Threats to the Bill of Rights will be paid close attention during the 2004 Institute on National Affairs lecture series “Is the Bill of Rights in Jeopardy?”

National Rifle Association President Kayne Robinson will present the first lecture in the series at 8 p.m. Monday in the Sun Room of the Memorial Union.

A former Des Moines assistant police chief, Robinson also served as chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2000 presidential race.

Robinson’s lecture, titled “Is the Bill of Rights in Jeopardy? An NRA Perspective” will discuss the NRA’s stance on legislation that restricts civil liberties.

Pat Miller, director of the ISU Lectures Program, said the Institute on National Affairs defines civil liberty as the legal guarantee to the individual citizen of the rights of free speech, thought and action, limited only so long as their use does not interfere with the rights of others.

“I’m excited because [the lecture series] is attracting a very diverse group of people to campus which is just phenomenal,” said Joshua Reicks, president of ISU College Republicans. “[Robinson] is a well respected member of the Republican Party and represents a group that has wide nonpartisan membership.”

NRA member Marvin Scott, 909 Furman Dr., is a member of the Izaak Walton League, which participates in hunting activities, such as trap and skeet and rifle instruction.

Scott said the NRA takes an important stance on the Bill of Rights, particularly the Second Amendment.

“People have forgotten that [the Second Amendment] is a part of the Constitution,” he said.

Scott also pointed out that Robinson is representative of the NRA as a whole.

“He’s been a high-ranking police officer in the Des Moines area,” he said.

“As I look at the roster [of NRA members], a lot of people are former police officers or officers in the military.”