he is a life member of the national rifle association.give a warm welcome to friend, the governor of massachusetts, mitt romney. [applause] >> thank you so much. thank you. thank you for your generous welcome. what a job wayne lapierre just did. what an extraordinary man. thank you to chris cox for that wonderful introduction. there is one more person i would like to introduce. i happen to believe all moms are working moms. if you have five mommies -- five sons, your work is never done. my sweetheart, ann romney. [applause] say something. you are welcome. >> this is fabulous. let me give a shot out to all moms that are working. and, by the way, all dads that are working. we love all of you. as a parent, you are only as happy as your saddest child. he never, ever stop being a parent. our boys are grown. they have children of their own. it is such a wonderful opportunity for me to think about the heritage we are leaving those children. i love be that bad when my kids were -- the fact that when my kids were growing up, we let it from- a ston

let me focus on the central theme of the national rifle association. the right to bear arms comes from our creator, not our government. [applause] it is one of the unalienable rights and alluded to in the declaration of independence. it does not grant the right to bear arms. it acknowledges their pre- existing condition. the founding fathers knew this for a practical reason. when british troops arrived on lexington and concord expecting to force the peasants into surrender, something they had done quite well in ireland, scotland, wales, and england, they found they were not up against peasants. they were up against americans. they were up against trained militia. they were up against people who work sure the land of the free or the home of the -- and the home of the brave. without being the home of the brave, you would not remain the land of the free. [applause] many of you know i like wayver -- wayne very much. i think the nra has been too damaged. the gingrich presidency will submit to the united nations a treaty that extends the right to bear arms a

guns in the united states and a correspondingly large number of gun-related deaths the national rifle associationnd other gun groups believe the answer to that gun violence that those guns generate is even more guns. they want to expand and have been successful in this congress and expanding concealed carry laws. and, in fact,0protections for those that use their guns irresponsibly. here in(congressnd in far too many state houses he country their side is, in fact, winning. loosening already porous gun laws and blocking the passage of any sensible gun control measures. i understand that as many as 30 states now have vigilante laws comparable to florida's thanks to the national rifle association and the american legislative exchange council which has worked hand in hand with them in trying to get this legislation through even though it didn't come interest any grassroots effort on the part of citizens. it came from the top. it came from the nra working with the legislators with threats of political repercussions if they don't comply and, of coue, rewas, financial and political, when they do and the

it was created by the national rifle association, and the nra has been the driving force behind the lawthey got stand your ground on the books in florida. since then it pushed the law in 24 more states, and it doesn't stop there. remember the shooting of gabrielle giffords and it panned the sale of high capacity ammunition magazines? why would anyone need to carry around a .09-millimeter glock with 36 rounds? >> it is great to be with so many friends here today from the national rifle association. >> yes, friends. the friends that drew up the stand your ground law. he pretends he one of them, but the truth is he has been in every chamber of the six shooter. zle with tough gun laws in massachusetts, i support them, i won't chip away, they protect us and provide for our safety. >> i don't line up 100% with the nra. >> even with that sound, can you really believe this guy? >> i'm not a big game hunter, i made it clear, i'm a rodent and rabbit hunter, small varmentes if you will. i started when i was 15 and hunted like that some time. >> u remember you were teased for saying you hunted varm

let me focus on the central theme of the national rifle association.om our creator, not our government. [applause] it is one of the unalienable rights and alluded to in the declaration of independence. it does not grant the right to bear arms. it acknowledges their pre- existing condition. the founding fathers knew this for a practical reason. when british troops arrived on lexington and concord expecting to force the peasants into surrender, something they had done quite well in ireland, scotland, wales, and england, they found they were not up against peasants. they suddenly found they weren't up against peasants, they were up against americans. they were weren't up against unarmed rebels but trained militia. they were up against the land of the free. now many of you know i like your board and board members. i hope -- i hope none of them will take it personally when i say the nra has been too timid. i want to explain what i mean. a gingrich presidency will submit to the united nations a treaty that extends the right to bear arms as a human right for

