Whatever you think of the idea, it has the liberals running around like headless chickess and sounding goofier by the day. Go NRA!
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45243-2000Jun12.html
The NRA Triggers a Times Square Showdown
By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 13, 2000; Page A03
NEW YORK –– Just the thought of it has New York political and business leaders going ballistic: A National Rifle Association theme cafe in Times Square? With computer-simulated shooting games, a menu of wild game meat and a gift shop of weapons-related trinkets and gadgets?
When the NRA announced its plans for a Times Square cafe late last month, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it would send New York back toward being "Dodge City." Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R) said flatly, "I don't think it's going to happen."
The City Council also got into the act and last week passed a resolution that said the NRA theme cafe should not be allowed to "take root," as if it were an infection. The council accused the NRA of taking "the unconscionable step of promoting guns and gun use right here in New York City."
The NRA clearly has picked a brand-new fight for itself by trying to send its gun-toting message straight into the heart of New York City, where gun control is the bread and butter of Democratic politics and city leaders take great pride in their success at eradicating the culture of guns and violence that once made the city's streets very mean.
Fresh from its chest-thumping national convention last month and Charlton Heston's memorable role as a musket-waving diehard there, the NRA's commercial plans won't be stopped by the forces of "political correctness run amok," says the group's Bill Powers.
It has become a test of wills over politics, ideology, business and spin.
"Our view is that shooting sports, considering there's some 40 million Americans who shoot for fun, our view is that this is as much an American sport as golf or tennis or baseball," Powers said.
Even after the City Council had its go at the issue, Powers said, the NRA is continuing its search for the proper Times Square location.
"We continue to go through private negotiations," Powers said. "We're certainly looking to be in the heart of Times Square." But Powers would not divulge details of possible locations or real estate developers under consideration.
That's odd, says Brendan Sexton.
He is president of the Times Square Business Improvement District, which markets the new-and-improved Times Square to the world. If anyone has his ear to the ground on such a controversial issue as an NRA cafe, it is he.
But Sexton says he's heard so much of nothing about alleged negotiations that now he's wondering whether the NRA's talking to anybody at all.
"I think it's a stunt," Sexton said Friday. "I can't say for sure, but I just can't find anybody who's been talking with them. Doesn't mean it's not happening. It just means it's the most secret negotiation ever in the New York real estate market."
But anyway, Sexton says, "Spiritually, [an NRA cafe] is just not the message that Times Square is sending."
The anti-gun forces are poised, ready to fire away when the NRA plan takes off. Schumer will intervene with business people to help them see the issue his way.
"We didn't clean up Times Square for the gun lobby to move in, and that's a case that Sen. Schumer's ready to make to the people of Times Square if and when it's necessary," said Cathie Levine, Schumer's spokeswoman.
Wayne LaPierre, the NRA executive vice president, announced the theme cafe concept at the group's annual convention in Charlotte last month. It was a small feature of the convention, which otherwise was devoted to boasting of the NRA's political clout, with millions of dollars to spend on pro-gun campaigns and 3.6 million members, a figure that has been disputed by critics. Most of all, the NRA committed itself to defeating Vice President Gore and preserving gun rights, which the group says are the bedrock of freedom.
The NRA is developing a logo and a sports brand name--NRASports, which will be sold at the new cafe, dubbed the NRASports Blast.
The theme cafe would cover thousands of square feet of prime New York real estate, comparable in size with Times Square venues such as the Disney and Warner Bros. stores, the ESPN Sports Zone and the World Wrestling Federation restaurant.
The difference, though, opponents point out, is that the NRASports Blast theme would be guns. Hunting with guns, competing with guns--guns as an all-American sport. Outdoor equipment and gun-related gizmos would be on sale, ranging from T-shirts and Charlton Heston Celebrity Shoot Vests to Eddie Eagle fire safety guides for kids, key chains, lights, coasters, clocks and gun cabinets. It's much the same merchandise available on the NRA Web site, such as kits for making your own meat jerky, called Spice and Slice, from the meat in the freezer from the last hunt.
Powers, however, said that no guns would be sold or on display in Times Square. And he rejected the idea that the cafe would promote the gun culture.
"It's about the shooting sport, which has been a sport in America since there was an America," he said.
Of course, critics don't buy this for a moment, for they see the NRA as a dangerously ideological group. At its convention, a popular T-shirt was one of Adolf Hitler offering the Nazi salute with a caption that likened gun control to the practices of the Third Reich: "All in favor of gun control raise your right hand."
To members of the New York City Council, the NRASports Blast is all about promoting the pro-gun NRA agenda, which the New York lawmakers believe has contributed to the proliferation of guns in the United States and an accompanying increase in violence.
"The city council, in their vote, took an ideological stand against the NRA's aggressive agenda," said Christine Quinn, the council member who sponsored the resolution and whose district includes Times Square. The council's resolution, passed 46 to 1, does not have the force of law but was a symbol of its opposition to the NRA plan.
The cafe, Quinn said, "is about promoting the NRA. I think it's about increasing NRA membership. And I think it's about capitalizing on a type of venue where they believe they will get their message out, particularly to young people and teenagers."
