Charlton Heston was president of the National Rifle Association from 1998 to 2003. He won an Academy Award for his role in The Ten Commandments and also played Moses on stage. He became a spokesman for gun rights. In 1999, he spoke at CPAC’s annual dinner about how guns are “symbols of basic American freedoms” and said that “[t]he only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” Shortly after this speech, President George W. Bush signed legislation banning assault weapons into law but Congress later allowed these provisions to expire under pressure from the NRA.