National Rifle Association president David Keene expressed confidence that the powerful lobby has a decided edge in the simmering debate over gun violence, telling the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a profile published Saturday that his side draws one of its biggest advantages from being hip.

Keene said much has changed since the 1994 passage of the since-expired federal assault weapons ban, which amounted to a policy defeat for the NRA.

“The difference between today and 15 years ago is that today, guns are cool,” Keene said.

Keene also characterized the debate over gun violence in the United States, brought to the fore by the December massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Conn., as a “war” that he thinks the NRA will ultimately win.