According to the mainstream media, the hypocritical National Rifle Association disarmed its members during their annual convention in Nashville, Tennessee. I was there, and the media reports are false. What I read about the convention doesn't match what I saw on the ground. That inaccurate reporting by the news media is by design rather than accident. The media doesn't know gun owners.. and doesn't care to know them. Instead, the mainstream media paints an unflattering image of gun owners tailored to fit the prejudices of their audience and their advertisers. They paint gun owners as fat old ugly men. In short, the advertising campaign tells us that gun owners are both unattractive...and dangerous. Reality is far different, but it is easier for the anti-gun elites to fight the battle of appearances than the battle of ideas. Make no mistake. It is a battle for hearts and minds. "We cannot let a minority of people.. and that's what it is, it is a minority of people...hold a viewpoint that terrorizes the majority of people." – Hillary Clinton June 2014 Hillary Clinton isn't describing the gun owners I know, or the people I met at the NRA convention. I saw men and women, young and old, urban and rural...and all of them responsible gun owners. To break the first stereotype, about a third of the convention attendees were women. They were NRA members and instructors, as well as pro-rights journalists and bloggers. These women are not the pinups of the gun world. They are some of our best competitors and educators. They are the face of responsible gun owners; a face the main stream media is afraid to show you. I've spoken to most of these women. They are intelligent and articulate advocates for armed self-defense. (1) So why haven't you heard about them? Why are they hidden by the mainstream media? Because they don't fit the story the media wants to tell about firearms owners in America. For the media, selling images is easier than arguing the detailed policy implications of gun control. It is easier to sell outrage than reasoned debate. For example, real gun control will disproportionately harm the poor in our inner cities. The poor are, after all, the most likely victims of crime. Disarming the poor makes them easier victims and so increases violent crime. That isn't a pretty picture. It doesn't fit the media narrative. What do you think? Does the media speak for you and tell the truth about the firearms owners you know? (1) In order, Jessie Duff, Eva Shockey, Lena Miculek, Tatiana Whitlock, Kathy Jackson, Anette Wachter, Natalie Foster, Regis Giles, Amber Kunau