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| NRA-backed Congress members under attack in new TV ad | NRA-backed Congress members under attack in new TV ad |
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| The National Rifle Association, the gun rights group that has vowed to oppose President Obama's reforms in the wake of the Newtown shooting, is coming under mounting attack from progressive organisations seeking to break its hold over members of Congress. | The National Rifle Association, the gun rights group that has vowed to oppose President Obama's reforms in the wake of the Newtown shooting, is coming under mounting attack from progressive organisations seeking to break its hold over members of Congress. |
| The latest assault on the gun lobby comes from the internet-based liberal campaign MoveOn.org, which is launching a 30-second TV ad that aims to hit members of Congress as they arrive in their home constituencies next week for recess. The film features a gun owner from the sensitive electoral state of Ohio, who delivers a pointed message to those Congressmen and women who enjoy close relations with the NRA. | The latest assault on the gun lobby comes from the internet-based liberal campaign MoveOn.org, which is launching a 30-second TV ad that aims to hit members of Congress as they arrive in their home constituencies next week for recess. The film features a gun owner from the sensitive electoral state of Ohio, who delivers a pointed message to those Congressmen and women who enjoy close relations with the NRA. |
| "The NRA doesn't speak for me, and it doesn't speak for the vast majority of Americans, so stop taking their money," says Jerry Thompson, star of the film, who makes a point of introducing himself as a gun owner and "proud defender of the second amendment". | "The NRA doesn't speak for me, and it doesn't speak for the vast majority of Americans, so stop taking their money," says Jerry Thompson, star of the film, who makes a point of introducing himself as a gun owner and "proud defender of the second amendment". |
| MoveOn says it is spending a six-figure sum to broadcast the advert nationwide on cable channels such as CNN and MSNBC through the week and on the Sunday political talk shows. The campaign is hoping to amplify the impact by organising simultaneous protests and rallies in 150 selected communities. | MoveOn says it is spending a six-figure sum to broadcast the advert nationwide on cable channels such as CNN and MSNBC through the week and on the Sunday political talk shows. The campaign is hoping to amplify the impact by organising simultaneous protests and rallies in 150 selected communities. |
| It is also devoting particular attention to one particular politician – Ohio senator Rob Portman, a runner-up in the race to be Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick last year. The campaign said it was singling out Portman because he had an "A" rating from the NRA – pointing to his voting record in favour of gun rights and against gun controls – and because he had accepted money from the NRA while at the same time saying he was open to Obama's ideas for change. | It is also devoting particular attention to one particular politician – Ohio senator Rob Portman, a runner-up in the race to be Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick last year. The campaign said it was singling out Portman because he had an "A" rating from the NRA – pointing to his voting record in favour of gun rights and against gun controls – and because he had accepted money from the NRA while at the same time saying he was open to Obama's ideas for change. |
| "We're calling out Senator Portman because we can't let elected officials like him pay lip service to gun violence prevention but then turn around and do whatever the NRA says," said Garlin Gilchrist, MoveOn's campaign director. | "We're calling out Senator Portman because we can't let elected officials like him pay lip service to gun violence prevention but then turn around and do whatever the NRA says," said Garlin Gilchrist, MoveOn's campaign director. |
| The NRA has stubbornly refused to bend to the winds of change that have swept America after the Newtown tragedy in which 20 young children were killed in an elementary school. Its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, has bluntly opposed Obama's call for an extension of FBI background checks on all gun sales and for restrictions on military-style assault weapons and large-sized magazines, offering as an alternative only the idea that armed security guards should be placed in every school. | The NRA has stubbornly refused to bend to the winds of change that have swept America after the Newtown tragedy in which 20 young children were killed in an elementary school. Its chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, has bluntly opposed Obama's call for an extension of FBI background checks on all gun sales and for restrictions on military-style assault weapons and large-sized magazines, offering as an alternative only the idea that armed security guards should be placed in every school. |
| The MoveOn campaign fits into a growing progressive conviction that the NRA is not as invulnerable as it seems. The gun rights lobby has cultivated an aura of invincibility, but many advocates of greater controls over the use of firearms in America now believe its legendary strength is overblown. | The MoveOn campaign fits into a growing progressive conviction that the NRA is not as invulnerable as it seems. The gun rights lobby has cultivated an aura of invincibility, but many advocates of greater controls over the use of firearms in America now believe its legendary strength is overblown. |
| A recent report by the Connecticut senator Chris Murphy in the wake of Newtown looked at the impact the NRA had had on the presidential and Congressional elections last year and discovered that its record had been abysmal. The lobby spent $10m opposing Obama and $3m supporting Romney – to no avail. | A recent report by the Connecticut senator Chris Murphy in the wake of Newtown looked at the impact the NRA had had on the presidential and Congressional elections last year and discovered that its record had been abysmal. The lobby spent $10m opposing Obama and $3m supporting Romney – to no avail. |
| The NRA intervened in 16 US senate races in 2012, and its favoured candidate lost in 13 of them. "Contrary to popular belief, the NRA is not a political powerhouse that can unilaterally defeat federal policymakers," Murphy concluded. | The NRA intervened in 16 US senate races in 2012, and its favoured candidate lost in 13 of them. "Contrary to popular belief, the NRA is not a political powerhouse that can unilaterally defeat federal policymakers," Murphy concluded. |
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