NRA's 131st Meeting of Members
an Unqualified Success
Lee Greenwood
at the opening
ceremony |
"From my cold, dead hands!" |
Last week, 42,000 NRA members gathered in Reno, Nev., to attend
the Association's 131st Annual Meetings & Exhibits - a celebration of
fraternity, unity, and support for the nation's oldest and largest civil
rights organization.
The three-day event kicked off on Friday, April
26, with a moving opening ceremony - "A Day For Heroes" - that honored
several individuals, some posthumously, whose courageous actions in the
aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11 elevated them to hero
status. The opening ceremony also included stirring performances from
the Oak Ridge Boys and Lee Greenwood, as well as an appearance by
World
War II ace, Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, former South Dakota
Governor, and Past President of NRA
General Joe Foss.
And, of course,
NRA President Charlton Heston also addressed the crowd.
NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop |
Friday began with the NRA-ILA Grassroots Workshop. Hosted by your
NRA-ILA Grassroots Division, 350 NRA members heard from Grassroots'
staff about what they can do in their community to ensure that Election
Day 2002 is a resounding success for the Second Amendment and gun owners
across our great nation. Also discussed was how members can work with
their local Election Volunteer Coordinator (EVC) - about 25 of whom
attended the Workshop and Annual Meetings - to ensure pro-gun campaigns
have a steady stream of committed, pro-freedom volunteers to help with
their activities leading up to Election Day. In addition to hearing
from Grassroots Staff, attendees were treated to appearances by
NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre,
NRA First Vice President Kayne Robinson,
NRA Second Vice President Sandy Froman, and
NRA-ILA Executive Director James Jay Baker.
Fmr. ILA Director
James Jay Baker |
On Saturday, during the Meeting of Members, attendees heard from their
NRA Officers about the state of the Association, past successes, and
coming challenges. James Baker reminded NRA members that, although our
successes in the 2000 elections have led to a distinct change in the
political climate in Washington, D.C., the pro-gun community still has
many battles ahead. Baker cautioned that we must work to "recapture a
pro-gun majority in ... Congress," and he urged NRA members to "extend
our reach" by recruiting new NRA members, and taking as active a role in
defending our freedom as possible. "There are two kinds of people in
politics," Baker said, "participants and victims."
NRA Exec. VP
Wayne LaPierre |
Wayne LaPierre followed Baker, and NRA's EVP spoke of protecting all
our freedoms, especially as some seem so willing to sacrifice the
liberties secured by our Founding Fathers under the guise of combating
terrorism in the wake of 9/11. LaPierre said, "Within weeks [of 9/11],
the ailing gun-ban lobby was back, marketing terrorism as the new reason
to ban your guns. Led by Senators Dianne Feinstein, Charles
Schumer, Dick Durbin, Barbara Boxer, even
John McCain...these groups began painting a fictional picture
of wild-eyed terrorists equipping rogue armies through small town gun
shows in the heartland of America." He went on to say, "Leading the
pack is a new gun-ban group created by a former Handgun Control board
member, dot-com billionaire Andrew McKelvey, called 'Americans for Gun
Safety.'"
LaPierre closed by urging, "So when they ask you to sign over
some rights, you say this: The quality of freedom my ancestors bought
with their blood is not mine to squander. It's mine to preserve. You
just watch me. You tell them: I'm the NRA, and I'll fight for
freedom."
Sen. Zell Miller addresses
the Members' Banquet
|
During the Members Banquet on Saturday evening,
U.S. Senator Zell Miller (D-Ga.) was the keynote speaker,
and he brought the crowd to its
feet with his speech. Sen. Miller spoke of being a gun owner since he
was 12, an NRA Life Member, and a staunch supporter of our Right to Keep
and Bear Arms. He also rebuffed the gun-ban lobby formerly known as
HCI, which had put out a press release criticizing Sen. Miller for
"courting the NRA," and also claimed "NRA leadership does not represent
the views of mainstream Americans." Miller responded, saying, "Well, I
haven't courted anybody since my wife, Shirley, said, 'Yes' ... 48 years
ago. But I look around this room, and all I see is mainstream America!"
Please be sure to contact Sen. Miller and thank him for his support of
our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Sen. Miller can be reached by calling
(202) 224-3643.
(For complete transcripts of several of the speeches made during the
2002 Annual Meetings, please go to NRAILA.org, then select the section
called "Research," and then the link called "Speeches." You may also be
able to see these speeches replayed on C-Span-check your local listings,
or try http://inside.c-spanarchives.org:8080/cspan/cspan.csp?command=dschedule.)
Our thanks go out to everyone who helped to make this year's Annual
Meetings such a tremendous success. And we look forward to making next
year's event in Orlando, Fla., even more successful!
NRAWinningTeam's Special 2002 Annual Meeting Report
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