Cheney woos gunowners at convention

US Vice President Dick Cheney portrayed US President George W Bush and himself as champions of the second amendment to the US constitution — the right to bear arms — in a speech at the National Rifle Association’s 133rd annual convention on Saturday.

"John Kerry's approach to the second amendment has been to regulate, regulate and then regulate some more," Mr Cheney said, citing votes against legislation that would protect gun makers from lawsuits and in favour of allowing federal authorities to randomly inspect gun dealers without notice.

Mr Cheney lauded the NRA's safety programs and said the best way to prevent gun crimes was to enforce existing laws. Federal prosecutions of crimes committed with guns increased 68% under Mr Bush, he told the crowd.