Ted Cruz invites Biden to debate him on gun laws

Kicking off the National Rifle Association's annual convention Friday in Houston, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., offered up a proposal for Vice President Joe Biden: An hour-long debate on gun laws.

Cruz, the combative and unapologetic pro-gun Texan, railed against the so-called "Obama liberals" he said are trying to repeal various constitutional rights, contending that laws for which gun control advocates are pushing would do nothing to deter violent criminals, instead making "the target of their legislation... law abiding citizens."

"I would like to issue an invitation to the vice president," Cruz said. "I would like to invite the vice president to engage in an hour-long conversation and debate. How do we stop crime?"

The NRA, in remarks opening up the event, warned gun control advocates its members are engaged in a "culture war" that stretches beyond gun rights, further ramping up emotions surrounding the gun control debate.

NRA First Vice President James Porter, who will take over the top job Monday, issued a full-throated challenge in the opening hours to President Barack Obama after the NRA's major victory on gun control and a call to dig in for a long fight that will stretch into the 2014 elections.

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More than 70,000 NRA members are expected to attend the three-day convention amid the backdrop of the national debate over gun control and the defeat of a U.S. Senate bill introduced after December's mass shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school.

Porter's remarks came in a short speech to about 300 people at a grass-roots organizing meeting and set the tone for a "Stand and Fight"-themed convention that is part gun trade show, political rally and strategy meeting.

"This is not a battle about gun rights," Porter said, calling it "a culture war." "(You) here in this room are the fighters for freedom. We are the protectors," said Porter, whose father was NRA president from 1959-1960.

Rob Heagy, a former parole officer from San Francisco, agreed with Porter's description of a culture war.

"It is a cultural fight on those ten guarantees," referencing the Bill of Rights in the U.S. Constitution. "Mr. Obama said he wasn't going after our guns. As soon as the Connecticut thing happened, he came after our guns."

That theme carried throughout the day and reached a crescendo in the afternoon political rally that punctuated by fiery speeches from state and national conservative leaders.

"You stood up when freedom was under assault and you stood in the gap, you made a difference," former U.S. senator and Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum told the cheering crowd of more than 3,500 at the political rally.

"This is a critical time in American history. Something big is happening in America," Santorum said. "Stand for America. Fight for America."

Texas Gov. Rick Perry criticized gun control supporters as opportunists who prey on the raw emotions of tragic events.

"You can almost set you watch for how long it takes for people who hate guns, who hate gun owners, to start a new campaign," after a mass shooting, Perry said.

Obama, who has pushed for gun control measures, was a prime target for criticism. NRA Executive Director Chris Cox bragged about the organization's victory.

"It was great to see the president throw a temper tantrum in the Rose Garden," Cox said Gun control advocates were determined to have a presence outside the convention hall. Across the street Friday, the No More Names vigil read the names of gun violence victims since the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. Gun control advocates also planned a petition drive to support expanded background checks and a Saturday demonstration outside the convention hall.

Erica Lafferty, whose mother, Sandy Hook principal Dawn Hochsprung, was killed by the gunman, was outside the building and said she hoped to talk to as many NRA members as she could.

"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," Lafferty said.

Inside the convention hall, visitors strolled past acres of displays of rifles, pistols, swords and hunting gear. Under Texas law, attendees could conceal and carry weapons with a permit.

Debbie and Daniel Ferris of Gun Barrel City, Texas, also agreed with Porter's assessment of a culture war.

"It's about fighting tyranny," said Debbie Ferris, who has been an NRA member for five years. Her 35-year-old husband is a lifetime member. "We don't like to be pushed around," Daniel Ferris said. "We are free Americans."

But polls also show that most Americans favor some expansion of background checks and gun control supporters promise to keep pressing the issue.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a West Virginia Democrat, has said he will re-introduce the bill to require criminal and mental health background checks for gun buyers at shows and online.

Gun control advocates have scored some significant victories at the state level. Colorado lawmakers passed new restrictions on firearms, including required background checks for private and online gun sales and a ban on ammunition magazines that hold more than 15 rounds.

Connecticut recently added more than 100 firearms to the state's assault weapons ban and now requires background checks for private gun sales.

Maryland and New York have passed sweeping new guns laws, and in Washington state, supporters of universal background checks recently announced a statewide campaign to collect 300,000 signatures to take the issue straight to voters.

"There are 90 percent of Americans that support this," Lafferty said. "We are not going away. It's a huge issue."