Romney courts gun-rights group in race

14 Apr 2012, 8:46 am   -   Source: AAP
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Republican Mitt Romney is in the thick of courting the American gun lobby, even amidst outcry over a fatal shooting of a teen. (AAP)

Republican Mitt Romney is in the thick of courting the American gun lobby, even amidst outcry over a fatal shooting of a teen. (AAP)

Republican Mitt Romney is in the thick of courting the American gun lobby, even amidst outcry over a fatal shooting of a teen.

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Mitt Romney is headlining the annual convention of the most powerful American gun lobby, courting gun-rights activists even as the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager thrust the divisive issue of arms control to the forefront of election-year politics.

The Republican presidential candidate's efforts to assure the National Rifle Association that he is on its side - despite having once spoken dismissively of the group - is a reflection of how deeply many US voters believe in their constitutional right to bear arms.

In remarks prepared for the convention, Romney said on Friday that the US needs "a president who will enforce current laws, not create new ones that only serve to burden lawful gun owners. President Obama has not; I will."

The excerpted remarks, released by Romney's campaign, offer no details about Obama's record on firearms.

In fact, President Barack Obama has virtually ignored gun issues during his term despite promises to develop steps on weapons safety. The NRA nonetheless considers Obama a foe and plans to mount an aggressive effort against him.

The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the US Constitution, although the country is fiercely divided over how exactly to interpret the Second Amendment that protects gun possession. The uproar over the shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin at the hands of a volunteer neighbourhood watchman in Florida has galvanised pro- and anti-gun control activists alike.

The NRA convention in St Louis, Missouri, provides Romney an opportunity to shore up his credentials with conservatives who have not always trusted his reliability on social issues - including gun control. Running for the Senate in Massachusetts decades ago, Romney once assured voters in a state with strong gun-control laws: "I don't line up with the NRA." He later became a member.

It won't be the first time Romney has had to walk a careful line between appealing to conservatives, who form his party's base, and trying not to alarm independents, who will be crucial in his campaign against Obama.

Romney will speak to a conservative group with one of the biggest names and broadest networks in US politics. Thousands of members are filling St Louis hotels and footpaths this weekend for an annual convention that offers "over seven acres of guns, gear and outfitters."

The all-but-certain Republican presidential nominee hopes to tap into the NRA's network of more than four million dues-paying members. Romney virtually secured his party's nomination this week when his main rival, Rick Santorum, dropped out of the state-by-state Republican primary race.

The NRA has spent $US20 million ($A19.2 million) to $30 million in past presidential elections, said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. It hopes to exceed that amount this year in an effort that is likely to include mail, phone calls and TV, radio, internet and newspaper ads, he said.

Romney leads a list of prominent Republicans who are scheduled to address more than 65,000 convention registrants during a session billed as a "celebration of American values".

While some gun-control advocates might be turned off by Romney's association with the NRA, there's little likelihood such activists were going to vote for him anyway, leaving little political downside for Romney's appeals to NRA faithful, said Dave Robertson, a political science professor at the University of Missouri-St Louis.

Yet Romney's alignment with the NRA comes at a time when gun laws have been under national scrutiny.

The NRA was a main backer of Florida's "stand your ground" law, which bolstered gun owners' rights to use deadly force rather than retreat from danger.

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