9/07/00 3:15 p.m.
Gunning for Gore
NRA membership through roof.

By NR's John J. Miller & Ramesh Ponnuru

eing demonized has never felt so good. The National Rifle Association's membership is shooting through the roof, thanks to the continual potshots at the organization from Al Gore and the media.

Membership in the gun group, which will be a crucial part of George W. Bush's base in November, has hit more than 4 million — an all-time high.

A formal announcement is two weeks away, but executive vice president Wayne LaPierre confirmed the figure on Thursday. "And we're headed to 5 million," he says.

The gun group has gained more than 1 million new members in the last 12 months. "Americans have heard Al Gore say he wants every gun registered, every gun owner licensed, and federal testing," says LaPierre. "That will only hit the honest people."

NRA membership generally rises during election years and dips during off years, but this year seems different. "Everything is up, up, up — programs, membership, contributions," says LaPierre. "Every rally we go to around the country has 1,000 people. I've never seen that before."

The group's previous high point came in 1994, according to LaPierre, when the NRA had 3.1 million members. Many commentators credited the NRA with making the difference for the GOP that year.

"The gateway to the presidency is made up of hunters and firearm owners in the key states. That's why Gore had Tommy Lee Jones at the Democratic convention talking about how the two of them used to go shooting," says LaPierre.

"We support a lot of Democrats," says LaPierre. "But we sure don't support Al Gore."

MS-TERY
Camille Paglia, on the marriage of Gloria Steinem, who once said "a woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle," in Reuters: "Gloria Steinem's marriage is proof positive of the emotional desperation of aging feminists who for over 30 years worshiped the steely career woman and callously trashed stay-at-home moms."

On the Site
A new Gore lie!

Melissa Seckora on the New York Times finally correcting the front-page error she uncovered last week.

John J. Miller on cameras in the court room.