| By Bob Weaver
The National Rifle Association plans to spend about $40 million on this year's presidential campaign, with much of the money devoted to portraying Barack Obama as a threat to the Second Amendment rights upheld last week by the Supreme Court.
While there is no movement to take guns away from Americans, the NRA plans on making it a core issue in the election, much like they did in 2000 and 2004.
Republican campaign strategists focused previous national elections on sensitive issues that would tip US voters, like God, guns and gays.
Chris Cox, head of the NRA contends "Our members understand that if Barack Obama is elected president, and he has support in the Senate to confirm anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, [the District of Columbia v. Heller decision] could be taken away from us in the future."
The politically powerful gun rights group will split its message efforts between communicating with its 4 million members and the tens of millions of firearms owners across the country.
More broadly, the group will use an independent expenditure effort to hammer the Democratic nominee via TV, radio and newspaper ads in some of about 15 battleground states in the Midwest and Mountain West.
"We look forward to showing him 'bitter,' Cox said.
He was referring to Obama's statement this spring that some in rural America "cling" to guns and religion out of bitterness.
Since 2000, Democrats have made a conscious decision to avoid alienating gun owners and Second Amendment enthusiasts.
Obama has gone on record supporting the 2nd amendment, assuring gun owners that he is not a threat.
The NRA campaign in the past two elections which elected George Bush was quit effective.
Democratic nominee Sen. John F. Kerry even went so far as to symbolically court gun owners, donning camouflage and hoisting a 12-gauge while in West Virginia.
The NRA says John McCain is a "true gun" supporter.
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