The buyers were white and mostly men between ages 20 and 70
This is relevant how?
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030611/1028229.asp
NRA chief at book signing vows to try and ease gun control in state
By TOM BUCKHAM
News Staff Reporter
6/11/2003
ROBERT KIRKHAM/Buffalo News
The National Rifle Association is taking aim at New York State in its drive to give law-abiding citizens free access to guns, Wayne La-
Pierre, the organization's chief executive officer, said Tuesday during an appearance at Borders bookstore in Cheektowaga.
"Some politicians in Albany think New Yorkers don't support the Second Amendment. But our polls show overwhelming support. It's no different than the rest of the country," La-
Pierre said.
He spent more than three hours at the store signing copies of his latest book, "Guns, Freedom and Terrorism."
He called New York and California - another state in the NRA's crosshairs - "out of step with the rest of the country" because of gun controls in both places.
"Over the next few years, we'll be working from a legal standpoint to make the situation better," he vowed.
The nation's most visible gun rights advocate, now that Charlton Heston has retired as NRA president, LaPierre claimed there has been "an amazing turnaround" in Americans' support for gun ownership since George W. Bush succeeded Bill Clinton as president - and since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
"Thirty-five states now have the right to carry a firearm," he said. "I remember when we started, only six had a right-to-carry law."
There has been a similar reversal in Congress, where Republicans now control both the House and Senate, he added. He predicted the ban on assault rifles enacted in 1994 "will probably be allowed to sunset" and that lawsuits aimed at holding arms manufacturers responsible for gun violence will go nowhere.
LaPierre contended that leading Congressional Democrats don't dare oppose gun rights because so many rank-and-file party members side with the NRA. He accused Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Diane Feinstein of California of using "scare tactics" - claiming that terrorists are shopping for weapons at U.S. gun shows - to incite anti-gun fervor.
During the book signing, LaPierre talked with people who walked up to his table from a long line snaking through the aisles at the back of the store.
The buyers were white and mostly men between ages 20 and 70, although a number of women also held copies of LaPierre's book.
"A lot of Democrats are coming back to the Second Amendment," he told a man in line who looked to be in his 60s. "They grab you and say, "Look, Clinton is over.' "
The author, who was starting a three-day tour that will take him to Albany and several New England cities, also plugged the firearms museum at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Va.
"We've got guns that came over on the Mayflower down there," he said, "and some guns that were used at Lexington and Concord."
The NRA Web site describes LaPierre's 246-page book, with foreword by Rush Limbaugh, as "a critical look at those who try to destroy the Second Amendment behind the guise of fighting terrorism in America." By the time LaPierre left, all of the store's 250 copies were sold, a Borders spokesman said.
This is relevant how?
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030611/1028229.asp
NRA chief at book signing vows to try and ease gun control in state
By TOM BUCKHAM
News Staff Reporter
6/11/2003
ROBERT KIRKHAM/Buffalo News
The National Rifle Association is taking aim at New York State in its drive to give law-abiding citizens free access to guns, Wayne La-
Pierre, the organization's chief executive officer, said Tuesday during an appearance at Borders bookstore in Cheektowaga.
"Some politicians in Albany think New Yorkers don't support the Second Amendment. But our polls show overwhelming support. It's no different than the rest of the country," La-
Pierre said.
He spent more than three hours at the store signing copies of his latest book, "Guns, Freedom and Terrorism."
He called New York and California - another state in the NRA's crosshairs - "out of step with the rest of the country" because of gun controls in both places.
"Over the next few years, we'll be working from a legal standpoint to make the situation better," he vowed.
The nation's most visible gun rights advocate, now that Charlton Heston has retired as NRA president, LaPierre claimed there has been "an amazing turnaround" in Americans' support for gun ownership since George W. Bush succeeded Bill Clinton as president - and since the 2001 terrorist attacks.
"Thirty-five states now have the right to carry a firearm," he said. "I remember when we started, only six had a right-to-carry law."
There has been a similar reversal in Congress, where Republicans now control both the House and Senate, he added. He predicted the ban on assault rifles enacted in 1994 "will probably be allowed to sunset" and that lawsuits aimed at holding arms manufacturers responsible for gun violence will go nowhere.
LaPierre contended that leading Congressional Democrats don't dare oppose gun rights because so many rank-and-file party members side with the NRA. He accused Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer of New York and Diane Feinstein of California of using "scare tactics" - claiming that terrorists are shopping for weapons at U.S. gun shows - to incite anti-gun fervor.
During the book signing, LaPierre talked with people who walked up to his table from a long line snaking through the aisles at the back of the store.
The buyers were white and mostly men between ages 20 and 70, although a number of women also held copies of LaPierre's book.
"A lot of Democrats are coming back to the Second Amendment," he told a man in line who looked to be in his 60s. "They grab you and say, "Look, Clinton is over.' "
The author, who was starting a three-day tour that will take him to Albany and several New England cities, also plugged the firearms museum at NRA headquarters in Fairfax, Va.
"We've got guns that came over on the Mayflower down there," he said, "and some guns that were used at Lexington and Concord."
The NRA Web site describes LaPierre's 246-page book, with foreword by Rush Limbaugh, as "a critical look at those who try to destroy the Second Amendment behind the guise of fighting terrorism in America." By the time LaPierre left, all of the store's 250 copies were sold, a Borders spokesman said.