USC College Republicans hosted officials from the National Rifle Association (NRA) for an introduction to the NRA University program this Monday in the Russell House Ballroom. Representatives from the NRA in attendance were two grassroots coordinators for the organization. With a membership of 4.3 million, the NRA is one of the nation’s most powerful — and controversial — interest groups.
The event included discussion of the NRA’s efforts with regard to gun rights at the local, state and federal level. The speakers fielded questions from attendees, who had access to free food, NRA membership and NRA materials.
One main topic of conversation was the idea of a media bias against gun rights. Grassroots coordinator Natasha Montague offered commentary on the question of bias by showing an “independently produced” video analyzing statistics surrounding gun violence rates in the U.S. and Great Britain.
“A lot of studies by [anti-gun groups] with smaller sample sizes … of course get more media attention than a lot of the more valid studies,” Montague said.
Third-year political science student John Ray, who attended the speech and comes from a family involved with the NRA, was in agreement with Montague’s analysis that guns serve as a deterrent to crime.
“I personally believe we should have open carry in every state,” Ray said. “I think nobody’s going to mess with you if you have a gun hanging off of your hip.”
Another issue discussed by Montague was the idea of Second Amendment rights as individual rights. She noted that proponents of gun laws argue that the word “militia” changes the meaning of the Second Amendment despite U.S. Supreme Court rulings to the contrary in U.S. v. Miller, District of Columbia v. Heller and McDonald v. City of Chicago.
“The Second Amendment is an individual right,” Montague said. “It’s not only the military or the police force that have the right to bear arms — that’s like saying freedom of speech only applies to the press.”
Ray agreed with Montague’s position on the issue of constitutionality.
“I think it’s our right as Americans to carry weapons,” he said. “I think for anyone to infringe on that freedom is unconstitutional … and goes against what we were founded upon.”
Montague emphasized the NRA’s work on gun safety programs, especially with regard to children, and concluded her address by noting job opportunities within the organization and its affiliates.
Given the nature of the event’s topic, it was not without its detractors. College Democrats of South Carolina issued a pre-emptive press release denouncing the NRA with quotes from Nick Sottile, College Democrats president and fourth-year political science and history student.
“The NRA lives in a fantasy world where the Second Amendment is under attack. The Second Amendment isn’t under attack – you’re thinking of our schools, theaters, churches and everywhere in between,” Sottile said in the press release.
College Democrats have deemed October as Gun Violence Awareness Month on campuses across South Carolina, including that of USC.