he went to the national rifle association convention but mentioned the word gun once and then he released an extension on his tax return. he's not doing anything to shake the both -- boat very much. >> no, but he can't afford to at this point. the worst thing that could happen at this point is a big mistake or even a modest mistake. we know he had some during the primaries. the obama campaign is being very aggressive as trying to paint him as someone who's out of touch and protective of the wealthy. he can't do anything that plays into the idea that he's too far to the right or too detached from average workers. he is trying to draw the distinctions with the president and put the president on the defensive. >> dan, what's the closest historical analogy to what the obama people are trying to do to roll any? trying to make him like bob dole, a good guy of a different era? are they trying to paint him as dangerous or what? >> i think the closest parallel technically is what the bush campaign in 2004 tried to do and did with some success to john kerry, which is to aggressively define him nega

the national rifle association is holding a big convention in st. louis today.ey. he'll talk about his strong support of second amendment rights. the nra is a powerful lobby. so powerful gun control advocates blame it in part for what happened to trayvon martin. >> in reality they were interested in promote agriculture where people take the law into their own hands and face no consequences for it. let's call that by its real name, vigilanteism. >> the nra has refused our request for an on camera interview. the president did talk to a st. louis newspaper reporter before charges against george zimmerman were announced. wayne lapierre is the man. when they come down to a determination, then we'll have something to say. bloomberg is repealing the stand your ground law in two dozen states. that's not likely to happen any time soon. right now no gun control law that has a chance of passing in congress. and more about protecting gun rights. the talk back question for you this morning. should gun control laws be reviewed or not? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll read your com

the national rifle association. today, the group deleted the tape of nugent from their website. his incendiary comments were too much for the national rifle association but mitt romney still doesn't have the political coverage to condemn him. he will hide behind the secret service instead of rendering judgment himself. let me ask you tonight, is that leadership, being able to make a decision on what is right and wrong and decent and indecent. let's bring in martin bashir, host of the martin bashir show here on msnbc. i think this is a big story because it speaks volumes of mitt romney's character. the question is, did he or did he not seek the endorsement of ted nugent. >> ed, absolutely, categorically, unequivocally, romney sought nugent for the endorsement. i interviewed the local reporter who spoke to ted nugent. immediately this happened. the reporter said nugent was in a gun shop and his cell phone started to ring. it was mitt romney and he described the conversation as warm and cordial and romney asked him if he would give him his endorsement. nugent said are you planning t

this is the annual national rifle association meeting in st. louis.as chosen an audience in front of gun-toting americans hoping to attract that far right conservative voter that rick santorum had attracted, now that we know he's out of the race. on the right, you're seeing a whole lot of smoke, a lot of flames. here's that funeral home fire. this is the funeral home, salisbury, north carolina. we don't know as far as how many people were inside working at the time. injuries, how this happened. we will bring that back to you. in the meantime, i want to stop and introduce you to the cnn hero. this week's hero is fighting to find a family for each and every one. he knows how tough the road can be especially when the hopeful parent is gay. >> i was adopted and i felt i wanted to adopt a kid that needed a home. my son was in foster care for four years. as soon as we met, i knew we would be family. >> i thought things were going great. but a few months after he moved in, he removed from my home. >> sometimes families are based with barriers because of a my

this is a national rifle association event. so he talked, and this is really one of the true test, if he can really galvanize and appeal to this crowd. the enthusiasts of the second amendment, of course. one of the lines that jumped out at me. instead of limited government, he is leading us towards limited freedom and limited opportunity. he said the administration's assault on our freedoms, outlining financial health, medical and also religion. and the crowd, they began applauding to the pipeline, and then fast and furious which led to a dead border agent and how they were calling upon the resignation or the firing upon attorney general eric holder. one thing i do want to take upon, something that's certainly the most talked about the gun incident recently in our country. that happened back in stanford, florida. he made no mention of trayvon martin or george zimmerman. and keep many mind, zimmerman wasn't immediately arrested on the stand your ground law in florida. it's in florida and 25 other states. and it was essentially e

. >> at a national rifle association event in st. louis, the romney condemned the attack that hillary rosen launched on ann romney. >> let me give a shoutout to all moms that are working. and by the way, to all dads that are worked. we love all of you. >> four years ago women as a whole went to obama by 13 points, stay-at-home moms by 10 points and outside the home, 21 points but the women have swung to the g.o.p. it reflects the importance of gender politics. >> among women, 49 obama, 41 romney, 8 point deficit among women for romney but a 14 point deficit among men for president obama. >> the statement that ann romney never worked a day in her life was the latest slight attracted at stay at home stay-at-home moms. teresa heinz carey apologized for saying laura bush never had a real job. >> then the original hillary. >> i suppose i could have stayed home and baked cookies. >> they knew if they let this comment sit, it would create enormous damage, particularly among a core democratic constituency, which is women. >> women are concer

