ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995 TAG: 9512150108
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: FAIRFAX
SOURCE: ELSA C. ARNETT
Marion P. Hammer, the new president of the National Rifle Association, strode through the organization's sleek headquarters and paused to point out an intimidating wall of photographs.
``These men have dedicated a portion of their lives fighting to protect our freedom and our right to bear arms,'' she said reverently, surveying portraits of the NRA's 54 past presidents, including Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant.
``I feel honored to step in to do my part because the right to bear arms is as fundamental as freedom and liberty, and protecting that part of America's heritage is critically important for our future,'' she said.
The first woman to be president of the NRA, Hammer is expected to defend the right to bear arms with a determined, hard-line, uncompromising style likely to fuel an already angry national debate over weapons and crime.
``This nation was born on firearms - without firearms we wouldn't be sitting here today,'' she said.
The tough-talking, chain-smoking 56-year-old grandmother from Tallahassee, Fla., has assumed power of the 3.5 million-member group with the same control and confidence that she handles the Colt Detective Special six-shot revolver tucked in her purse.
One of the most powerful lobbyists in the United States, she hopes to persuade Congress to repeal a ban on assault-style weapons. And she is toying with the idea of pursuing national legislation that would allow people to carry concealed weapons.
Her supporters view her ascension as the ammunition they need to stave off another assault on gun rights. Her critics see her as a formidable foe.
``She's articulate and very dedicated, and she will definitely do her best to protect the Second Amendment,'' said John Snyder, a spokesman for the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Richard Aborn, president of Handgun Control, Inc., one of the NRA's main adversaries, said, ``With the appointment of Marion Hammer to lead the NRA, we will unfortunately see a continued shift towards extremist views and away from the vast majority of Americans who support gun control laws.''
Hammer's rise clearly marks a dramatic shift in the NRA's leadership from her predecessor, Thomas L. Washington, a prominent nature conservationist who sought to muffle the group's increasingly controversial anti-gun control message and bring the NRA back to its roots as a recreational hunting-sporting association.
Washington died earlier this month after a heart attack. The 58-year-old native of Lansing, Mich., was re-elected to a second one-year term in May. Hammer was in line to succeed him as president in April.
The 125-year-old NRA is at an important crossroads. With membership at an all-time high and pro-gun Republicans in control of Congress and many state legislatures, the group is in a more advantageous political position than it has been for a decade.
However, the extremism of ultraright-wing gun-rights supporters and fears sparked by the Oklahoma City bombing has put a spotlight on the NRA's aggressive pro-gun stance and turned some public opinion against the gun lobby. And gun control advocates have continued to make strides with gun-control legislation in Congress and in many states.
The challenge for Hammer will be to maintain her hard-line pledge to protect gun rights without alienating moderates from the group's cause.
Surrounded by a wall of television screens in a conference room at the NRA headquarters in suburban Virginia, the deep-voiced, 4-foot 11-inch Hammer appeared undaunted.
She explained that she first became a gun activist when the Gun Control Act of 1968 was signed into law.
``I suddenly realized that because of the actions of criminals, the rights of law-abiding people had been taken away. I had never done anything wrong or misused a firearm, but my rights were being stripped away,'' she said.
Wayne La Pierre, the NRA's executive vice president, said Hammer was in line for the presidency because of her success as executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida, a pro-gun group. It was Hammer's forceful lobbying that gained passage of a 1987 law allowing Floridians to carry concealed weapons.
And, La Pierre proudly said, her ascension marked a transition in the organization from its origins as a post-Civil War ``good old boys club.''
Few would describe Hammer as a token woman. Even those who share her anti-gun control views believe she is sometimes too extreme.
Pro-gun advocate Richard Feldman, executive director of the American Shooting Sports Council, which represents firearms manufacturers, distributors and retailers, said, ``A lot of people I know on our side of the issue don't like her because they don't always agree with her tough stand on the issue.'' But, he added, ``They always respect her.''
Michael Beard, president of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, a coalition of 45 national organizations that favor gun control has clashed with Hammer for more than a decade. He echoes those sentiments. ``She's a tough lady, and there's no doubt she's a true believer, but I must admit, true believers scare me on any issue because they don't have much perspective and are very set in their ways.''
Hammer does not apologize for her uncompromising beliefs.
``My father was killed in Okinawa [during World War II] - he paid a very personal price fighting for freedom. It's little I do to stay the course in that fight for freedom,'' she said.
Accompanying her anti-gun-control message is an emphasis on crime issues, such as tougher sentencing, requiring longer sentences and building more prisons.
Hammer will also oversee the NRA's involvement in local and federal elections. Last year the group poured $1.9 million into congressional campaigns last year, helping to oust 32 incumbents who favored gun control.
And while she is best known for her strong advocacy of Second Amendment rights, Hammer said she also hoped to highlight the NRA's gun safety programs, youth development programs and self-defense programs.
``The NRA is a slice of mainstream America, and the defending the right to bear arms is as American as apple pie,'' she said.
LENGTH: Long : 109 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: KRT. Marion P. Hammer, on the firing line.by CNB