Trump slams Clinton, scores endorsement from NRA at pro-gun lobby convention

The National Rifle Association is endorsing Donald Trump for president.

Chris Cox, the executive director of the NRA's political arm, announced the endorsement ahead of Trump's appearance at the group's convention in Louisville, Ky. Trump called the endorsement a "fantastic honour" and said he would not let NRA members down.

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Cox focused most of his remarks on likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling her a threat to gun owners. He said that with the next president likelyhaving a Supreme Court vacancy to fill, "The Second Amendment is on the ballot this November."

Cox also appealed to NRA members who may have preferred other candidates to Trump. He said,"It's time to get over it."

Trump and other top Republicans spoke at the National Rifle Association convention Friday, where organizers are trying to unite gun-rights voters by painting Clinton as a foe of their causes who must be stopped.

Trump promised gun-rights enthusiasts at the NRA conventionhe would never let them down andcalled Clinton "the most anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment candidate to run for office."

"Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment," Trump said in his speech to the NRA. "We're not going to let that happen."

Clinton has said she supports the Second Amendment, but that common sense safety measures are needed to keep firearms out of the wrong hands. She has called for expanding background checks to sales at gun shows and online purchases, and for reinstating a ban on assault weapons.

Trump, who often notes that he has a concealed-carry permit, has called for making it easier for law-abiding citizens to carry guns for self-protection, saying they could help prevent terrorist attacks and mass shootings. He argues the existing background check system should be fixed, notexpanded, and that assault-weapons bans do not work.

The latter view marks a change from 2000, when Trump wrote in a book that he supported the ban on assault weapons as well as a slightly longer waiting period for gun purchases.

Opposing positions

Clinton, meanwhile, will appear Saturday in Florida with the mother ofTrayvonMartin and other parents who have lost children to gun violence. The Democratic U.S. presidential hopeful has become a forceful advocate for restrictions meant to reduce the nation's 33,000 annual gun deaths.

The dual appearances highlight the opposing positions the candidates have staked out on gun rights and safety, the prominent role the issue might play in the campaign and the national policy implications for the next president.

"If you cherish Second Amendment rights, the stakes have never been higher than they are in this election," NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker said.

The NRA which Clinton listed as an enemy in a debate last year is warning its five million members that Clinton would appoint anti-Second Amendment justices and "implement a radical gun-control agenda," Baker said.

Clinton has often campaigned with families of gun violence victims and will rejoin many on Saturday as the keynote speaker at an event sponsored by the Trayvon Martin Foundation. The fatal shooting of the unarmed black teenager in 2012 continues to be a flashpoint in the debate. Former neighbourhood watchman George Zimmerman recently said he planned to auction off the gun he used in the slaying.

Supporters of gun control have been energized by Clinton's campaign and fear a Trump presidency would maintain a national policy that favours easy access to guns.