In the wake of the unspeakable tragedy in Newtown, Conn., last December, anti-gun legislators and their obedient lap dogs in the media, both electronic and print, were salivating over the imminent demise of the NRA. They couldn't have been more wrong.

As evidenced by the recently concluded 142nd Annual Meeting of members in Houston this past weekend, the NRA is at its strongest ever. NRA membership has eclipsed the 5 million mark and is still growing at an unprecedented rate. As the anti-gun rhetoric heated up in the wake of Newtown, new members were flocking to the NRA at the rate of between 10,000 and 20,000 a day.

One day alone saw 58,000 join the NRA. The proposed firearms bills that failed a couple of weeks ago in the Senate continued to add to the incredible increase of NRA members. During the three days of the NRA Annual Meetings in Houston May 3-5, the NRA took in $1.34 million in new, renewal and member upgrades, an 86 percent increase from the 2012 Annual Meeting. Several fundraisers at the Annual Meetings generated all-time record amounts from the more than 86,000 members who attended the event. An all-time attendance record eclipsing the old mark by about 13,000.

Legal, law abiding gun owners get it. They recognize this unprecedented attack on their freedoms, not just the Second Amendment but our entire Constitution. The Second Amendment is the lynchpin of our individual freedoms, if it goes, the others will not be far behind. As gun ownership increases, violent crime continues to drop, in direct conflict with what the anti-gunners would like you to believe.

Thanks to NRA education and safety programs, firearms accidents are at a 100-year low. Anti-gun politicians want a totally disarmed citizenry. That is their goal. Their cutesy little phrases like "common sense" gun control measures and "gun safety" laws are nothing more than their sugar coated, decades old mantra of disarming all of us. Don't be fooled by their red herrings; join the NRA, renew your membership and get your fellow gun owners to join.

If you are a hunter, shotgun or big game, competitive shooter, shotgun, rifle or pistol your sporting guns are not safe. Just ask the good citizens, or is that subjects, of Colorado whose sporting shotguns may well be banned, depending on how court challenges turn out.

While we have suffered some defeats in Colorado, New York, Connecticut and most likely soon Massachusetts and California, we have won significant battles in 19 other states. Legal challenges to the recent New York and Colorado laws may see some reverses there.

The NRA remains vigilant to attacks on our Second Amendment freedoms and we need to be vigilant as well. The recent victory in the Senate was significant: It was a critical battle and we prevailed. The war on our Second Amendment freedoms continues and we will continue to stand strong.

It's important for NRA members to try to recruit new members. NRA's strength is in our membership. We continue to fight for the Second Amendment freedoms of ALL Americans so pitch in. Join or sign up some new members.

Dwight Van Horn of Hayden was recently re-elected to the NRA's board of directors. He is in his 16th year of service on the board.