Just a reminder here.

Kelly: We will start this episode with some news reports on the day of the Columbine shooting on April 20, 1999.

(TV show soundtrack, "CBS New Special Report")

John Roberts: Good day. John Roberts from CBS News Headquarters in New York has now updated the latest news shot by the school at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado.

Kelly: That day, two teenage children walked into their high school with semi-automatic weapons and short shotguns. They fired a total of 188 rounds.

(TV program soundtrack, "CBS News Special Report")

Unidentified reporter: Who did you see holding a gun?

Jenny: (crying) We saw these two children. They are white and wear black trench coats.

Unidentified reporter: Did you see two students wearing black trench coats with guns?

Jenny: (Crying) Yeah. They are photographing people and things.

KELLY: A teacher and 12 students were killed. The two teenagers in charge ended their lives.

(TV program soundtrack, "CBS News Special Report")

Roberts: About an hour and a half have passed since this tragedy. Obviously, the SWAT team has been mobilized outside the school.

Kelly: In the days that followed, although those images were still fresh on TV, the leaders of the National Rifle Association huddled together in private.

Unidentified person #1: We got-they are-Craig (ph) and Mary (ph) just showed me the hate mail entering the building. And, I mean, I don't know how many, but I have a bunch of them here. You know, this is annoying; about 50 or 60.

Kelly: This is a recording that has never been heard before. NPR has obtained more than 2 1/2 hours of similar tapes in which you can hear NRA officials debating their public response to Columbine.

The question they are trying to solve is whether to continue their annual meeting, which is a huge and expensive meeting to be held in Denver a few days later, only a half-hour drive from Columbine High School. This is Wayne LaPierre, a senior NRA official, and Marion Hammer, a lobbyist.

WAYNE LAPIERRE: We have conference insurance.

MARION HAMMER: I-messed up insurance. The message it will send is that even the NRA has succumbed and the media will spend the day with it.

Kelly: With this in mind-the National Rifle Association's response to Columbine laid the groundwork for the next 20 years of debate on gun violence in the United States. Now, the secret recording reveals that the position considered by the organization is very different from the position ultimately adopted.

KELLY: From NPR, my name is Mary Louise Kelly. It is Wednesday, November 10th.

This is considered from NPR.

(Voice of NRA Convention-1999)

Kelly: The National Rifle Association finally held its assembly in May 1999, only two weeks before the Columbine shooting.

(Voice of NRA Convention-1999)

Heston: I am very happy to welcome you to this brief annual gathering of the National Rifle Association.

Kelly: The then President Charlton Heston announced the opening of the meeting, and the content of the meeting has been reduced. Outside the meeting, thousands of protesters gathered. In it, Heston delivered a provocative message that sounds a lot like the NRA’s position in today’s mass shootings; in other words, the national media is not credible. After the mass shootings, anything about guns The conversations with the NRA are all about playing politics with private tragedies.

(Voice of NRA Convention-1999)

Heston: Why are we? Because their story needs a villain. They want us to play a heavy role in their tragic drama, providing fascinating shows to run between cars and cat food commercials.

Heston: The dirty secret of this era is that political interests and media ratings often bloom on a new grave.

Kelly: But as revealed by the NRA's secret recording, the leadership of the organization had a serious debate about whether to adopt this tone. These recordings were obtained by NPR investigative reporter Tim Mak. He and Ailsa Chang talked about other things they told us.

AILSA CHANG, BYLINE: Then please tell us-how did you get these tapes in the first place?

TIM MAK, BYLINE: So they were recorded by a participant in the call about 22 years ago, and he provided it to NPR. We have taken steps to verify the identity of the caller. You can hear the discussion on how to handle the annual meeting in these tapes and the question of placing it so close to the scene of the Columbine shooting.

About a dozen senior NRA executives, officials, lobbyists, and public relations strategists all rushed to participate in the conference call. You have Executive Vice President Wayne Lapierre present, and longtime advertiser Angus McQueen is also present. Former NRA chairman Marion Hammer joined this route. Their voices were a little shaken. This was the top lobbyist of the National Rifle Association at the time, Jim Baker.

Jim Baker: Obviously, everyone has the same concerns-while they will bury these children, we will have media within 10 miles of our convention center. The media in the world try to walk through the exhibition hall and watch the children. Fiddle with guns, it will be a terrible, terrible, terrible juxtaposition.

MAK: The participants in the conference call are very clear that this is the biggest crisis the NRA has faced in years.

Zhang: This is very interesting. What possible responses did they propose in this conference call?

Mai: So they have a few options. They can cancel the convention altogether. They can be reduced. They also want to know if any action can be taken. For example, can they donate money to victims? This is NRA officer Kane Robinson.

