While that may sound like hypocrisy to the gun control crowd and the Times‘ editorial board, that is dead wrong.
Attendees were required to follow all federal, state and local laws applicable to the host city. In Nashville, firearms are allowed in the main convention venue, the Music City Center, with a proper license.
The nearby Bridgestone Arena, which was host to an NRA sponsored Alan Jackson concert on Saturday, prohibits firearms on the premises – it wasn’t the NRA’s prohibition.
In their zeal to rip the NRA, the Times apparently mistook the requirement that all weapons on the exhibit floor have their firing pins removed – which is a common safety practice at every major sporting-goods show – for a ban on all weapons, including those carried by attendees.
The Times did run the following correction, but failed to apologize for incorrectly calling the NRA hypocrites:
An editorial on Friday about the National Rifle Association’s convention incorrectly described the rules for carrying concealed firearms at the event. Carrying is prohibited at one of the main convention venues [Bridgestone Arena], not all of them.
Maybe the next time the Times should actually try and check the facts before going off on the NRA – but that’s probably about as likely as the NRA banning all firearms at its meetings.