The South Jersey Sportsmen, a local group that holds membership in the state coalition, describes itself as a politically active nonpartisan organization dedicated to preserving the constitutional right to bear arms. It has about 200 members, mostly in Gloucester, Salem and Cumberland Counties, said Paul Cosenza, vice president of the group.
Various groups, such as the Law Enforcement Alliance of America and the National Rifle Association, presented Seagal with gifts, including a book, two bullets from the Battle of Bull Run, and a white cowboy hat to represent that he was a "good guy."
They also gave him three guns for his collection - a .44 magnum revolver, a .32 caliber 9-shot Le Mat revolver, and an 1851 Colt .36-caliber revolver that was said to have been carried by one of Seagal's heros, Robert E. Lee.
"Now that we're all warmed up, we can say what we really feel," he told the audience after he received the guns. "It scares me very much to think of people changing the Constitution as they have done. . . . Guns don't kill people, people kill people.
"If they take away the right to bear arms, this isn't going to be the kind of country I'll want to be in," he told the group, which cheered and gave him a standing ovation. "If we can continue to raise our children right, to teach them right and wrong . . . we will continue to protect the moral fiber of America, and that's the key."
The actor said he had taken a break from filming a movie in Colorado to attend an engagement in New York and was asked by Kenneth Gewertz, a personal friend from Deptford, to stop by the Sportsmen's dinner.
The organizations sold more than 550 tickets for the event at $35 apiece, said Bob Viden, president of the South Jersey Sportsmen. The money will be used by the two groups to lobby against gun control, he said.
