Reply #37: Heston called for a lynch mob [View All]

[MrBenchley]

And all your spinning can't spin it away...

"Mr. President, on October 16, 2000, Mr. Charlton Heston, President of the National Rifle Association (NRA), gave a speech at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan. On the campaign trial in Michigan, Mr. Heston asserted that Vice-President Al Gore's position on guns had changed and suggested that "in any other time or place, you'd be looking for a lynching mob."

Mr. President, such inflammatory and extremist remarks are an outrage....Although some in the crowd at the NRA rally in October may have been in support of Mr. Heston's rhetoric, the majority of people in Michigan reject the hate that was exuded by NRA's leader that October day in Michigan. In November, voters in Michigan also demonstrated that they oppose the tactics of the gun lobby and voters around the country voiced their support for gun safety measures, such as closing the gun show loophole that gives youth and criminals illegitimate access to firearms. "

http://levin.senate.gov/floor/012501fs1.htm

"The National Rifle Association held its annual convention in Reno, Nevada, in April. As usual, there were plenty of rhetorical flourishes on display. That's no surprise. The NRA has always gone heavy on the heavy breathing -- remember when one of its fundraising appeals compared federal officials to "jack-booted thugs"?
With similar sensitivity, NRA delegates in Reno feasted on the kind of imaginative hyperbole that always marks their conventions. They booed the mention of war hero John McCain (they don't like the Arizona senator's leadership on campaign finance reform, or his support for closing the gun show loophole). According to the Associated Press, Craig Sandler, NRA director of general operations, attacked the Million Mom March: "What does the Million Mom March know or do about gun safety?" (The March, of course, included many moms whose families suffered from gun violence). Conventioneers listened as NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre compared gun-control supporters to political terrorists.
Cute stuff. At least no one talked about lynching Al Gore, like NRA President and celebrity gun booster Charlton Heston did back in October 2000. "

http://www.tompaine.com/feature.cfm/ID/5608

"Speaking to an NRA "Get Out the Vote for Bush Rally" in Grand Rapids Michigan, Heston, in October of 2000, said something that should have resulted in a visit from the Secret Service: "Now, saying 'I'm with you guys on guns.' In any other time or place you'd be looking for a lynching mob." The crowd responded with "let's do it" and "I've got a rope," according to a Grand Rapids newspaper."

http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/03/04/11.html