Editorial: NRA Guns for Rights Violators

August 10, 2005
The Washington Times

By Gene Mueller

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, says he will spare no expense or effort to expose energy giant ConocoPhillips for its anti-Second Amendment stance.

Look for billboard advertising soon that says as much. An NRA-sponsored national boycott campaign against ConocoPhillips also will begin.

The sparks flew after LaPierre spoke at a rally in Idabel, Okla., to support employees fired by the Weyerhaeuser Co. because they kept legally owned firearms stored in their locked vehicles in a company parking lot that was publicly accessible. Since the firings, the Oklahoma Legislature has passed a bill to prevent such terminations, but ConocoPhillips filed a federal lawsuit to block the protective measure.

Said LaPierre: "We're going to make ConocoPhillips the example of what happens when a corporation takes away your Second Amendment rights. If you are a corporation that's anti-gun, anti-gun owner, or anti-Second Amendment, we will spare no effort or expense to work against you, to protect the rights of your law-abiding employees. Their rights are worth more than your money."

LaPierre said the billboards will read "ConocoPhillips is No Friend of the Second Amendment," and he called on all gun owners and consumers to boycott all Conoco and Phillips 66 products. He also wants Conoco and Phillips 66 retailers to ask the oil company's hierarchy to withdraw from the federal lawsuit. The NRA also will use its legal department to try to get the fired workers' jobs back.

According to data collected by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, sportsmen -- and that certainly would include the majority of gun owners -- are among the most influential of all demographic groups. Their economic contributions amount to $70 billion annually. They also support more jobs nationwide than the number of people employed by Wal-Mart, the country's largest corporation. So watch out, ConocoPhillips.

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