Rick Santorum Signs 3-Year Old Daughter Up For NRA Lifetime Membership

Rick Santorum, who exited the GOP presidential race last week, today at the NRA Convention signed his three-year old daughter up for a lifetime membership with the NRA. Isabella, or “Bella,” the Santorum’s youngest daughter, has a rare genetic condition called Trisomy 18. Babies born with the chromosomal disorder have only a 10% chance of living past the age of one.

“Karen and I are life members of the NRA and we wanted to announce today that I talked to Chris and now Bella is a life member of the NRA too. And I hope it’s a long life.” Chris Cox is the NRA’s chief lobbyist.

A lifetime membership to the NRA costs $1000, as listed on the NRA website.

The NRA is widely blamed for the explosion of so-called “Stand Your Ground” gun laws, like the one that kept George Zimmerman for over a month from bering arrested for killing Trayvon Martin, and , in conjunction with ALEC, has worked to exploit gun control loopholes, and “developed sophisticated lobbying networks designed to push back gun controls both at the federal and state level.”

Politico adds:

Karen Santorum did not attend a women’s luncheon as scheduled because she wanted to stay back in Washington with their daughter, who was hospitalized last weekend.

“She’s still not nearly 100 percent,” the former senator said of Bella.

Santorum sounded very much like someone who plans to run for office again in his 16-minute speech, but he also tipped his hat to the presumptive Republican nominee.

In discussing the need to defeat Obama, he cited Romney’s warning in a speech here earlier that Obama winning reelection could lead to more anti-gun Supreme Court justices.

Santorum dismissed concerns that some might not be as good as others, alluding to Romney’s past support for gun control without mentioning it.

“We’ve got to win in this general election,” he said. “I pledge to you that even though I’m no longer in this race I will be all-in between now and November to make sure that we elect Republicans and conservatives up and down the ticket.”

He said he hopes that voters will get to hear more from Karen in the future, making clear he plans to remain a force in the party.

“When it comes to gun rights advocates, I have to say I don’t hold a candle to my wife,” Santorum said. “I am a hunter and a gun owner, but she owns way more guns than I do. And she has a chance to shoot ‘em more often than I do.”