The National Rifle Association has Sumter Mayor Joe McElveen in its sights.

McElveen has come under fire recently for his membership in a group called "Mayors Against Illegal Guns."

He said he joined the coalition about two years ago after reading its literature and asking members of the Sumter Police Department to weigh in.

But the NRA criticizes the group for its founding members, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, and the organization's stance on gun legislation.

The NRA Institute for Legal Action's Web site calls Bloomberg and Menino "virulently anti-gun mayors."

NRA members in Sumter have recently received notices telling them their mayor had "joined a national anti-gun group," which "was founded and is funded by activist anti-gun billionaire and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg."

The notice also listed McElveen's home address, phone number and his e-mail address and tells people to "please call, e-mail and write Mayor McElveen today and ask him to support law-abiding gun owners by publicly disassociating himself with Michael Bloomberg and 'Mayors Against Illegal Guns.' Help him make the right choice between protecting our Second Amendment rights or continuing to be associated with those who actively oppose and undermine your firearms freedom."

McElveen said he has gotten about 100 phone calls and e-mails as a result of these notices.

"Ninety-nine percent of the e-mails and letters that I have gotten have shown a real awareness of the subject," he said. "The letters have been very reasonable."

But McElveen said he has no plans to back away from the organization or renounce his membership.

"I don't apologize for being against weapons being in the hands of criminals," he said.

McElveen said he encouraged those interested to visit the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Web site and see what it is about.

"I just don't see anything in there that a reasonable person wouldn't agree with," he said.

The main disagreement the NRA seems to have with the coalition is the stance it took on the Thune Concealed Carry Amendment, which was attached to the Defense Authorization bill. That amendment would have required states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states. It was defeated on July 22.

The NRA's Web site also lists the coalition's support of "regulating guns shows, (and) supporting reckless lawsuits against the firearm industry" as other points of contention.

But McElveen said the coalition generally doesn't "get involved in some of the hot button Second Amendment issues."

"Guns are finding their way into the hands of criminals and being involved in crime," he said. "Getting those guns out of the hands of those criminals is the main focus."

McElveen is one of only three mayors in South Carolina who are members of the coalition. There are more than 400 members nationwide.

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and Charleston Mayor Joe Riley are the other South Carolina members. Both have also been encouraged to withdraw from the organization, but neither has reported any plans to do so.

The NRA's Web site says 40 mayors have resigned from the group "after hearing from their constituents."

"The easy thing to do is say, 'Yeah, I'll quit,'" McElveen said.

"I'm a mayor in Sumter who's against crime," he said. "Guns in the hands of people who should not have them are a problem, and they're a major problem."

Neither the NRA nor Mayors Against Illegal Guns responded to requests for interviews from The Item.

Contact Staff Writer Gina Vasselli at gvasselli@theitem.com or (803) 774-1214.
Check out the Mayors Against Illegal Guns site: www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org

Take a look at the NRA's Institute for Legal Action site: www.nraila.org