Politics: Why Wayne LaPierre Loves Hurricanes and Natural Disasters

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Politics Why Wayne LaPierre Loves Hurricanes and Natural Disasters The NRA's CEO no longer says the U.S. government is coming to get you—it's that it can't protect you. By Sam Kleiner Posted Tuesday, Feb 19, 2013, at 11:53 PM ET Wayne LaPierre understands the power of dystopia. For the National Rifle Association's CEO, that dystopia—or more specifically, the fear that it conjures—is the stuff that grows membership, funding, and influence. And for much of his 22-year tenure leading the NRA, he has conjured those fears with the help of a familiar enemy: the U.S. government. The NRA has long argued that American citizens needed to be armed to fend off some future American dictatorship that would one day "come for the guns." Charlton Heston wasn't subtle in his "cold dead hands" pledge in 2000. In 1995, LaPierre called federal employees "jack-booted government thugs" and claimed that they were "wearing Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens." Or, if it wasn't Uncle Sam knocking down doors, it would be some other totalitarian government. While most of us saw Red Dawn as a cheap action flick, LaPierre saw a possible future, saying there "was nothing unrealistic in that dramatization" of Cubans seizing our guns. "It can happen here," he warned. But that is yesterday's dystopia. In a sense, LaPierre's argument fell victim to the NRA's own success. It's hard to argue that the federal government is coming to seize your guns when that same government is working overtime to enshrine the power of the Second Amendment. During the Bush administration, Attorney General John Ashcroft pushed for an expanded interpretation of the Second Amendment, and the White House ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate Ex-Senator Admits To Fathering Love Child With Daughter of GOP Colleague Harlem Residents Respond to the "Harlem Shake" Meme Watch Emily Bazelon Make Stephen Colbert Cry	Advertisement
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