Sarah Palin has been known to provide many a sound bite for news segments and talk shows with her speeches and interviews. Her latest speech incorporated a tin of chewing tobacco, according to the Associated Press.
Palin attacked New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s new tobacco-related ban as she spoke to the audience at the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston on Friday.
"Now I see that the mayor of New York now wants to ban public displays of legal tobacco products," she said as she brought out the chewing tobacco. She tapped the tin and said, “I tell ya, don’t make me do it.” Palin was referring to when she drank some of a Big Gulp during the CPAC convention in March.
During her speech she also said lawmakers were using recent tragedies—like those in Aurora and Sandy Hook Elementary School—as an excuse to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of good citizens.
She said even though she and many other Americans were distraught and angered by the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, simply having emotions isn’t going to keep people safe or "protect the good guys' rights.”
She went on to ask the audience to “keep the faith” and “stand up and fight for our freedoms.”
The three-day convention could see as many as 70,000 attendees at a time when the gun-control debate is strong throughout the United States.
NRA First Vice President James Porter said the gun debate is “not a battle about gun rights” but “a culture war.” Porter is an attorney in Birmingham, Alabama and will take over as the organization’s president on Monday.
“(You) here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors," Porter said.
"It is a cultural fight on those 10 guarantees," said former parole officer Rob Heagy, referring to the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of RIghts. "Mr. Obama said he wasn't going after our guns. As soon as the Connecticut thing happened, he came after our guns."
A group of gun control supporters gathered outside the convention in Houston.
Among those gathered outside was Erica Lafferty, daughter of Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung who was shot and killed in Newtown.
"I am not against people owning guns. I am asking for safe and responsible gun ownership and gun laws. I don't understand where the problem is with background checks," said Lafferty.
