Alphecca

Positive Coverage of NRA Convention

I guess at least SOME of the media in Milwaukee are trying SOME of the time to offer positive stories (i.e. not biased against) about the huge convention taking place in their city this weekend. Even the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal offered this:

"Everyone here is truly a citizen against gun violence," Christine Burns, 58, said. "We promote safety, hunting and the traditional values."

" . . . Self-protection, the right to bear arms," Don Burns, 62, continued.

The couple has been married 34 years. On their first wedding anniversary, she gave him a lifetime NRA membership.

"I think it cost $275," she said. "And that was a lot of money."

This is the third NRA convention for the Burnses. It is the first for Julie Vance, a 43-year-old chiropractor from Milwaukee.

"It's like Mecca, like coming home, like the mother ship," Vance said.

Vance acknowledged she sometimes has to explain her NRA membership to friends who oppose gun ownership and who view the NRA with alarm.

"What I do is assure them it's nothing like what the media portrays," said Vance, who recently took up competitive shooting. "Most people fear guns. What I've learned in the last year, year and a half, is there is nothing to fear."

[...]

Many at the show, though, preferred to sidestep politics and focus on the sporting and family aspect. On the ground floor, parents and children fired air guns on an indoor range, the ping of pellets clanging in the air.

In the main hall, a few mothers rolled strollers and families gathered by gun displays.

Scott Galbraith, 36, of Howards Grove attended the show with his wife, Melissa, 32, and their children, Steven, 11, Caleb, 9, Jessica, 7, and Abby, 4.

Galbraith said he educates his kids about guns "to cover the basics, the safety issues." The two older boys have BB guns and the oldest daughter "is waiting for hers," their mom said.

"I think people fear what they don't know," Melissa Galbraith said. "I knew that I grew up and guns were something to be afraid of. But when you hold it and learn how to use it, you're not afraid of it. We're actually controlling it."

It would be nice if the media would acknowledged that the NRA is no different than any other advocacy group. They lobby on behalf of their members. Yet, many in the press write about the NRA in ways they would never do for other organizations such as the NEA, or the much larger (35 million members I believe) AARP.

A quick reminder that you can catch live coverage several times today streamed on the web at NRA News. Cam Edwards will be doing a special Saturday edition of his show starting at 11 AM this morning (Eastern time).