NRA to Scale Back Its Annual Party

Next week’s annual convention of the National Rifle Assn. in Denver was supposed to be more than just the annual rite where gun lovers pay homage to firearms and the 2nd Amendment.

With three NRA-backed firearm bills sweeping toward passage in Colorado, the convention had all the markings of becoming a victory celebration and a much-needed boost after an embarrassing defeat in a Missouri gun referendum earlier this month.

Then, on Tuesday, two gun-wielding, trench coat youngsters walked through Columbine High School in nearby Littleton shooting and killing fellow students. Now, legislative leaders and the sponsors of those gun bills are pulling the measures off the table, at least for the time being.

And instead of celebrating victory, NRA leaders will find themselves in the ticklish position of extolling guns at a time when the tears and terror of Columbine High School are still fresh in the national conscience.

“It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it will be completely insensitive for them not to [postpone the convention],” said Andrew Hudson, spokesman for Denver Mayor Wellington Webb.

State Rep. Tom Plante, a Boulder Democrat, said, “I hope the NRA will recognize the inappropriateness of holding a gun convention in a city that has been struck by this tragedy.”

The NRA rejected the advice Wednesday but announced it will scale back its annual party in sympathy for the victims. Actor Charlton Heston, the NRA’s president, in a letter to members, urged participants to come to Denver and “stand in somber but unshakable unity, even in this time of anguish.”

With controversy over Colorado’s gun measures intensifying, the state had become a pivotal battleground in the national debate.

In the last three years, about half a dozen states have rejected NRA-backed legislation guaranteeing citizens the right to carry concealed handguns if they pass a background check and complete a gun-safety course. What many describe as a major embarrassment came earlier this month in conservative Missouri, when the NRA lost a referendum after spending $3.5 million. Gun control advocates spent only about $800,000.

The NRA could ill-afford defeat in Colorado, where the organization again had lobbied hard.

“A loss for the NRA in Colorado would be huge, because that is NRA territory,” said Kristen Rand of the Violence Policy Center in Washington. “You would be stopping the NRA’s top priority bills in the Rocky Mountain West in a state legislature that is overwhelmingly pro-gun with a pro-gun governor.”

Because of those factors, three measures were almost assured of passage in time for legislative leaders to announce their victories at the NRA convention. That would have been a national platform from which the NRA could boast it was making a comeback.

One of the bills precludes Denver and other local governments from passing gun measures that are more stringent than state regulations.

Another bill headed for approval would have required local sheriffs to let “law-abiding” citizens carry concealed weapons, and a third measure would have prohibited local governments from suing gun manufacturers.

But the Littleton shootings raised the specter of another defeat for gun advocates.

Brian Malte, assistant western regional director for Handgun Control, an organization co-chaired by Sarah Brady, wife of former presidential press secretary and shooting victim James Brady, said the fate of the pro-gun bills was doubtful after the shootings.

But backers of the bills said they withdrew the measures out of sympathy for the victims, not out of fear their proposals would be defeated.

“Now just is not the time to debate these bills,” said State Rep. Gary McPherson, sponsor of the bill that would give Colorado’s weak state gun laws precedence over local regulations.

Although McPherson declined to say whether he would bring the bill up again in January when the Legislature reconvenes, gun control advocates predicted the battles will resume.

Colorado was not the only state to postpone debate on gun bills. In Tallahassee, Fla., a bill to insulate gun makers from lawsuits stemming from gun violence was pulled Wednesday from the calendar of the House of Representatives because of the slayings.

In Austin, Texas, Gov. George W. Bush, who is expected to run for the Republican presidential nomination, said Wednesday that love, not gun control, is the best way to prevent shooting sprees like the one in Colorado.

“I wish I knew the law that would make people love one another. I would insist that it pass,” he said in a news conference. He said he favors instant background checks for gun buyers, but he did not advocate any other gun-control measures.

Former Vice President Dan Quayle, another Republican candidate for president, said, “I hope we don’t try to use this as an excuse to go and take away guns.” He spoke on CNBC’s “Hardball With Chris Matthews.”

And Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura said the shooting demonstrates the need for loosening restrictions on concealed weapons.

“Had there been someone who was armed, in this particular situation, in my opinion, it may have stabilized,” the former Navy SEAL and professional wrestler said.