Tucson resident Sandy Froman will lead NRA

The Arizona Republic
Jan. 2, 2005

Sandy Froman heard a strange noise in the middle of the night.

She peered through the peephole and saw a stranger trying to break into her home. Fear gripped her. As she waited for the police, she tried to scare the man off: She banged on the door. Cranked up the stereo. The man left, but the feeling of helplessness was life-changing.

"I realized that no one was going to take care of me but me. The police can't be on every street corner. You need to be prepared," said Froman, who lived in California at the time but now lives in Tucson.

This spring, Froman will take over as the president of the National Rifle Association, a 4 million-member organization that is one of the country's most powerful lobbying groups. NRA president is a spot once held by Hollywood legend Charlton Heston, a man both loved and loathed for his passionate defense of gun rights.

Froman's goals are to diversify membership and dispel what she calls the "myths of the NRA."

"The media wants to paint us all as a bunch of bubbas and rednecks, but it's simply not true," Froman said. "The image of the NRA needs to be corrected. The stereotype needs to be debunked."

Click here to read the entire story in the Arizona Republic.