|   Last weekend the National Rifle Association held its 147th annual convention, which was attended by a record 87,000 people. HuffPost sent senior reporter Melissa Jeltsen to cover it.We asked her to report on the current concerns of gun owners, especially in the wake of horrific mass shootings like those in Parkland, Florida; Sutherland Springs, Texas; and Las Vegas and the rise of an emboldened gun control movement.Jeltsen was met with hostility and a general belief that the media were fueling the flames of “fake news.” She wrote about the protesters she encountered and how the NRA appears to be readying itself to battle in the upcoming midterm elections. Below is a Q & A about her experience at the convention.What was the vibe like?It was a really interesting moment in time to observe the NRA’s annual convention. For months, the group has been under attack by gun control advocates, the most vocal of whom are the grieving Parkland teenagers. These kids watched their best friends die, and they’re angry. They don’t care about being polite or gentle, and they’ve named and shamed the NRA as enemy No. 1.As a result, the convention, which boasted record attendance, had a real atmosphere of defiance. Many people told me they wanted to send a message of support for the embattled organization. I encountered many attendees who were at their first convention and met others who had signed up for a lifetime membership while there.On my first full day, I sat in a packed arena to hear Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump speak. (To start with, I had to fight to attend the event. Even though I was fully credentialed, an NRA staff member said she wasn’t sure if I was allowed into the arena after seeing my HuffPost badge. About 15 minutes later, after calling her boss, they let me in.)
While we waited for the president, we watched videos produced by NRATV, the organization’s news outlet. Most of the videos were about the “lying” mainstream media, as NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch put it. In one, a man stood next to a TV as it played news segments. Then he smashed it to bits with a sledgehammer. The audience in the arena went wild. Another video sent a message to the media: “What makes you think anyone wants to hear your elitist, uninformed opinions?”The audience laughed rapturously and clapped.During Pence’s address, he called out the media for not “telling the whole story about firearms in America.” He complained that the media focus too much “on the tragedies and the heartbreak” and ignore what happens “when well-trained, law-abiding gun owners save lives.”I heard this point repeated over and over by NRA members during the convention: The media purposely misrepresent the reality of gun ownership in the U.S. by focusing on fringe cases. Why do you think NRA members were so hostile about the media?The NRA’s animosity toward the press is nothing new. But it does appear that the rhetoric has ratcheted up in the past few months. Remember Loesch’s claim that many in the media love mass shootings? My sense was that right now, gun enthusiasts feel they are personally under attack. It is not politically correct to go after their most visible opponents, the Parkland students. So instead, they’ve set their sights on the press, which they feel is responsible for creating a false perception of momentum around gun control efforts.After Pence and Trump’s speeches, I felt a little uncomfortable walking around the convention center with a HuffPost media badge on my chest. Each time I asked people if I could interview them, it elicited comments about the dishonest media. I engaged in multiple conversations where I explained how important accurate and fair reporting was to me.Read the rest of the interview on HuffPost. PS: Before you go, be sure to read this open letter from gun-owning hunters about gun reform, and our story on what gun policy could look like in America . HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25th 2018 we will be introducing a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More.The internet's best stories, and interviews with the people who tell them. Like what you see? Forward it to a friend. Or sign up! Can't get enough? Check out our Morning Email. ©2018 HuffPost | 770 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
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