There are a ton of writers and photographers from the national media floating around the NRA Annual Convention, and the reason is pretty obvious. With the increased fervor over gun control in the United States, the NRA is, naturally, a lightning rod for civilian disarmament advocates. And their celebration of all things gun related here in Houston is their first time to show off since the events of last December. Wanting to capitalize on that emotional response, a photographer for Bloomberg (pictured above in the light blue shirt) sidled up to me on the show floor in front of the Bushmaster booth and simply asked, “so, which one of these rifles was used in the Newtown shooting?” His next question – who else makes “assault rifles.” . . .
He obviously hadn’t done even five minutes of homework before the show and was going for the sensational photos and stories. I get the distinct feeling that he wasn’t here to cover the immense support that the NRA leadership has from its members, or their growing numbers, or the generally sunny disposition and intelligence of the attendees. He was here to show that the same evil black rifles used by mass murderers were being glorified and sold to a new generation of shooters.