Matthew Tully

Oh, good, the National Rifle Association is coming to town. Because if there’s anything Indianapolis needs, it’s more guns. Right?

The nation’s most powerful gun-rights lobbying organization is bringing its annual convention to our city in late April, and I would have noted this earlier but the NRA was uncharacteristically low-key about its plans. The city’s convention arm also was just as uncharacteristically shy about its big score, not touting one of the largest convention it’s bagged in years and clearly concerned about the controversy an NRA shindig could bring.

So let me be among the first to calm the gun and convention folks and offer the NRA a hearty, sincere welcome to our city. Come. Enjoy. Spend.

We look forward to having you and the 70,000 members you will bring — even if some of us disagree with every last ounce of our souls with just about everything you stand for and believe that you are a glaring example of what is wrong with politics in America. Other than that, we’re happy to have you.

To be honest, while I spend a lot of time worrying about the devastating problem of gun violence I don’t think that problem will be exacerbated by the conventioneers who will walk around Downtown with, I presume, guns cuddled up to their hips and backs. My problem is not with law-abiding NRA members and their guns; it’s with the horrible consequences of the group’s unwillingness to tolerate sensible debates over gun laws.

But that complaint is not why I’m writing today. I am writing simply to welcome the NRA to Indy and to let the group know that there is no reason to worry. Here in Indiana, we can tolerate differences of opinion. And, quite frankly, their views on guns are likely more popular than mine in the Hoosier State.

Plus, I must say, after browsing the NRA convention website this week, it certainly looks to be a one-of-a-kind event.

It was nice, for instance, to discover that Alabama, the legendary country music group, is still around. The band will perform at what the NRA is calling a “Stand and Fight Rally” at Lucas Oil Stadium, an event whose title accurately sums up the organization’s bare-fisted political strategy. The concert/rally will come a day after an NRA forum intended to help “build our battle plan for defending freedom and defeating Barack Obama’s gun control agenda.”

(Memo to the NRA: That gun control agenda, if it ever existed, has been thoroughly defeated, so no need to worry.)

If you doubt how far the nation’s gun policies have tilted toward the NRA, just browse through the list of exhibitors that will fill the Indiana Convention Center. Along with outlets such as Smith & Wesson, others tout descriptive names such as “Cutting Edge Bullets,” “DoubleTap Ammunition” and “GunBroker.com”. The list includes hundreds of such companies; the gun business is clearly good these days.

According to the NRA website, a temporary store will fill a huge portion of the convention center and sell items “specially designed for the NRA lifestyle,” from belts to tactical gear. And because more than 80 percent of those who attend its conventions are men, the NRA this week highlighted a gift that husbands will be able to take home to their wives: A handbag suitable for “the most casual event to the dressiest of occasions.” The purse has a “concealed carry compartment (that) discretely hides your handgun.”

Of course it does.

So to the NRA: Have a great time here in Indianapolis. Enjoy our city and spend a lot of money. All we ask is that you keep it holstered.

You can reach me at matthew.tully@indystar.com or on Twitter @matthewltully.