INDIANAPOLIS – Gov. Mike Pence focused on promoting Indiana – with only a few nods to gun rights – while addressing the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting Friday.
“Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens don’t threaten our families. They protect our families,” he said.
About 80,000 backers of gun rights descended upon Indianapolis for the NRA’s national convention. One of Friday’s highlights was a leadership forum featuring a cadre of conservative politicians.
Pence extolled Indiana’s educational choices, balanced budget, tax cuts and low unemployment while also acknowledging the 100,000 Hoosiers who are NRA members.
And he was proud to say that Indiana’s state parks were among the first in the country to allow concealed carry of handguns.
“We don’t just talk about freedom. We live it. We breathe it,” Pence told the crowd of about 1,000.
Pence – a possible 2016 presidential candidate – then spent several minutes talking about how Washington, D.C., is broken, reminding those gathered that the states created the federal government – not the other way around.
“We must demand the next generation of leaders to reduce the size and scope of the federal government,” he said.
He urged NRA members to “stay in the fight” and hold the banner of freedom high because “freedom always wins.”