KAYNE ROBINSON: We can provide some specific things, not because guns are responsible, but because we care about these people? Is there anything? Does this look rude or...

Mai: So they even discussed giving money.

Tony Marks: Just like the Victim Fund or...

Robinson: Yes, we created a victim fund, we give the victim a million dollars or something similar. Does this look bad, or does it look...

Markris: Well, I mean, this can also be distorted. I mean, why do you want to give money? Do you feel responsible?

Baker: No. Well, you-yes, it can be distorted, but we feel sympathy and...

Mai: So I don’t know if you can hear it there. He said respectfully. So it is recommended to use a soft tone. But after a few hours of recording, you can hear their views on the position they must take.

Jim Lander: I must tell you that we must consider this matter carefully, because if we curl up our tails and run away, we will take responsibility for what happened there.

Markris: Jim, this is a very good argument. On the other hand, if you appear disrespectful in commemorating the dead, you will end up as a huge [expletive] head that will not curl up your tail and run away, you know? So this is a double-edged sword.

Mai: So you can hear the two competing tensions there.

CHANG: This is a very interesting time window. I mean, Tim, you have been reporting on the NRA for a while. Just listen to these-what? -Nearly three hours of tapes, I’m just curious, what else impresses you?

Mai: So this team has long-standing internal problems. Usually, its most radical members are also its most enthusiastic and dedicated members. Therefore, the NRA exists partly to promote legislation. But there have always been tough gun activists within the organization, who are not interested in any form of legislative compromise. On the tape, you can hear the leaders of the NRA refer to these members in a less likable way. It's Lapierre again.

LAPIERRE: You know, another problem is holding member meetings without a showroom.

LAPIERRE: In a membership meeting without a showroom, the person you are most likely to meet is a lunatic.

MAKRIS: That is-bring this up earlier. I agree. The fruit cake will appear.

Mai: They are talking about the so-called annual general meeting. This is a scriptless event where NRA supporters can propose resolutions or give speeches. Obviously, the top leaders of the National Rifle Association feared that they would lose control after Columbine. The next point I want to play comes from Hammer.

Hammer: If you pull down the exhibition hall, the media will not leave anything except for member meetings. And you will have all kinds of crazy determinations, wearing all kinds of costumes, just like a bunch of hillbillies and idiots. It will-it will be the worst thing you can imagine.

Mak: It's really shocking to hear that NRA officials belittle some of their own members so unscrupulously...

MAK: ...when they have no problems in the past, take the faction's money or mobilize them when it suits their purpose.

Zhang: Of course. The roll call and laughter are amazing. I'm curious. Who else did they talk about in this call?

Mai: Well, let's hear their views on the gun industry.

Markris: Jim, let us ask you a question. What do you do-what will this industry do?

Baker: I think the industry will do whatever we ask them to do.

LAPIERRE: Do you think they have a preference, Jim? Should anyone talk to us?

BAKER: I talked to Delfay this morning and he said that they are always ready to help us coordinate. No matter what we want to do, they are waiting to know.

Mike: Robert Delphi was the head of a gun industry trading group at the time. Now, some critics accuse the NRA of being controlled by the gun industry. But in these tapes, the NRA says the situation is the opposite. Now, just like the gun industry, politicians who support the NRA are also seeking guidance from the NRA. Here, Lapierre is referring to Don Nix, who was the majority party whip in the Senate at the time.

LAPIERRE: Well, I was talking to Nicholson's (ph) office this morning and they told me they plan to send them all to school because what they want us to do is provide them with talking points secretly.

Mai: So here to emphasize, Lapierre is saying that Republican leaders ask them to secretly provide them with notes on what to say.

CHANG: Listening to these tapes is very interesting. Do you think these conversations over 20 years ago can tell us what NRA has done since then?

Mak: Gradually, what we see and hear in these tapes are NRA scripts, just as the United States has entered this era of school shootings. The NRA argued in these tapes that the real problem lies in society, not guns. And their strategy actually revolves around the media's suspicion and not wanting to show any signs of weakness.

You will remember that after the Parkland shooting, NRA spokesperson Dana Loesch said, quoting that "traditional media like mass shootings." This is the strategy the NRA has been using for decades.

KELLY: Tim Mak, NPR investigative reporter.

Now, NPR did contact the NRA. We provided them with a transcript of the audio used in our report. In order to protect our sources and to be consistent with previous practices, we did not provide actual tapes. An NRA spokesperson called the story a "hot work" and complained that they refused to provide audio.

Kelly: This is considered from NPR. This is Mary Louis Kelly.

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