Democratic Party Leaders hope that their National Convention starting next Monday in Los Angeles, will help them convince voters to give the Clinton-Gore Administration a de facto third term by electing Al Gore in November. And while millions of gun owners will tune in to see if any new attacks on them are launched during the convention speeches, there will be much for the pro-Second Amendment community to look for in between the speeches as well. NRA will be running ads throughout convention week, featuring NRA President Charlton Heston asking why the national leadership of the Democratic Party has chosen to abandon law-abiding gun owners and support an all-out assault on our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. The ads will run both on television and in major newspapers. Some in the media are already attempting to label NRA’s ad campaign as an attack on all Democrats, even though NRA has always been a non-partisan organization. In fact, it is no secret that some of the most vocal supporters of gun owners in Congress are Democrats, like pro-gun stalwart U.S. Representative John Dingell (Mich.). Most recently, Dingell has called on the Clinton-Gore Administration to explain its lack of prosecutions of violent felons who have been caught violating federal gun laws (see FAX Alert Vol. 7, No. 31).
Earlier this year, another pro-gun Democrat, U.S. Representative Max Sandlin (D-Tex.), publicly criticized the Clinton-Gore gun policy when he told the Lufkin Daily News, "The administration is absolutely wrong on this issue. When they’re wrong, I refuse to support them." The true intent of NRA’s ad campaign is to expose how out of step the national bosses of the Democratic Party are with many Democrats -- especially those from rural areas. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre told the New York Times, "For the first time, you’re seeing a major wedge issue splitting the national party with its base in places like Michigan, West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Arkansas. My guess is that their (Democratic Party) polls show they are getting skewered in all those states."
U.S. Representative Ken Lucas, who is the sole Democrat from the Blue Grass State currently serving in the House of Representatives, told the Dow Jones International News that he would not vote for Al Gore at next week’s convention in LA. Lucas told the News he disagreed with Gore on a number of issues, including those involving firearms. "I’m for Second Amendment rights," he said, "[s]o we just have some major differences." If you are a pro-gun Democrat who does not agree with the apparent abandonment by the national leadership of your party, you can contact the Democratic National Committee at (202) 863-8000 to ask why the party bosses have targeted our Second Amendment rights for extinction.
Another ad that will run during next week’s Democratic Convention debuted during the Republican National Convention in Philadelphia. The ad, produced by the Hunting and Shooting Sports Heritage Foundation (HSSHF), is a moving tribute to the contribution firearms manufacturers have made to American history, and was created as a response to the reckless lawsuits filed by anti-gun big city mayors and greedy trial lawyers to destroy the firearms industry through the courts. The ad features the American flag being stripped of its Stars and Stripes, until all that remains is a white flag of surrender. HSSHF President and Chief Executive Officer Robert T. Delfay commented on the ad, saying it "pulls no punches in accusing certain elected officials of dismantling our most basic rights." Delfay went on to say, "But these self-important government officials are threatening the survival of a legitimate, traditional and responsible industry. We don’t think the American people want to see...any...responsible manufacturer forced out of business just to further the political ambition of a few big city mayors and their trial lawyer allies." NRA-ILA has established a link to this ad online in our "News & Releases" section at www.NRAILA.org.
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