Hunters find friend in NRA

Responsible Firearms Ownership and 2nd Amendment Issues

By BRENT FRAZEE - The Kansas City Star
Date: 05/18/01 22:15

A few years ago, Harold Volle wasn't a bit concerned that gun-control measures would ever
threaten his wide assortment of hunting shotguns and rifles.

A lifelong hunter, Volle grew up in a rural environment in central Missouri where hunting was
accepted as a way of life and where shotguns hung from the gun rack of every pickup truck.

But outside of that place he calls home, he has seen the world change. Public outcries for
controls on handguns and assault rifles sound an alarm to Volle.

If those firearms are banned, he says, it might be the first domino that leads to the downfall of
hunting guns.

"It probably won't happen in my lifetime," said Volle, 64, who lives in Cairo, Mo. "But it could
happen to my kid's kids.

"And that's what scares me."

That's one of the reasons why Volle joined an anticipated 40,000 others from across the nation
at the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday at Bartle Hall. He wanted to show
his support for his most powerful ally.

Yes, he's there for the fun and games. But he's also there to make a point -- that hunters won't
give up their guns without a verbal fight.

"I've been a hunter my whole life and I joined the NRA about 20 years ago," Volle said. "I
figured they needed my money.

"I had seen what they could do with their lobbying to stop gun control. I figured they were one of
the best friends a hunter could have, so I got behind them."

Many legislators say Volle and other hunters don't have anything to worry about. Although many
favor tighter restrictions on guns, they say they aren't targeting sporting firearms.

"Anytime we have gun laws, we don't want to overextend and infringe upon the legitimate rights
of sportsmen to hold, to own, guns," said Missouri Sen. Jean Carnahan on the CNN program
"Inside Politics" in March. "But we do need to do some things that make sure the guns don't get
into the hands of children. You know, like trigger locks."

Many other legislators, both state and national, have echoed Carnahan's comments.

Still, NRA officials and hunters are wary. Give in on one fight, they say, and they might lose the
war.

"I've yet to see a politician with an agenda who's satisfied once that one goal is met," said Skip
Johnson, executive publisher and vice president of Emap USA, which publishes 13 outdoors
magazines. "He or she might start out calling for restrictions on handguns, but what next? It's
certainly possible that hunting guns would be next."

And that would be the wrong way to handle a problem, Johnson said.

"It's hard to legislate bad intentions," he said. "We feel that this is more of a social issue than a
hardware issue.

"It's the intent that we have to deal with."

That's one of the reasons Johnson and the magazines he manages have launched an ad campaign
encouraging gun safety and responsibility.

"The readers of our publications are responsible gun owners," said Johnson, one of the
exhibitors at the NRA show. "They are the first to condemn the illegal use of firearms. And they
are the first to encourage responsible gun ownership, although the anti-gun lobbyists may have
the news media and nation believing otherwise.

"It's our responsibility to reinforce the importance of these issues to our readership."