The mayor of Elizabethtown is taking on the National Rifle Association.

Bob Brain said Thursday that his decision to join a coalition called Mayors Against Illegal Guns this past summer has come under fire from the NRA.

But Brain said Thursday that he will not be persuaded by an NRA-led campaign to convince him to quit the group.

Akron Mayor John McBeth announced earlier this week that he had resigned from MAIG because of calls and letters from NRA members opposing his membership.

Brain, however, said that he will stand firm against the campaign, which has come in the form of telephone calls, e-mails, letters and personal contacts asking him to resign his membership.

"I don't think it's a winning battle when you are up against the NRA. They have a powerful lobbying group, and they affect a lot of legislation," Brain said.

"But I am not withdrawing."

A card sent by the NRA to its members urged them to ask Brain to leave the coalition, calling it a "national anti-gun group" founded by "activist anti-gun billionaire and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg."

"Several mayors have already quit the anti-gun Bloomberg coalition and Mayor Brain should be the next one to do so," the card states.

"Help him make the right choice between protecting your Second Amendment rights or continuing to be associated with those who actively oppose and undermine your firearms freedom."

Brain argued that none of the coalition's positions "conflict with any individual rights under the Second Amendment." He added that illegal firearms are used in murders and are fired at police officers far too often in Pennsylvania.

On its Web site, the mayors' coalition says its goal is to prevent criminals from obtaining guns.

"We support the rights of citizens to own guns, and we recognize that the vast majority of gun dealers and gun owners carefully follow the law," the group states.

The group also states: "The polarizing rhetoric of gun politics on all sides only obscures the tragic reality we see every day on our streets: violent criminals with easy access to firearms."

Brain's position found quick support from borough council.

"Elizabethtown is not immune to that type of violence," councilman Jeff McCloud said. "We need to take things like this seriously."

Councilman Tom Shaud said the coalition is named Mayors Against Illegal Guns, and he stressed the word "illegal."

"I support the mayor."

Although Brain's term as mayor ends this year, he said he will continue to support efforts to "eliminate illegal guns from our streets" after he leaves office.

"I have a clear conscience on this," he said.

"There are a lot of very good mayors, excellent mayors, who are responding to this. But the little guys in the suburbs like myself don't have the conduit to go out and make a big noise."

E-mail: tknapp@lnpnews.com