© 2000 The Washington Post Company
http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45243-2000Jun12.html
The NRA Triggers a Times Square Showdown
By Lynne Duke
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 13, 2000; Page A03
NEW YORK –– Just the thought of it has New York political and business leaders going ballistic: A National Rifle Association theme cafe in Times Square? With computer-simulated shooting games, a menu of wild game meat and a gift shop of weapons-related trinkets and gadgets?
When the NRA announced its plans for a Times Square cafe late last month, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it would send New York back toward being "Dodge City." Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani (R) said flatly, "I don't think it's going to happen."
The City Council also got into the act and last week passed a resolution that said the NRA theme cafe should not be allowed to "take root," as if it were an infection. The council accused the NRA of taking "the unconscionable step of promoting guns and gun use right here in New York City."
The NRA clearly has picked a brand-new fight for itself by trying to send its gun-toting message straight into the heart of New York City, where gun control is the bread and butter of Democratic politics and city leaders take great pride in their success at eradicating the culture of guns and violence that once made the city's streets very mean.
Fresh from its chest-thumping national convention last month and Charlton Heston's memorable role as a musket-waving diehard there, the NRA's commercial plans won't be stopped by the forces of "political correctness run amok," says the group's Bill Powers.
It has become a test of wills over politics, ideology, business and spin.
"Our view is that shooting sports, considering there's some 40 million Americans who shoot for fun, our view is that this is as much an American sport as golf or tennis or baseball," Powers said.
Even after the City Council had its go at the issue, Powers said, the NRA is continuing its search for the proper Times Square location.
"We continue to go through private negotiations," Powers said. "We're certainly looking to be in the heart of Times Square." But Powers would not divulge details of possible locations or real estate developers under consideration.
That's odd, says Brendan Sexton.
He is president of the Times Square Business Improvement District, which markets the new-and-improved Times Square to the world. If anyone has his ear to the ground on such a controversial issue as an NRA cafe, it is he.
But Sexton says he's heard so much of nothing about alleged negotiations that now he's wondering whether the NRA's talking to anybody at all.
"I think it's a stunt," Sexton said Friday. "I can't say for sure, but I just can't find anybody who's been talking with them. Doesn't mean it's not happening. It just means it's the most secret negotiation ever in the New York real estate market."
But anyway, Sexton says, "Spiritually, [an NRA cafe] is just not the message that Times Square is sending."
The anti-gun forces are poised, ready to fire away when the NRA plan takes off. Schumer will intervene with business people to help them see the issue his way.
"We didn't clean up Times Square for the gun lobby to move in, and that's a case that Sen. Schumer's ready to make to the people of Times Square if and when it's necessary," said Cathie Levine, Schumer's spokeswoman.
Wayne LaPierre, the NRA executive vice president, announced the theme cafe concept at the group's annual convention in Charlotte last month. It was a small feature of the convention, which otherwise was devoted to boasting of the NRA's political clout, with millions of dollars to spend on pro-gun campaigns and 3.6 million members, a figure that has been disputed by critics. Most of all, the NRA committed itself to defeating Vice President Gore and preserving gun rights, which the group says are the bedrock of freedom.
The NRA is developing a logo and a sports brand name--NRASports, which will be sold at the new cafe, dubbed the NRASports Blast.
The theme cafe would cover thousands of square feet of prime New York real estate, comparable in size with Times Square venues such as the Disney and Warner Bros. stores, the ESPN Sports Zone and the World Wrestling Federation restaurant.
The difference, though, opponents point out, is that the NRASports Blast theme would be guns. Hunting with guns, competing with guns--guns as an all-American sport. Outdoor equipment and gun-related gizmos would be on sale, ranging from T-shirts and Charlton Heston Celebrity Shoot Vests to Eddie Eagle fire safety guides for kids, key chains, lights, coasters, clocks and gun cabinets. It's much the same merchandise available on the NRA Web site, such as kits for making your own meat jerky, called Spice and Slice, from the meat in the freezer from the last hunt.
Powers, however, said that no guns would be sold or on display in Times Square. And he rejected the idea that the cafe would promote the gun culture.
"It's about the shooting sport, which has been a sport in America since there was an America," he said.
Of course, critics don't buy this for a moment, for they see the NRA as a dangerously ideological group. At its convention, a popular T-shirt was one of Adolf Hitler offering the Nazi salute with a caption that likened gun control to the practices of the Third Reich: "All in favor of gun control raise your right hand."
To members of the New York City Council, the NRASports Blast is all about promoting the pro-gun NRA agenda, which the New York lawmakers believe has contributed to the proliferation of guns in the United States and an accompanying increase in violence.
"The city council, in their vote, took an ideological stand against the NRA's aggressive agenda," said Christine Quinn, the council member who sponsored the resolution and whose district includes Times Square. The council's resolution, passed 46 to 1, does not have the force of law but was a symbol of its opposition to the NRA plan.
The cafe, Quinn said, "is about promoting the NRA. I think it's about increasing NRA membership. And I think it's about capitalizing on a type of venue where they believe they will get their message out, particularly to young people and teenagers."
© 2000 The Washington Post Company
