NRA meets in Pittsburgh

For the past 132 years, the National Rifle Association has gathered yearly to discuss issues involving guns and gun ownership and to look at the latest in weapons and related technology.
The 133rd NRA Annual Meeting, held through today, is no different.
Displayed inside the beautiful and spacious David L. Lawrence Convention Center along the banks of the Allegheny River in downtown Pittsburgh, the annual NRA meeting is a gun enthusiast's dream come true.
Row upon row of manufacturer's booths display the latest from the likes of Beretta, Smith & amp; Wesson, Mossberg, Browning, Winchester, Federal, Charter Arms, Taurus, Colt, Buck, Swarovski and too many more to list.
Main purpose
The main purpose of the convention is a gathering of members in support of the organization as well as its fight on several fronts, including support of the Second Amendment and the coming presidential election.
It was in support of those topics that the NRA was touting at this convention its entry into the news business.
Friday saw the online launching of NRANews.com, a Web site offering news and talk that the NRA says it and its members can't get with mainstream news organizations.
Promoted as "Freedom's Last Channel of Communication," NRANews.com offers "a free-speech round table of political conversation with NRA leaders, newsmakers, authors, lawmakers, journalists and other guests as well as live, late-breaking news about your Second Amendment rights," according to Wayne LaPierre, the organization's executive vice president and one of the show's first guests Friday.
I was able to speak with LaPierre briefly as he made his way to the NRANews.com show. He said he was pleased with the show so far and was confident that the projected 60,000 attendance figure would be matched with ease.
"If they had not built this center, we couldn't have come here," he said. The center was recently revamped and reopened to convention business.
NRANews.com's importance
The debut of NRANews.com was important at the convention because of the proximity of the organization's membership to this site.
"Within 300 miles of this site there are more than 1 million NRA members," said Kelly W. Hobbes, manager of the NRA's Institute of Legislative Action. "That's a quarter of our membership."
Additionally, she said, Pennsylvania has the second largest number of NRA members; only California has more.
Hobbes was at the Pittsburgh show helping to coordinate media access and events. "We're expecting this to be the biggest convention we've ever had," she said.
Hobbes explained that it was important to the NRA to get feedback and opinion from its vast membership.
"We definitely try to listen to all our members, and we keep the lines of communication open," she said. However, she added, "With 4 million members, that can be difficult. It is hard to please everyone."
NRANews.com is one way that the NRA is attempting to keep in contact with its current membership as well as reach out to others who share its viewpoint.
A large staff
At its disposal, she said, the NRA has a large staff. "We have 500 people at our headquarters [in Fairfax, Va.,] and a very extensive grass-roots division and network," she said. "And the ILA helps to communicate with members in their areas."
Hobbes, who enjoys dove hunting and traveled to Argentina last year on her honeymoon to go hunting, said that the diversity of the NRA is one of its strengths. "Our members come from all walks of life; Republicans and Democrats, union members to manager," she said. "It is a real diverse voting bloc."
She said the power of the NRA can be felt on election day on specific issues, most importantly issues involving the Second Amendment.
The 2000 presidential election was one example she gave, citing the fact that overwhelmingly Democratic West Virginia gave its votes to now-president George Bush instead of then-vice president Al Gore. "NRA members pushed a Democrat state to Bush," she said, mainly on the strength of Second Amendment issues.
Battleground state
What made this convention all that much more important as well, she said, was the fact that Pennsylvania is expected to be a battleground state come this fall.
Sen. John Kerry, the projected candidate for the Democrats, is married to Teresa Heinz Kerry, a prominent name in Pittsburgh.
"So it is a nice coincidence to be here, in a presidential battleground," she said.
One of the highlights of the convention was an appearance Saturday night by Vice President Dick Cheney, who addressed the convention's annual members banquet.
Despite the political overtones of the convention, there were those who came here specifically for the weapons aspect.
Kent Miller of Beaver Township said he was interested in gunsmithing information.
"I got to meet some people that I had heard of but had never met," he said Friday from the floor of the convention exhibit area. Miller, a local outdoor club member and trap shooter who also builds custom stocks for rifles, said he was looking forward to meeting other people at the convention in that field as well.
Braun@vindy.com