While polling and legislative action suggest that the clout of gun control advocates has reached a modern nadir, speakers at the national convention of the National Rifle Association portrayed themselves as besieged patriots under continuing assault from media and liberal elites, reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“Virtually no left-wing politician is left who thinks he can pass legislation that affects the right to bear arms,” said former House Speaker and potential presidential candidate Newt Gingrich. But he sounded an alarm against “a stealth strategy in which they combine anti-gun judges with anti-gun international treaties [in an attempt] to strip us of our rights by judicial fiat.” Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia was the highest profile Democrat who spoke to the gathering. He urged the group to work toward a bipartisan approach to firearms issues.