NRA Backers Grapple with Terrorist Threat

Josey1

Monday Oct. 1, 2001; 10:30 a.m. EDTNRA Backers Grapple with Terrorist ThreatMore than fifteen hundred gun rights supporters meeting at a New York hotel Sunday had a message for terrorists who may be planning another attack on America: Next time your victims might be armed and able to defend themselves.Headliners of the event, sponsored by The Sportsman's Association for Firearms Education and billed as "The 2001 Right to Carry Conference," included staunch Second Amendment backer Georgia Rep. Bob Barr and Prof. John Lott Jr., author of "More Guns, Less Crime."Also addressing the standing-room-only crowd: NRA officials Kayne Robinson and Sandy Froman, Kevin Watson of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America and Suzanna Gratia Hupp, the Texas state representative who became a gun rights activist after witnessing the murder of her parents by a guntoting madman who killed 23 at a Killeen, Texas restaurant in 1991.While some of Washington's political elite want to restrict Second Amendment rights and other Constitutional guarantees in response to the murder of 6,000 U.S. citizens, the Melville, New York gathering was warned that this was no time to disarm America in the battle against terrorism."We need to be very, very skeptical," about restrictions being planned in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Rep. Barr warned. "It will be very difficult to fight against these new proposals, because they're being touted as they were (after the Oklahoma City bombing) as anti-terrorist proposals."The Georgia conservative said that without public resistance, his congressional colleagues could be stampeded into backing harsh new legislation "because they're afraid of being portrayed as being in favor of terrorists."Barr was also critical of ex-President Clinton's attempts to make political hay out of the Twin Towers atrocity."It was bad enough to see Clinton after the (National Cathedral memorial service) hogging TV time. He just parked himself right on the steps as everybody was leaving where he knew the cameras would be focused on him. And he just stood there and shook hands and glad-handed like it was a campaign event, for heaven sakes."Thank God these terrorist attacks didn't happen under the Clinton administration," Barr added.Prof. Lott cited a little publicized aspect of Israel's response to terrorism, and suggested America would do well to follow their example."A few years ago, after a wave of terrorist attacks, Israel's national police chief called on all concealed (carry) permit holders to carry their firearms at all times," he told the crowd. "The Israelis realize that the police simply can't be there at all times to protect people from terrorists."Lott urged the NRA to educate Americans to the fact that restrictive gun laws actually increase crime and cost hundreds of lives each year.A living testament to Lott's point is Rep. Gratia-Hupp, who recounted the day her parents were shot to death in a Texas restaurant as she looked on helplessly -- with her own gun laying useless in the family's car just one hundred feet away.A Texas gun control law, since repealed, made it illegal for Gratia-Hupp to carry the weapon that might have saved her parents' lives into the building.She warned that all the security in the world was no substitute for a public able to defend itself, and underscored the point with a startling anecdote.Displaying a small pen knife, she told the crowd, "Flying up here this weekend I went through two security checkpoints with this in my purse. It's got about an inch-and-a-half real sharp blade on it. Doesn't that make you feel safe?"The NRA's Sandy Froman echoed Gratia-Hupp's sentiments:"The next time someone tells you that the militia referred to in the Second Amendment has been superseded by the National Guard, ask them who it was who prevented United Airlines Flight 93 from reaching it's target.""Those brave souls did what they could," she added. "But because they were unarmed, all they could do was crash that plane so more people wouldn't die. Think what they might have been able to do had they been armed."Froman's NRA colleague Kayne Robinson talked about the kind of national response necessary to deter future acts of terrorism."Real security against attacks by state sponsored terrorists lies in the knowledge by those states that they will be totally destroyed if they attack us..... The cost must be so great that no one will ever forget: a cost with the mental impact of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden."S.A.F.E. President John Cushman reminded those who want to blame firearms for America's violence, "The largest mass murder in American history was just committed without the use of a single gun.... Twenty thousand gun laws couldn't have prevented the Twin Tower massacre."The L.E.A.A.'s Kevin Watson warned, "You can't take measures like authorizing the military to shoot down aircraft if you won't allow pilots to shoot down terrorists." Watson also noted that since the events of Sept. 11, Handgun Control, Inc. has announced it was laying off 20 percent of its staff due to declining interest in gun control.Also on hand was Republican Alan Skorski, who hopes to unseat Congress' number one gun control advocate Carolyn McCarthy. McCarthy was catapulted into politics after her husband was shot to death in 1993's Long Island Railroad massacre.But Skorsky said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have changed the political landscape in a way that may make McCarthy politically vulnerable in 2002."The Democratic Leadership counsel no longer wants to ignore the 80 million gun owners in this country," he told NewsMax.com."Some House members are now softening their position. Carolyn McCarthy is one of those people.... When she won on election night 1994, she said, 'Tonight I defeated the NRA.' I want to hear her come out and say, 'I was wrong. I apologize for demonizing gun owners for the last six years.'" http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/10/1/93417