today, ann romney said this at the national rifle association conference in st.ouis. >> let me give a shout out to all moms who are working. >> that is a reference to what a democratic strategist said yesterday, that she had never worked a day in her life, which many people call the offensive and other people from the obama campaign. rosen tweeted that she apologized to work at home mothers and will be canceling her high-profile apprearance at "meet the press" to be a stay at home mom. orange as nearly beaton sekou biddle. has 23,000 votes and biddle has 21,000. election board released the results this afternoon. >> martin o'malley had not yet decided to call a special session. he wants to meet with the senate president first to discuss the budget. that could happen in the next few days. the general assembly will meet without a budget compromise. a decision on a special session could come as early as next week. >> still to come, the john edwards trial and a list of potential witnesses released today. some of them may surprise you. >> getting into a confrontation

he called the president and his advisors evil, and urged members of the national rifle association to "chop their heads off in november." he said "if barack obama becomes the president in november again, i will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." nugent endorsed mitt romney whose spokesperson referred to the rant as "offensive." >>> now here is a look at other stories making news "early today," disturbing video out of florida shows the moment when a woman plowed her car right in a supermarket full of shoppers. amazingly, though, no one was killed. look at that, a stroller right there you can see the vehicle making a direct hit on customers including that baby stroller. other cameras show the car going right past the check-out line before coming to a stop. two people were seriously hurt. the 76-year-old at the wheel has been cited for careless driving. unreal. >>> in new york, dangerous new game is being played in the subway system. not bright, you guys. teenagers are jumping off the platform on the train tracks in what is being called subway chicken. in some of the case

i was down at the national rifle association's annual meeting in st. louis. not to be confused with the decades-long gun show in east st. louis. (laughter) it is a four-day celebration of guns for the whole family. it was a wall of guns raffle and antique gun showcase, a seminar with ted nugent and, for the kids, carnival games like "pry the gun from charlton heston's cold dead hands." (cheers and applause) of course, the real firepower came from all the politicians shooting off their mouths. a star-studded lineup of conservative gun-loving republicans and mitt romney who, to be fair, does own a pastry gun so his chef can defend him against unrosettaed cakes. (laughter) but the speaker who lit up the crowd was newt gingrich who laid out his vision of the second amendment. >> it is one of the unalienable rights eluded allude in the declaration of independence. we know this because the declaration starts with "the right to bear arms." it doesn't grant the right to bear arms it acknowledges their pre-existing condition. >> stephen: yes, the right to bear arms is

whole chapter on the second amendment to my co-author is on the board of directors of the national rifle association and i'm a former employee and contractor for the nra as well, also so my legal scholarly works on the second amendment. we have seen an emergence of a jurisprudence on the second amendment in the past few years. there has been a debate going on for decades that the u.s. supreme court just started to resolve in district of colombia versus held in 2008 and mcdonald v. chicago in 2010. now there are literally hundreds of losses in the lower federal courts we'll see the area really develop even at the supreme court level. over the next quarter century. the purpose for the second amendment to the u.s. constitution is to enable people to protect themselves against both private and public violence but it is fundamentally a right of self-defense. both for people individually against criminal elements in society, and as the use of cream court wrote in the heller case, that they also at the time, they moved into the bill of rights is because they were concerned. and i hope we never see that in

the national rifle association has been on a many-year effort first to expand rights to...s a background check to be able to carry concealed guns pretty much wherever they want. as they started to accomplish that goal, they then went on to the "stand your ground" laws. those laws have passed very rapidly in a very short amount of time. >> ifill: it was interesting that so many democrats voted for this. this was a bipartisan idea. was this an idea that... was a case made that this was a problem that existed that these needed to solve? >> well, certainly the proponents of these laws felt that there was a problem. i've been studying it for about 20 years. i did not see that problem myself. >> ifill: so what has happened in these cases, in all of these states? are they different cases or they all blanket cases? you just heard jeb bush say this wasn't about pursuing someone. this was about staying put. does it change from state to state to state? >> there are some differents across states but i think mostly it's the same general idea that it relieves an individual from any duty

