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U.S. news

Faces of the NRA: Inside America's gun club

Thousands of gun owners and lovers--and their loved ones--gathered for three days in Houston to meet like-minded people at the 142nd annual meeting of the National Rifle Association. Meet them here.

/ 19 PHOTOS
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Don Svetanics, 47, flew in from St. Louis to go with his brother, Jim, 45, who lives in Houston, and his dad, to the NRA show. He has attended two previous NRA shows. \"I love guns and the Second Amendment and everything about the Constitution,\" Don said. \"I think it's important to defend our right to own a gun,\" Jim said. \"And the fact that the government is getting really overpowering, trying to take all our freedoms away,\" Don said. \"... I have 60 (guns) É about 30 handguns and about 30 long guns, shotguns, rifles, semiautos, revolvers.\" \"I hunt some. I like just going into my backyard and shooting. I guess if you need them for defense, that would be an option, too. É My favorite is a Smith & Wesson revolver, but I really like the semiautomatics, too. I really like them all. É It just fits good in my hand and I shoot good with it, and I really like it. É \"I think our leaders vo
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Frank Thomas pictured with his son, Tucker, 7 Frank Thomas, 45, and a realtor in the nearby community of The Woodlands, said he owns lots of firearms, perhaps up to 50. He came to the show with his dad and two sons, where the boys collected posters and he checked out a home entertainment shooting game. \"I've never seen that. That's pretty cool. É It's just basically a standard game system that you'd have like at the house and stuff, but a little more accurate and a lot more advanced. É I would love to (buy) É but it's a little bit expensive. ... \"In my opinion, you always have to be an owner of at least one or two of them (firearms), mainly just because of protection more than anything. É Those two, making sure they ... know how to shoot a gun or handle one É if they come across it.\" He goes to the shooting range \"all the time, every week.\" \"It's fun, that's all,\" he laughed. \"I hunt a lot and every

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At the NRA National Meeting in Houston, Tex., May 4, 2013. Erin Trieb for NBC News
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Asher Belles, a 39-year-old business process consultant in Houston, took a long lunch to check out the show and is thinking of becoming a NRA member. \"I just wanted to see what the leadership conference was all about, see how this was really turning out. É taking a long lunch to go see some of the folks who made the NRA what it is today. É I'll probably join up. É It's mostly, it's the legal, Second Amendment issue É just freedom in America. I just think that the organization does a very good job of promoting safety and just freedom in America É\" He doesn't own a weapon. \"It's an issue with my wife. É I snuck out here back in 2004 when they were here. I still have my favorite NRA shotglass and all. É It's a lot of fun. É good folks. I have lots of friends who are owners and go out shooting, it's just kind of a way they hang out. É If I had a weapon it would really be only for personal safety. I've gone out shooting once. It was f
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Don Horton, 73, and his son, Matt Horton, 36, of Houston Don Horton, 73, and his son, Matt Horton, 36, both of Houston, are card-carrying members of the NRA. Matt said his dad taught him how to shoot when he was five or six years old, and the pair used to go hunting a lot together. \"We both have the same interests. I've been handling guns since I was a little bitty kid,\" Don said. \"É There's not anything in here I'm not familiar with, shot most of them. É It's just seeing what's new and things that I would like to have but never will have because (I) don't have the need for it anymore. É Not much use in having a hand-loading operation (where one makes their own ammunition) in a metropolitan city. É \" \"It's just fun to get out and shoot and keep the practice alive É If you don't keep up you're marksmanship then (it) can die off,\" Matt said. \" É not enough people know how to handle guns any more. Like little kids, I feel like
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Dave Wade, his son Charles, 12; Jessie Dunbar, 12, and her dad Brent Dunbar, 43, a physical therapist from Gatesville, Texas. His wife Janet Dunbar, 46, is on the far right É little boy is Wyatt Dunbar, 6 Brent Dunbar, his wife and two children checked out the offerings at the NRA show, including a home entertainment shooting game. Dunbar picked up some triggers, while his daughter, Jessie, got her stock - pink in color - signed by some winners of \"Top Shot.\" Jessie is a member of 4-H, where she participates in rifle shooting and archery competitions. \"I've never been to one before I wanted to see what it was about,\" said Dunbar, 43, a physical therapist from Gatesville in West Texas. \"Every time you have a gun owner, you have somebody that's instilling their own rights. É When you don't protect your Constitution, then your rights, your liberties, get removed from you. That's kind of what they've been trying to do.\" \"It was difficult,\" Jessie said of the ho
