NRA officials unveiled a 10-foot-high statue of Heston modeled after the character he played in the 1968 movie, "Will Penny." The statue, which will be permanently displayed in the NRA's headquarters in suburban Washington, shows Heston with a pistol in his right hand and rope in his left hand.
Heston wiped tears from his eyes with a handkerchief.
Heston, 78, who was diagnosed last year with symptoms of the dementia-inducing neurological Alzheimer's disease, appeared to have trouble walking on the stage. He didn't talk during the tribute and gripped the hand of his wife, Lydia.
I have been an NRA member on and off for the last few years. It was Heston's leadership that convinced me to join in the first place. I let it lapse in the last year or so ago, and now I am missing the tribute in my own hometown. There was really no reason for me to join outside of solidarity for second amendment rights. I don't read the hunting magazine they send. But membership did have one benefit I didn't consider when I signed up. Anytime someone would deride gun ownership at work, and plenty did, I would just take my NRA card out of the wallet and flash it. That led to a few interesting conversations. Some people were just against guns because they go, "POW." But others offered a good rebuttal and it was always fun to debate the issue.
With the Dixie Chicks and Tim Robbins complaining about their ideas and speeches having consequences, let’s not forget that Charlton Heston probably cost himself some prime roles by refusing to be politically correct. He never went on Diane Sawyer to cry about it either.
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