Josey1

NRA Backers Grapple With Terrorist ThreatMore than 1,500 gun rights supporters meeting at a New York hotel Sunday had a message for terrorists who may be planning another attack on America: Next time your victims might be armed and able to defend themselves.Headliners of the event, sponsored by The Sportsman's Association for Firearms Education (S.A.F.E.) and billed as "The 2001 Right to Carry Conference," included staunch Second Amendment backer Georgia Rep. Bob Barr and Prof. John Lott Jr., author of "More Guns, Less Crime."Also addressing the standing-room-only crowd: NRA officials Kayne Robinson and Sandy Froman, Kevin Watson of the Law Enforcement Alliance of America (L.E.A.A.) and Suzanna Gratia Hupp, the Texas state representative who became a gun rights activist after witnessing the murder of her parents by a gun-toting madman who killed 23 at a Killeen, Texas, restaurant in 1991.While some of Washington's political elite want to restrict Second Amendment rights and other constitutional guarantees in response to the murder of over 6,000 people at the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the Melville, N.Y., gathering was warned that this is no time to disarm America."We need to be very, very skeptical" about restrictions being planned in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Rep. Barr warned. "It will be very difficult to fight against these new proposals, because they're being touted as they were [after the Oklahoma City bombing] as anti-terrorist proposals."The Georgia conservative said that without public resistance, his congressional colleagues could be stampeded into backing harsh new legislation "because they're afraid of being portrayed as being in favor of terrorists."Barr was also critical of ex-President Clinton's attempts to make political hay out of the Twin Towers atrocity."It was bad enough to see Clinton after the [National Cathedral memorial service] hogging TV time. He just parked himself right on the steps as everybody was leaving, where he knew the cameras would be focused on him. And he just stood there and shook hands and glad-handed like it was a campaign event, for heaven sakes."Thank God these terrorist attacks didn't happen under the Clinton administration," Barr added.Prof. Lott cited a little-publicized aspect of Israel's response to terrorism and suggested America would do well to follow Israel's example."A few years ago, after a wave of terrorist attacks, Israel's national police chief called on all concealed [carry] permit holders to carry their firearms at all times," he told the crowd. "The Israelis realize that the police simply can't be there at all times to protect people from terrorists."Lott urged the NRA to educate Americans to the fact that restrictive gun laws actually increase crime and cost hundreds of lives each year.A living testament to Lott's point is Rep. Hupp, who recounted the day her parents were shot to death in a Texas restaurant as she looked on helplessly - with her own gun lying useless in the family's car just 100 feet away.A Texas gun control law, since repealed, made it illegal for Hupp to carry the weapon, which might have saved the lives of not only her parents but also 21 other people, into the building.She warned that all the security in the world was no substitute for a public able to defend itself, and she underscored the point with a startling anecdote.Displaying a small penknife, she told the crowd, "Flying up here this weekend I went through two security checkpoints with this in my purse. It's got about an inch-and-a-half real sharp blade on it. Doesn't that make you feel safe?"The NRA's Sandy Froman echoed Hupp's sentiments:"The next time someone tells you that the militia referred to in the Second Amendment has been superseded by the National Guard, ask them who it was who prevented United Airlines Flight 93 from reaching its target.""Those brave souls did what they could," she added. "But because they were unarmed, all they could do was crash that plane so more people wouldn't die. Think what they might have been able to do had they been armed."Froman's NRA colleague Kayne Robinson talked about the kind of national response necessary to deter future acts of terrorism."Real security against attacks by state-sponsored terrorists lies in the knowledge by those states that they will be totally destroyed if they attack us. ... The cost must be so great that no one will ever forget - a cost with the mental impact of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden."S.A.F.E. President John Cushman reminded those who want to blame firearms for America's violence, "The largest mass murder in American history was just committed without the use of a single gun. ... Twenty thousand gun laws couldn't have prevented the Twin Towers massacre."The L.E.A.A.'s Kevin Watson warned, "You can't take measures like authorizing the military to shoot down aircraft if you won't allow pilots to shoot down terrorists." Watson also noted that since the events of Sept. 11, Handgun Control Inc. has announced it is laying off 20 percent of its staff due to declining interest in gun control.Also on hand was Republican Alan Skorski, who hopes to unseat Congress' No. 1 gun control advocate, Carolyn McCarthy. McCarthy was catapulted into politics after her husband was shot to death in 1993's Long Island Railroad massacre.But Skorsky said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have changed the political landscape in a way that may make McCarthy politically vulnerable in 2002."The Democratic Leadership Council no longer wants to ignore the 80 million gun owners in this country," he told NewsMax.com."Some House members are now softening their position. Carolyn McCarthy is one of those people. ... When she won on election night 1994, she said, 'Tonight I defeated the NRA.' I want to hear her come out and say, 'I was wrong. I apologize for demonizing gun owners for the last six years.'" http://www.newsmax.com/showinsidecover.shtml?a=2001/10/1/93417