ThinkProgress filed this report from Pittsburgh, PA at the NRA’s annual convention.
President Obama has repeatedly said, while campaigning for the White House, and as president, that he firmly supports Americans’ right to own guns. As recently as last March, the subject came up during a press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon because of the large flow of American-made weapons going to drug cartels there. “I believe in the Second Amendment,” Obama said. “It does provide for Americans the right to bear arms for their protection, for their safety, for hunting, for a wide range of uses.”
Yet, the National Rifle Association instructs its members not to believe Obama’s words. Based on interviews ThinkProgress conducted with NRA members at the group’s annual conference in Pittsburgh this weekend, their strategy is working quite well:
ThinkProgress also talked to gun industry CEOs Ronnie Barrett and Pete Brownell, who are both on the NRA’s board of directors (listen to clips of the interviews here and here). Predictably, Barrett and Brownell said they don’t think Obama believes in the Second Amendment, but they couldn’t offer any evidence to support that view.
Even though gun regulations have actually loosened since Obama took office, Brownell wasn’t buying it. “I wouldn’t argue that,” he said. And when asked for specific pieces of legislation that have restricted gun rights, Brownell paused and then simply said, “The NRA has done a great job making America aware of what legislators are trying to do in banning firearms.”
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