Stupid politition to takes on NRA

Romney to Address NRA Convention

Updated: Friday, 13 Apr 2012, 11:32 AM CDT
Published : Friday, 13 Apr 2012, 11:32 AM CDT

(The Wall Street Journal) - Mitt Romney is addressing the National Rifle Association Friday after a successful Republican primary in which he managed to avoid the gaffes on guns he made four years ago in his first White House bid.
At the time he tried to paint himself as an avid outdoorsman. In one widely mocked incident then, he said most of his hunting experience involved "small varmints." In this campaign, he joked about his inexperience as an outdoorsman, telling an Alabama audience he could use some help figuring out "which end of the rifle to point."
The annual NRA convention in St. Louis comes as gun laws are back on the front-burner after the Trayvon Martin killing in Florida. The shooting of the unarmed teenager has sparked a new wave of scrutiny about "Stand Your Ground" laws in Florida and other states that grant legal protections to people who use lethal force against home intruders.
Romney has largely steered clear of the Martin controversy and the Florida law. Campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the likely Republican nominee "supports the right of people to keep and bear arms" and "believes the decision to craft 'Stand Your Ground' legislation should be left to the states."
The NRA speech presents Romney with a platform to win over any conservative activists who still have not warmed to his candidacy. He is set to share the stage with former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, who dropped out of the presidential race on Tuesday, and another erstwhile rival, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who boasted of shooting a coyote with a handgun during a morning jog.
In this campaign, Romney is more comfortable playing the buttoned-up businessman. During a debate earlier this year on FOX News, Romney admitted he is "not a serious hunter."
The NRA has not officially weighed in on the Republican nominating contest, but the organization has distributed literature harshly critical of President Barack Obama, who in 2008 famously said that some working-class voters "cling to guns."
Wary of alienating gun owners further, the Obama campaign is stressing its respect for the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
Romney's views on guns have changed over the decades.
During a 1994 Senate race against the late Sen. Edward Kennedy, Romney said he supported a federal ban on assault weapons as well as required background checks for all gun sales. During his successful run in 2002 for governor of Massachusetts, he promised to uphold the state's stringent gun laws.
He signed an assault-weapons ban in 2004, but gun-rights groups supported the bill because it created certain protections for gun owners, according to a scorecard compiled by the Gun Owners' Action League.
Gun-rights advocates said their relationship with Romney and his staff improved noticeably during his tenure as governor. In 2005, he deemed May 7 "Right to Bear Arms Day."
As a presidential candidate, Romney has been unequivocal in his opposition to any new restrictions on gun owners, saying he believes in "safe and responsible gun ownership." His campaign website says Romney "will fight the battle on all fronts to protect and promote the Second Amendment."
Read more: The Wall Street Journal