of the debate have also hardened their stance.
The NRA, which opposes calls to license gun owners and to
register weapons, has countered with a huge television advertising
campaign. In one advert, Charlton Heston, the actor and NRA
president, as good as called President Clinton a liar.
A new legion of gun owners rallied to the cause and $10
million (L6.7 million) poured into the organisation's coffers for
use in defending what the organisation sees as attacks on its
members' constitutional rights.
Despite much publicity for those who support what are in
reality relatively moderate changes to gun laws, the power of the
NRA should not be underestimated. "The NRA is the most influential
single-issue lobbying group in America," Brian Morton, of the
campaign group Handgun Control, told USA Today. A Bill to require
checks on those who buy firearms at gun shows is stalled in Congress
because of the entrenched opposition of NRA supporters.
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