Gun debate grows as NRA meeting nears

PHOENIX -- Gun rights will be at the top of the agenda when the National Rifle Association holds its convention in Phoenix next month.

Valley gun rights' advocates say concerns are growing because of President Barack Obama's track record on gun control legislation.

Landis Aden, who heads the state Rifle and Pistol Association, said, "People are concerned about a variety of issues, not just firearms. That's just part of the equation. When the government comes out with taxation, inflation, all these factors, you can't isolate one from the other."

Aden said people just don't trust the president.

"There's concern about the way the administration's trying to take the country overall, not just one aspect of it."

State Sen. Kirsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat, doubts that there will be strict gun controls imposed under the Obama Administration.

"I think there's some interest in enforcing laws that are on the books, but not much interest in changing laws," Sinema said.

She added, "Our control has a strong belief in the Second Amendment."

As for the Obama Administration's stance on guns, Aden said, "A lot depends on Congress, of course. The last time they did that (passed the ban on assault weapons), the party in power became the party out of power the next election. I think they still remember that."

Aden said the NRA convention is the "Super Bowl" for gun owners. His group is involved in planning for this year's convention, which begins May 15 at the Phoenix Convention Center. About 40,000 people are expected to attend.

"As a state association, we're the hosts, so to speak," he said. "We're coordinating a lot of things with NRA staff. There's been meetings since last December."

The author of the "Arizona Gun Owners' Guide," Allen Korwin, agrees with Aden that there's concern about where Obama stands on gun control.

"His record on the subject is abysmal, and the people he's appointed to office have very, very bad records on gun rights," said Korwin.

"He voted for every anti-firearms rights law that came up while he was in office in Illinois," Korwin said. He said that continued when Barack was elected to the U.S. Senate.

Korwin said the anti-gun crowd is using the violence in Mexico among the drug cartels as an excuse to impose stricter gun controls.

He said people are stocking up on guns and ammunition in anticipation of attempts to pass new restrictions.

"This doesn't make sense because people like you and I who own firearms have nothing to do with Mexican drug cartels," Korwin said. "The drug cartels are getting their weapons largely from the military, from deserters from the Mexican Army."

"The run on ammunition and firearms is predictable because the threat against private ownership of firearms is very great," Korwin said. He said the American public will be up in arms if there are attempts at more gun control.

"We need to defend our civil rights and our human rights at every turn, because there's a natural tendency to come after them and try to diminish, relinquish or infringe upon them," he said. "We see it now and the country's running scared."

Sinema said there are more important things than gun control for people to be worried about.

"I would say they should probably be worried about their jobs and their homes. Those are two things that are disappearing right now in America. Guns aren't disappearing. I guess I wouild say, 'Worry about something real.'"

She said there is a problem with people working for cash and smuggling guns into Mexico, but she said that issue can be addressed without interfering with the rights of U.S. gun owners.