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- Sisters Joyce Wagner (left), 71, of Mountain Home, Ark., and Clara Overturf, 66, of Rockwall Tex., are first-time gun users and were looking for one to purchase at the NRA show. \"We both just finished our concealed handgun classes,\" Overturf said. \"I'm 66 years old. Never owned a gun before, never shot a gun. And I'm tired of Obama and them trying to tell me I can't have one. É My husband is disabled and I'm the only protector. I want my license and I'm proud to have my NRA card.\" \"I want to initiate my right to carry a gun,\" Wagner said. \"... and support the Second Amendment, and I fear that's being taken away.\" \"I feel young again. É well I will when I buy it,\" Overturf said of her impending gun purchase. \"Go for it. I have. I'm (trying) to get all my friends to take it. They think I'm crazy,\" she laughed. Joyce hit the bulls' eye three times on her first try at shooting. \"I'm anxious to get a gun
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Erik Cornelius, 42, is a competition shooter from Horsens, Denmark, as well as an endowment member of the NRA. \"During the competition you hear about people, you meet people É and it's basically like a brotherhood. So I joined the NRA to help my American friends. É Right now, I think actually, I'm also helping myself because had this new gun ban law been passed so that you would have a 10-round magazine capacity in the US of A, I think my government in Denmark would say, 'Oh, could they do that over there? Then we might be able to do it over here as well.' And really it doesn't help anything besides ruining a few divisions within shooting sport. É Limiting them to ten rounds would mean that you cannot with your own gun compete internationally because you'll just have to change magazine all the time. É I've been shooting pistols since forever. É Guns are almost outlawed in Denmark, but we still have all these shootings. É So it's not the same discussion (as in the
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Brianna Chamberlain, 39, of Salt Lake City, makes earrings, necklaces and bracelets from brass and silver gun casings. She exhibited her jewelry at the NRA show next to her husband, whose firm has developed a biometric ID gun grip. They have four children (three are his stepdaughters, does that need to be specified?). \"I just started taking the casings and creating kind of lifestyle pieces that would be sophisticated but would also represent something that is a sport for a lot of women. É This is a big part of the industry. ... It looks elegant and sophisticated but it's not so blatant.\" (this part was after the other quote below but was out of sync with the flow) \"I have learned to shoot. My husband has really exposed me to it because I was someone that was nervous. É he really helped me to become more comfortable. É It was something that I had to understand. It was something I was fearful of. É I've come around to realize that for a lot of people it's a
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At the NRA National Meeting in Houston, Tex., May 4, 2013. Erin Trieb for NBC News
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Victor Moore and his wife Michele, both 32, recently moved to Houston from Washington state. Victor served seven years in the Army, and the couple will be full-time students this fall. \"Firearms and such have been part of my life for a long time. I own quite a few fireams. And so for us, it's important to support something that you hold dear and something that you believe in strongly, and so, that's why I'm here. ... We both are concealed-carry holders. É It's a part of our daily life, like putting on your shoes. You have the ability to protect yourself. ... I think that if you're going to control the guns you need to enforce the laws on the books and make maybe a tighter penalty to discourage crime rather than control people who are registering already and carrying in a legal way.\" \"I carry my Smith & Wesson Airlight (a .38) É in my bag, at all times,\" Michele said. \"My preference just because of my service is my AR-15,\"
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27 Raj Singh, 47, and his wife Daman, 42, from Carol Stream, Ill. Employee Ricky Mendez is in photo 50. Raj Singh's father began the family business of offering specialty grips for guns in 1971. Sikhs, originally from Amritsar, India, Raj today runs the business with his wife Daman, 42. \"I grew up here with these people É and I built great friendships here,\" said Singh, 47, of Carol Stream, Ill. \"This is where I'm in my element because a lot of people É they are accepting. É We're very comfortable. It started in the basement of our house,\" he said of the business. \"And then like the true American story, it started and people started liking the grips that he made. É He's a maverick in this business. He had a turban and he had all of these people listen to him. É It's something about these people, they're accepting. I'm one of those transitional pieces where I'm at the tail end of this John Wayne, old cowboy action, co