last week at the national rifle association convention, he called the obama administration evil and said he would either be in jail or dead year from now if the president is reelected. there will be street closures in the district this weekend for the imf and world bank meeting. 19th streets from g the pennsylvania will be closed from 5:00 p.m. today until 7:00 p.m. on sunday. 18th street and 20th street could be temporarily closed during that time as well, along with parts of g and h between 18th street and 20th streets. coming up -- >> for now, dick clark. so long. >> remembering the life and legacy of dick clark. we will look at history blazing career. >> at a special honor for local psychologist. being named one of the most influential people in the world. barbara van dahlen. >> and college students raising a thousand for charity. >> warm and sunny this afternoon. how about the weekend? we will find >> you are watching abc 7 news at noon with. steve chenevey and can cynne with this is abc 7 news at noon -- on your side. >> people all across the nation are remembering an american icon

the national rifle association has been very involved. are we set to have a legislative war in this country? what do you see coming down the pike? >> first, let me say on this night, guinn the news that's happened between that press conference and this moment, my heart really goes out to trayvon's family. this is a great moment and it is the beginning of a journey towards justice and it's a journey we have wanted to be on, as reverend sharpton said, this is a moment for relief, but not a moment to relax. with that said -- >> ben, i want to show you, this is the video of george zimmerman arriving at the seminole county intake center just moments ago. first your reaction to the charge of second-degree murder brought against george zimmerman. >> yeah, look, i think that's a good thing. i think that it, you know, we were concerned that they may come out with manslaughter today and so it's good to see her come out with second degree. my understanding, this is the maximum that she could pursue without the grand jury and it's a very serious char

nugent called the president and his advisers, quote, evil and urged members of the national rifle association to, quote, chop their heads off in november. he also said, quote, if barack obama becomes the president in november again, i will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. nugent has endorsed republican candidate mitt romney whose spokesperson referred to the rant as, quote, offensive. >>> now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. we want to warn you, this video is disturbing. it comes out of florida and it shows the moment when a woman plowed her car right into a supermarket. it was full of shoppers. ait's maingly, though, no one was killed. you can see the vehicle making a direct hit on those customers and a baby stroller. other cameras caught the car going right past the check outline before coming to a stop. two people were seriously hurt. the 76-year-old at the wheel has been cited for careless driving. >>> in new york, a dangerous new game is being played in the subway system. teenagers are jumping off the platform and right on to the tr

. >> the former rock star made the comments at the national rifle association and he said he will be either dead or in jail by this time next year if the president is reelected. they called the comments like these "noise." >> most americans are sophisticated consumers of the news, especially as we get closer to the elections. >> ted nugent tweeted in march he was backing mitt romney. a romney spokesperson said "he believes everyone needs to be civil." >> george zimmerman is facing in prison for the shooting death of 17-year-old trayvon martin. the judge indicated they disqualified herself from the upcoming trial. jessica stepped aside because of a conflict that relates to her husband. her husband is a partner of the attorney first approached by zimmerman's family to represent him. the lawyer declined. the defense team now has requested the judge step aside. >> kenneth lester has been assigned to the case. >> do you want to buy a piece of history? the frustrated owner of a peninsula nightclub turned to craigslist. the owner right there on el camino put it up for sale online. now that

he told a crowd at a national rifle association convention that he would be dead or in jail if the presidentre reelected. many questioned whether he was alluding to violence against the president. commanders at ft. knox decided to cancel the planned june concert after learning about the comments. knew jet -- nugent met with the secret service to explain he meant no threat against the president. >>> north korea will launch unspecified action to wipe out the administration of rival south korea. a statement read on north korean television this morning says the actions will last three to four minutes and carried out by "unprecedented peculiar means." some experts believe it is just talk or bravado. others see it as a terrorist the statement comes a week and a half after the launch of a rocket that exploded after takeoff. >>> france's presidential election may rattle -- sarkozy came in second. far right candidate came in third. a runoff election will be held may 6th. >> european markets trading lower. financial times in london has been down more than what 1/2%, foot see. -- ftse. >>> in a couple

on the campaign trail, mitt romney addresses an important republican constituency at the national rifle associationion in st. louis. if elected, he will stand up for the rights of gun owners and he accused the president on waging an assault on american freedom. coming up on abc7 news at 11:00 more on the big city mayor who risked his life to save a woman trapped in a burning home. plus, there will not be another hurricane irene ever again. why the storms name will be retired. >> just hours to go before the terrible -- the cherry blossom kicks off. >> you are watching abc7 news at 11:00, on your side. >> a frightening situation for three window repairman in manhattan. they were outside the 15th floor of the building when there scaffolding collapsed leaving them hanging. rescue crews pulled them to safety through the 17th floor window. none of the workers were injured. newark, new jersey mayor is the -- is being called a hero after risking his life to save a neighbor from a burning building. he arrived home and saw his next-door neighbor's house in flames. his security detail went into the house and

