NRA Chair To CPAC: 'I'm Still Standing' "As you might imagine, I don’t get invited to many parties in this town. That’s okay. I came to Washington when I was about your age, but I didn’t come here to be popular. I came here to stand for what I believe is true. The political elites may not like it. The liberal media can keep hating on me. But I’m still standing, unapologetic and unflinching in defense of our individual freedom. They can call me crazy and whatever else they want, but NRA’s nearly 5 million members and America’s 100 million gun owners will not back down — not now, not ever. The Second Amendment is not just words on parchment. It’s not some frivolous suggestion from our Founding Fathers to be interpreted by whim. It lies at the heart of what this country was founded upon. Our Founding Fathers knew that without Second Amendment freedom, all of our freedoms could be in jeopardy. Our individual liberty is the very essence of America. It is what makes America unique. If you aren’t free to protect yourself — when government puts its thumb on that freedom — then you aren’t free at all."