NRA leaders take victory lap on electoral gains, but warn of looming gun-control efforts

National Rifle Association members hold hands during the opening prayer at the annual meeting of members at the NRA convention Saturday, April 11, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (The Associated Press)

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Wayne LaPierre, left, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, speaks during the annual meeting of members at the NRA convention Saturday, April 11, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. At right is Jim Porter, NRA president. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (The Associated Press)

Chris Cox, executive director of the Institute for Legislative Action, the political and lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, speaks during the annual meeting of members at the NRA convention Saturday, April 11, 2015, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) (The Associated Press)

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Leaders of the National Rifle Association cite the new Republican majority in the U.S. Senate as evidence of the gun group's political clout, but they warn of looming gun-control efforts in the final years of President Barack Obama's presidency.

The motto of the NRA's annual convention this weekend is: "If they can ban one, they can ban them all." Organizers expect more than 70,000 people to visit the convention's exhibit space, meetings and musical acts in downtown Nashville.

Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president and CEO, called on Congress to enact a law allowing people with handgun carry permits to be allowed to be armed anywhere in the country.

Meanwhile, a few hundred protesters gathered nearby to decry what they called "fear-mongering rhetoric" by the NRA.