NRA

NRA CEO Says Gun Control Debate Shouldn't Be About Guns (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | March 14, 2011, 5:10PM

President Barack Obama's editorial calling for a fresh dialogue on the issue of guns in the wake of the shootings in Arizona went out of its way to avoid offending gun owners. He said "almost all gun owners in America are highly responsible," called them "our friends and neighbors," and said they "buy their guns legally and use them safely, whether for hunting or target shooting, collection or protection."

He pointed out that gun rights have been expanded during his administration, and didn't call for any new restrictions on guns -- instead advocating for "enforcing laws that are already on the books."

But the National Rifle Association appears determined to be offended by Obama's call for a new tone in the discussion over gun policy. Appearing on Fox News on Monday, NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told Megyn Kelly that Obama has an "administration embedded with people who spent their lifetime trying to destroy" the freedom of the Second Amendment.

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Topics: Barack Obama, Gun Control, Gun Rights, Guns, NRA, Tucson Shootings

Guns

Iowa GOPer Dubs NRA-Backed Legislation 'Give-A-Handgun-To-A-Schizophrenic Bill'

Ryan J. Reilly | March 11, 2011, 3:30PM

Republican Iowa State Rep. Jeff Kaufmann, speaker pro tem of the Iowa State House, was caught joking on a hot mic that a proposal which would allow state residents to carry weapons in public without permission from a sheriff and without any training or a background check might better be called the "give-a-handgun-to-a-schizophrenic-bill."

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Topics: Guns, Iowa, NRA

NRA

James O'Keefe Releases Second Secret NPR Recording

Benjy Sarlin | March 10, 2011, 6:57PM

Update: NPR has released emails corroborating its claims in this story.

James O'Keefe has posted to his Project Veritas website a second recording of conversations between his group of pranksters posing as Muslim potential NPR donors and NPR executive Betsy Lilely, NPR's director of institutional giving.

In a recorded phone call uploaded as a YouTube video, Liley, already on administrative leave over her comments in the first O'Keefe video, discusses with a member of O'Keefe's gang how he might proceed in making a donation of $5 million. The video -- dubbed with audio of the phone call -- repeats for emphasis the portions of the call in which Liley seems to suggest that NPR can keep the group's donations anonymous from the government.

"It sounded like you're saying that NPR would be able to shield us from a government audit, is that correct?" the actor, posing as "Ibrahim Kasaam" of the fictitious Muslim Education Action Center, says at one point.

"I think that is the case, especially if you were anonymous and I can inquire about that."

The two discuss the process behind anonymous donations in detail over the course of the phone call, with Liley assuring that such donations are only known by a handful of top NPR executives.

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Topics: James O'Keefe, NPR, NRA