Ted Nugent at 2014 NRA Annual Meetings: "The freest man in America"

Uncle Ted gets standing ovation for gun ownership, traditional family values

INDIANAPOLIS - Ted Nugent proclaimed the whole world sucked, but America did not suck that much, and with his blood brothers in Indy, it did not suck at all.

One of the good guys, as the late Charlton Heston once called him, Nugent talked to a couple thousand of believers at the 2014 NRA Convention on Sunday, April 27 about personal responsibility and freedom, besides offering a few opinions about gun free zones and selective prosecution by the federal government.

He opened by playing our national anthem on guitar, as he has done at many concerts.

Nugent sits on the board of directors of the NRA, and has been outspoken in support of outdoor sports, gun ownership and conservative politics.

The event was closed to the media, and NRA handlers initially denied a Muncie Free Press writer access to Nugent's talk, despite the writer having held a membership in the NRA for 15 years. After talking with a dozen law enforcement and NRA officials, the writer was allowed to listen to one of the strongest voices of the group.

Nugent started his speech by damning Internal Revenue Service agents for taking the 5th Amendment when asked about challenging the non-profit status of TEA Party groups. He also criticized U.S. Attorney Eric Holder for sending guns to Mexico that ended up in the hands of drug cartels and were used against that government.

Nugent spoke of individual rights and responsibility, and praised the members of our military who defend the country.

"Freedom is not free," said Nugent.

The rocker recalled what he called "errant voters" during the 1960s - those voters "with their marijuana and cocaine and their vomiting and death." Nugent asked rhetorically, "How's that party going for you?"

Nugent is one of the few 1960s rockers who never took drugs or drank alcohol and shared a story about playing guitar with the late Jimi Hendrix.

"Jimi got high and then got dead," said Nugent. "I went hunting and I am still Ted."

Nugent also addressed the "gun free zones" proposed by Holder, President Barack Obama and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. In every one of those "gun free zones," like the one in Chicago, someone has has been shot, Nugent said.

"What kind of evil soul can support gun free zones where people are slaughtered," said Nugent. "What kind of people would want more of these?"

In his first book, God, Guns and Rock 'N Roll, Nugent promotes traditional family values including gun ownership. In his latest offering, Ted, White and Blue, Nugent expresses his love for free thinking, the U.S. Constitution and old fashioned morals.

Dozens of people got autographs and Nugent offered plenty of common sense and purpose-filled solutions about the problems with the country.

"I never went to college because I was too busy learning things," Nugent quips.

Clarke Payne is a retired teacher who worked both Muncie and Anderson, IN.