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Brandy Guilkey, of Weatherford, Tex. Brandy Guilkey, 35, of Weatherford near Fort Worth, Tex., said her grandfather taught her to shoot. She came to the NRA show with a friend as \"kind of a spur on the moment\" and to see Glenn Beck speak. She works in customer service. \"My son participates in shooting sports. He shoots rifle and shotgun and pistol for 4-H. That is a very large contingent here in Texas. É \"I own several (firearms). I enjoy shooting. Target shooting to me is a stress reliever. É Between him and I, we're usually at the range three or four times a week. I'm not a girlie girl. É Some girls like shoes, some girls like purses, some girls like firearms. É I have several different brands. É You have everything. É Some people like the smaller concealed and carry guns, some people like long guns. It's all personal preference. É I have both. We have long guns, handguns, compound bows, crossbows. We have
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Barry Stewart, 51, is an independent writer involved in outdoor and predator hunting TV shows living in South Texas. \"É The Second Amendment is about personal protection and it's about the right for the citizens to defend themselves against their own government should that happen. É It happened back in 1775. Our forefathers firmly believed that if they guaranteed our right to this then we would keep the government in check É \"I have a 100-yard range set up where I live ... Basically I have a gun in my pickup because you have the right to do so here in Texas. É My AR-15 is my favorite. É It's accurate, that's number one. É This didn't come about since the controversy. I film predator hunting TV shows. Well if you've got multiple predators coming in and you are engaging multiple predators, you have a faster follow-up shot. That's something that I have not seen brought out in the media is a modern sporting arms, like an AR-15, actually has huntin
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Mason James, 10, came with his dad, Rick James, 50, to the show. He started shooting with NERF darts, then an air rifle and is moving his way up to a shotgun. He does skeet shooting and has gone hunting with his dad. They are from Friendswood, Tex. \"I like to shoot the 20-gauge shotgun. É I'm okay with it,\" Mason said. \"He does pretty good. He's just learning,\" said his dad, an attorney. \"This is his first year to be big enough to hold a full-size shotgun. É He's not intimidated by it. É It gives us an opportunity to spend some father-son time together. É It gives me a chance to teach him about firearms safety. We're very cautious. É Nothing loaded in the house ever. Guns are dangerous tools, not toys. É He's shot all the time (since he) was little. É I learned from my dad growing up, the same way.\" Mason's best moment at his first NRA conference? \"Holding guns I've never held or never
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Kris Hammerstrom, 29, a machinist and team shooter for firearms-maker Kel-Tec CNC, Inc., based out of Cocoa, Fla.,bears tattoos showing his support for gun rights. He shoots every weekend and was at the NRA show with Kel-Tec. \"I've loved guns my entire life. É They've been a part of American history and heritage for as long as everything. A great activity. I'm teaching my daughter now, (she's) seven. I'm getting her into it. She's going to start sport shooting in the next couple years. If it's taught responsibly, it's a great activity. And I just love shooting, too. É She (his daughter) was a little leary about it at first just because of how loud it was but I got her own like customer pink earmuffs and everything. Starting her off with just like the pellet guns now getting her into all the lighter stuff so it's not so loud, low recoil. É I'm not really for any kind of banning anything that infringes upon our Second Amendment, which is our right to have eve
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family pic: Kate with Brighton, husband Derek, Alexander, 17, Rick Chandler (uncle), 66, Houston, Austin, 19, Cora in stroller \"I've been shooting off and on for the last ten years. But I'm really an amateur. I want my husband to teach me more because my husband is an ex-cop and he's an Army vet. É he's been busy with his business, with all the shortages of ammo and guns and everything, he's been really busy trying to get that started. He just started last year, so not much time for shooting practice yet. É My boys have both shot buffaloes and we're planning for my daughter to go shooting with my husband when she is eight or 12. É My husband's really into just preparedness and making sure that he can take care of his family. É I need to learn about shooting my gun better. É I don't carry yet, but I don't know, I like the idea of being able to, when my husband isn't home, to protect my kids. É\" \"I like guns. I like tasers,\" said Alexander
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Kate Van Voris, 29, traveled with her husband, Derek, and her two teenage stepsons, and the couple's three-year-old daughter and 9-month-old son, Brighton, to the NRA show from West Point, Utah. Derek has a small shooter supply store. Kate took the concealed weapons course with her 23-year-old stepdaughter.At the NRA National Meeting in Houston, Tex., May 4, 2013. Erin Trieb for NBC News
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