Anyone Going to the NRA Annual Meeting?

Probably the last thing we need is yet another thread to argue about gun control, but with the NRA coming to Houston I thought we'd be remiss to not talk about the meeting. I put it in the D&D mostly because I anticipate it ending up here.

Just wondering if anyone is going. Does anyone care? What significance might it have for the political discourse, given what luminaries they have lined up? Does it impact Houston's rep? What's it going to do to traffic? For myself, I'm glad I'll be out of town because I live pretty close to the convention center and don't want to deal with the jammed freeways.

Here's some article about it.

http://on.wsj.com/16yZOwu

[rquoter]
NRA Gathering Stars Cruz, Palin, Santorum
By Ben Lefebvre

The National Rifle Association is gathering in Houston Friday for its first annual meeting since successfully fending off a major push by President Barack Obama and a number of lawmakers to tighten the nation’s gun laws.

An expected 70,000 members of the gun-owners association are arriving in the “Bayou City” for a gun expo and speeches. They’ll vote for new NRA leaders have the chance to attend seminars ranging from tips on how to carry a concealed handgun to “advance sausage processing.’’ The group says it is playing host to “nine acres of the latest and greatest in guns and gear.”

The NRA is also using the event to flex its political muscles. The group bills Friday’s Leadership Forum as “a critical campaign stop for any serious contenders for the White House, Congress or any of our nation’s governorships who support our Second Amendment freedoms.” A partial list of those speaking on Friday reads like a who’s-who of presidential ambition, past and future: Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and former Sen. Rick Santorum. All are Republicans.

Expect the speakers to warn that defenders of gun rights cannot become complacent after their recent victory in Congress, in which they turned back efforts by Mr. Obama and a largely Democratic set of senators to expand the number of gun-buyers subject to background checks. Democrats also unsuccessfully pushed a ban on semiautomatic rifles known as assault weapons, and a ban on large ammunition clips.

There may be cause for the NRA to remain on guard. Recent polling gives tentative signs that voters are unhappy with some of the senators who voted against an expansion of background checks. The Democratic firm Public Policy Polling, for instance, has found indications that Democratic Sens. Kay Hagan of North Carolina and Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, who are running for re-election next year in GOP-leaning states, helped their chances by backing broader background checks for gun sales. PPP also pulled together data that, it says, suggest that senators who voted against the background-check expansion are seeing a backlash from voters.

So far, however, there is no sign that any of those senators is looking for a way to revisit any of the gun-control proposals. But the NRA is sure to warn that gun-control advocates will keep trying. They could point to this story, posted Friday morning by Politico, that says Vice President Joe Biden is gearing up for a new push.[/rquoter]