Sunday, April 18, 2004
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal
Gun issue takes center stage
By ERIN NEFF
REVIEW-JOURNAL
Steve Spindel signs up to join the National Rifle Association at the Nevada Democratic Convention on Saturday at the Riviera.
Photo by Cariño Casas.
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Delegates might not have been packing heat at the Democratic State Convention at the Riviera on Saturday, but the gun issue appeared front and center thanks to the first-ever appearance by the National Rifle Association.
Carolyn Herbertson, state liaison for the NRA, said the organization felt they had been "warmly welcomed."
"Nevada is a very friendly Second Amendment state," she said.
John Cahill, president of the Nevada Outdoor Democratic Caucus, said Democrats have pushed away moderate and conservative party members in some elections on gun issues.
"They'd say, 'I'm not voting for someone who's going to take my guns away.' "
Aaron Johnson-Hall came to the NRA booth with a question about Michael Moore's Oscar-winning film, "Bowling for Columbine," and its depiction of former NRA President Charlton Heston.
A moment later, he got into a shouting match with the NRA's Brian Shannon.
After the brief set-to, Johnson-Hall said the NRA's inclusion in the state convention was "a slap in the face for real Democrats."
"There's no reason for Charlton Heston to go to Columbine after the killings, and you don't need an AK-47 to hunt a deer," said Johnson-Hall, holding his 5-month-old daughter, Jenna, who was bedecked in red, white and blue and a "Kerry For President" button.
"This is a Republican organization trying to pretend it's bipartisan," said Johnson-Hall, who with his wife, Christine, were the lone vocal critics of the NRA's presence Saturday.
Cahill said Nevada has 30,000 NRA members, and he believes about one-third are Democrats.
"Don't 10,000 people deserve a voice in this?" he asked, wearing his cowboy shooter's outfit, complete with leather knee and elbow chaps and a giant hat.
Cahill's caucus had $60,000 worth of training certificates to Front Sight Resort in Pahrump, and throughout the day rural Democrats showed intense interest in his booth.
John Hunt, who made an unsuccessful bid for attorney general in 2002, said he was thrilled to see movement toward the middle on gun issues in both the county and state platform.
"It used to just be the people on the left taking over," Hunt said. "Now there are things to be proud of."
