WASHINGTON, Jan. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, MeetTheNRA.org, a project of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence, has achieved a major milestone.  Over 100,000 individuals have now visited the website to learn more about the radical leadership of the NRA.  MeetTheNRA.org saw a dramatic upturn in visitors following controversial comments made by National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre at a press conference on December 14^th.

The NRA is an organization that is familiar to most Americans.  This is due in large part to celebrities like Tom Selleck and Chuck Norris, sports stars like former Utah Jazz player Karl Malone, and musicians like Ted Nugent who lend their celebrity to the organization.  However, while many people know the NRA brand, this does not paint a full picture of who the organization is and what it does.  Meet the NRA (http://meetthenra.org/) is designed to pull back the veil of secrecy and provide a true picture of the NRA's leadership and agenda.

"In the wake of Wayne LaPierre¹s bizarre and poorly received post-Newtown press conference, it is time for America to Meet the NRA," says Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence.  "For too long, the individuals who run the gun lobby have done their dirty business behind closed doors and escaped public notice.  The Meet the NRA website shows who¹s really at the helm: Anti-government zealots like Grover Norquist, delusional former celebrities on to their second careers as extremist pro-gun shills, and disgraced former lawmakers like Larry Craig."

Meet the NRA provides thousands of direct quotes from the NRA's executive leadership and board members on a range of important issues; including the environment, women's rights, education, voting rights, labor issues, LGBT rights, etc., etc.  Each NRA leader is profiled individually, with a comprehensive listing of his/her political activities and statements.  Taken together, this information illustrates how the NRA's original mission of promoting hunting and marksmanship has been hijacked in recent decades to serve the purposes of an increasingly radical American conservative movement. 

The following is a sampling of the information available at http://www.meetthenra.org:

Remember TED NUGENT?

Aging hard rocker Ted Nugent, born in Detroit, Michigan in 1948, is best known for his 1977 hit "Cat Scratch Fever."  Nugent is a long-time member of the NRA Board of Directors.

Nugent made national headlines when, during a live interview at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting on April 14, 2012, he declared, "If Barack Obama becomes the President in November again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year."  These comments earned Nugent a visit from the Secret Service. 
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/ted-nugent-stumps-mitt-romney-nra-convention-chop-their-heads-november-video

Is THIS a CHUCK NORRIS joke?

Chuck Norris rose to fame in the 1970s and 1980s for his role in martial arts films and the TV drama "Walker, Texas Ranger."

Norris has been seen recently as the spokesperson for the NRA's "Trigger the Vote" campaign, but Americans still know him best for his martial arts prowess and for a series of jokes revolving around his reputation in that area.
 
"On Glenn Beck's radio show last week, I quipped in response to our wayward federal government, 'I may run for president of Texas,'" said Norris.  "That need may be a reality sooner than we think.  If not me, someone someday may again be running for president of the Lone Star state, if the state of the union continues to turn into the enemy of the state … How much more will Americans take?  When will enough be enough?  And, when that time comes, will our leaders finally listen or will history need to record a second American Revolution?"
http://www.wnd.com/2009/03/91103/

Is that LARRY CRAIG "tapping" on the door?

Larry Craig served as a Member of Congress from the state of Idaho from 1981 to 2009.  He served for ten years in the House and 18 in the Senate.  He is a long-time NRA Board Member.

In June 2007, Craig, a married man, was arrested in a Minneapolis airport bathroom and charged with lewd conduct after an undercover male police officer accused him of making sexual advances.  Craig later pled guilty to disorderly conduct.  The Idaho Statesman published a comprehensive investigative report alleging that Craig engaged in sex acts with men for decades.  There was significant controversy because Craig had supported a virulently anti-gay agenda throughout his entire tenure in Congress.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Craig was hesitant to provide federal funds to aid the recovery. Preferring instead that the damaged areas of New Orleans be abandoned, he said, "Fraud is in the culture of Iraqis. I believe that is true in the state of Louisiana as well." Craig suggested that the Lower Ninth Ward be turned "back to what it was, a wetland."
http://www.wafb.com/story/3990310/senator-la-is-as-corrupt-as-iraq?redirected=true


TOM SELLECK, without a waterfall and a sandwich.

Tom Selleck is the former star of the 1980s television series "Magnum P.I."  He remains best known for his acting roles, including his current one in CBS's "Blue Bloods."  He is a member of the NRA Board of Directors, but rarely if ever speaks about politics publicly.

During a previous, widely-watched interview with Rosie O'Donnell, Selleck issued the standard insurrectionist threat so common in today's pro-gun movement, asking her, "Do you really think the Second Amendment is in the Constitution to guarantee hunting and target shooting?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtkgoGY4Cm4

SOURCE Educational Fund to Stop Gun Violence