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NRA Seeks Status as News Outlet NewsMax.com WiresHoping to spend as much as it wants on next year's elections, the National Rifle Association is looking to buy a television or radio station and declare that it should be treated as a news organization, exempt from spending limits in the campaign finance law.
"We're looking at bringing a court case that we're as legitimate a media outlet as Disney or Viacom or Time Warner," the NRA's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, said in an interview. "Why should they have an exclusive right to relay information to the public, and why should not NRA be considered as legitimate a news source as they are? That's never been explored legally," he said. The nation's gun lobby is talking with potential investors about an NRA broadcast outlet and is considering all possible funding sources, including gun manufacturers, LaPierre said. If the NRA were to be considered a media organization, it would be free to say what it wanted about candidates at any time and spend corporate money to do so, such as for commercials. The group, financed in part with corporate money, is now banned under the campaign finance law from running ads, just before elections, that mention federal candidates who are on states' ballots. LaPierre said even without a television or radio station, the group's communications reach is extensive enough that it should be considered part of the media. The NRA is one of the biggest magazine publishers in the United States and provides news over the Internet, LaPierre said. The group has close to a dozen publications, including American Rifleman and American Hunter magazines. LaPierre said the organization may pursue the media exemption even if its previous challenge to the campaign finance law should prevail in the Supreme Court, which is expected to rule soon. The NRA could ask the Federal Election Commission whether it qualifies for the media exemption, take the issue to court, or both. The finance law, which took effect in November 2002, bars interest groups financed with corporate or union money from airing television and radio ads the month before a primary and two months before a general election if the ads identify federal candidates, are paid for with corporate or union money and target candidates' districts. News organizations are exempt from the restrictions. That allows them to cover the news, write editorials endorsing or opposing candidates, and air interviews. The NRA and its lawyers will "look at every option to continue to exercise our First Amendment rights," LaPierre said.
© 2003 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Editor's note: Read more on this subject in related Hot Topics: |
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