it is great to be with so many friends here today from the national rifle association.s organization is sometimes called a single issue group. and that is high praise when the single issue you're fighting for is freedom. and you can be proud of your long and unwavering defense of constitutional rights and liberties. in about 207 days, we're going to do something that's really quite amazing. americans will be choosing not only a president, but an entire house of representatives and a third of the u.s. senate. the entire world will be watching us. and by around midnight on november 6th, midnight, maybe a little earlier, we'll know the will of millions of americans exercising their right to vote. in doing so, americans will be a profound choice. a decision which is much more important than just one person or one party. we will not just select the president who will guide us. we will also choose between two distinct paths and destinies for the nation. so many of the big issues in the campaign turn on our understanding of the constitution. and how it was meant to guide our l

mitt romney and newt gingrich addressing national rifle association's annual convention today in st. louis. gingrich said the un should adopt a treaty that gives everyone on the planet the right to bear arms. mitt romney's wife took the stage today after the controversy over comments made stating she never worked a day in her life. >> let me give a shout out to all moms that are working. and, by the way, all dads that are working. we love all of you. >> mitt romney said he believes all moms are working moms. a developing story tonight out of columbia. the associated press is reporting 12 secret service agents accompanying the president to the summit of americas have been leaked -- relieved of their duty and sent home. allegations of personal misconduct involving prostitutes at the sight of that meeting a spokesman for the secret service would not confirm or deny the reports, but did say the security plan for the president has not been affected. instead of borrowing, it is time to buy at the library. why what you take on this weekend could lead to some lasting changes. plus, of the mo

mitt romney lying about president obama last week in his typically pandering speech to the national rifle associations that there is no real difference between the president and mitt romney on gun control. the president has done absolutely nothing to restrict access to guns since taking office. washington remains paralyzed on any form of gun or ammunition control in the legislative area that remains under the complete control of the blood-drenched national rifle association. yesterday was the fifth anniversary of the massacre at virginia tech. one of the victims of that shooting led a group of 31 other gun violence victims to capitol hill today. they asked members of congress to sign a statement of principle against arming dangerous people. the statement simply reads, "i believe that these people should not be able to buy, own or carry a gun anywhere in our nation: convicted felons, convicted domestic abusers, terrorists, and people found to be dangerously mentally ill." joining me now is colin godard who was shot four times during the virginia tech shooting. he now works for the brady campaign to pr

at the national rifle association's convention last weekend, nugent denounced what he called the president'sl america-hating administration. and he said, if mr. obama is re-elect the he will either -- will either be dead or in jail by this time next year. >>> dramatic pictures of a sailboat rescue off chicago. two men were spotted struggling in lake michigan yesterday after their boat capsized. they spent 20 minutes in the chilly water without life vests before a chicago police boat arrived. even then choppy conditions made the rescue difficult. the ordeal left them bloodied and bruised but they'll be okay. >>> scientists in japan may have come up with a breakthrough for baldness. they were able to grow hair on bald mice by transplanting engineered cells into their hair follow kels. they became fully functional, but, guys, it will take about ten years before the treatment can be applied to humans. >>> coming up after your local news on "cbs this morning," former british prime minister tony blair. i'm michelle miller and this is "cbs morning news." whoa! what is that? it burns! it's singeing

the presumptive republican presidential nominee spoke at the national rifle association's annual conventionuis. back in the 1990's, though, mitt romney said "i don't line up with the nra." of course, there was a different audience then. it was in massachusetts. but he's now a lifetime member! >> it's time to elect a president who will defend the rights president obama ignores or minimizes. and i will protect the second amendment rights of american people. >> president obama has called for commonsense measures that protect the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens and improve public safety by keeping guns out of the hands of those who should not have them under existing laws. >> shepard: but former massachusetts governor mitt romney didn't just go after the president on gun rights. carl cameron is in d.c. what else did he have to say, carl? >> well, listen, this is his first big speech as the republican standard bearer now that rick santorum has withdrawn from the race. so he was debuting general election themes that he'll use all the way through november. essentially, mr. romney w