ST. LOUIS, MO — National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre has been trying to convince NRA members and the public at large of a grand conspiracy theory that President Obama wants to eliminate the Second Amendment and take away everyone’s guns. “All that first term, lip service to gun owners is just part of a massive Obama conspiracy to deceive voters and hide his true intentions to destroy the Second Amendment during his second term,” he said in February. LaPierre picked up on this fearmongering in a speech at the NRA meetings in St. Louis yesterday, saying that “all across the country people are worried” that Obama is going to eliminate gun rights.
ThinkProgress spoke with one NRA member today in St. Louis who said LaPierre is “over the edge,” calling his theory about Obama’s secret plan to eliminate the Second Amendment “extreme language”:
TP: What do you think about what he said, I think it was yesterday, about the president and the Second Amendment? Do you believe in what he says that –
NRA MEMBER: No I don’t. I think there are a lot of people in the NRA that are not victimized by some of the extreme language. A lot of people believe it because that’s all they hear but I don’t think our government is out to take away all guns.
He said there are also a number of NRA members that share his view about LaPierre but added: “I wouldn’t say it’s widespread. If you polled the people here, the majority of the people here would probably be on his side. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t an awful lot of people out there that just think he’s a wingnut.” Watch the video:
Politifact noted that Obama’s alleged secret plan is “an uncheckable postion,” adding that “none of Obama’s previous years in office hint at the kind of extreme policy push the NRA claims he’s yearning to unleash.”