Thursday, October 09, 2008
NRA's take on the candidates, conservation, gun ownership
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association and Roanoke native, was in his hometown recently, affording me the opportunity to sit down with him and talk about the NRA’s take on the election. Here are his answers to my questions on the candidates, conservation, gun ownership and hunting:
Q. Sen. Obama has been working hard to convince sportsmen in Southwest Virginia that he won’t take away their rights to hunt and own firearms, yet the NRA sees him as a major threat to do just that. Why are you putting so much effort into defeating Obama?
A. Everything he has done in public life up to this point points to Sen. Obama not being a friend of the Second Amendment. Hillary Clinton, during the primary campaign, said that Americans couldn’t trust Sen. Obama with their guns. I think his record proves it. I know he is trying to say he is a Second Amendment supporter but it is just fog; it is just trying to confuse the voter. The truth is, based on his record, Sen. Obama is a tremendous threat to the freedom of American citizens to own firearms.
Q. Sen. McCain hasn’t always seen eye-to-eye with the NRA. Are you favoring him just because you think most anybody is better than Sen. Obama, or do see him as a solid supporter of the traditions that the NRA holds dear?
A. If you look at the two candidates, you have someone who almost always has been a supporter of the Second Amendment in Sen. McCain and someone that almost always has been an opponent of the Second Amendment in Sen. Obama. We have had our disagreements with Sen. McCain. But we would be foolish to overlook the vast areas of agreement where Sen. McCain has been a friend of sportsmen, a friend of gun owners and a friend of the Second Amendment. If you care about the Second Amendment, there is a huge difference between the record of Sen. McCain and the record of opposition of Sen. Obama.
Q. It seems most every election the NRA tells its supporters they are facing an epic battle to preserve the right to own guns. On a scale of one-to-ten how important is this one?
A. I think this may be the most important. But the truth is, they all are important. We are not crying wolf. These freedoms that we have are just words on paper unless we go out and defend them. The Second Amendment has been under attack by big media conglomerates, antigun politcians and antigun groups in this country that would like to ban Americans from owning firearms. The way we save our freedoms as American citizens is to make sure the politicians we elect will uphold the Second Amendment. There are more anti-Second Amendment advisors surrounding Sen. Obama than in any campaign I have seen for a long time.
Q. Who is the choice of the NRA in the race to represent Virginia in the U.S. Senate: Gilmore or. Warner?
A. You know, they are both good. We will be rating them both probably A+. They both have great records of support for the Second Amendment.
Q. Approximately how many races across the country is the NRA taking special interest in?
A. Probably about 7,500 in all. Out of that group there probably are 700 that are absolutely critical. Our job is to inform people around this country, who care about the Second Amend and guns and hunting, where the candidates stand. That is what we try to do -- a straight forward, honest analysis without letting party preference sway it one way or another.
Q. The American Hunters & Shooters Association claims that the NRA, in its fervor to pick pro-gun candidates, often endorse candidates who are opponents of conservation. How do you respond to that?
A. If you look at the history of the NRA, we have been involved in every hunting issue before the U.S. Congress; we have been involved on the side of hunters in every major hunting issue before the Department of the Interior; we have tried to keep public land open for hunting, we have tried to preserve access for sportsmen. We are proud of our record on behalf of American hunters and sportsmen. Most hunters and conservationists will look at it and say, “The NRA did the right thing.”
Q. In Gov. Palin you have a candidate who shoots, hunts and is an all-round outdoor participant and advocate. How positive is that in your view?
A. It is great that she hunts; it is great that she actually engages in shooting sports. It would be nice to have someone with that firsthand knowledge in office in Washington. I think one of her strengths is the fact that she connects with people. She is pretty normal. A lot of people underestimate her. You see a lot of political dishonesty in Washington; you see a lot of spin. I think the people want someone who is honest about the way they work and honest about the way they legislate. Sarah Palin has that type of track record in Alaska.
