On the issue of bump stocks, the National Rifle Association said the following back in October, “The NRA believes that devices designed to allow semi-automatic rifles to function like fully-automatic rifles should be subject to additional regulations.”
Translation: The NRA supports the National Firearms Act.
For many pro-gunners, this is untenable. The country’s preeminent gun-rights organization cannot support the single biggest infringement on the Second Amendment in our nation’s history. Suddenly, “Freedom’s Safest Place” isn’t just a stupid slogan. It’s a lie.
Heck, how many times have we heard Wayne and Chris make the case that our overlords in Washington shouldn’t be diddling with our 2A rights? I’ll pick one example at random.
Back in 2013, LaPierre told a Senate Judiciary Committee, “Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals.”
He continued, “Nor do we believe the government should dictate what we can lawfully own and use to protect our families.” Adding later, “Proposals that would only serve to burden the law-abiding have failed in the past and will fail in the future.”
That’s NRA 101. We know those arguments like the back of our hands: Evildoers murder people, not guns nor gun owners. Shall not be infringed, stupid. Gun control only works on the law-abiding.
But apparently, those axioms embraced and regurgitated by LaPierre over the decades don’t apply to range toys. That raises a very important question… (Many of you are already grinding your teeth because you know what’s coming. The dreaded slippery slope.) If bump stocks are fair game, what else is on the chopping block?
Trigger cranks? Well, hell, those gotta go too. Binary triggers? Might as well include those because Feinstein said so. Advanced triggers and trigger kits (Apex, Geissele, Hiperfire, AR Gold, etc.), why not? The shoe sorta fits. Let’s include them on the naughty list!
Wait a minute. I just thought of something. None of those are necessary to make a semiautomatic like a full auto. A simple rubber band or belt loop can get the job done. Maybe we should just ban all black rifles then. Seems reasonable. Right?
The NRA’s capitulation on bump stocks has, in the grand scheme of things, little to do with reciprocating stocks. What it comes down to is a fundamental shift in principle. From “stand and fight” to cut and run. It marks the unraveling of all that we know to be true.
SEE ALSO: ATF Asked the Public for Comment on Bump Stock Ban, Here’s How We Responded…
Let’s break it down. Publicly calling for the ATF to regulate a legal device is saying that the government should dictate what we can own for self-defense. Worse yet, it’s endorsing the notion that gun control works. And most unnerving of all, if gun control actually stops mass killers than we are complicit in the deaths of so many innocent people for actively opposing it.
You see, saving lives becomes a matter of ratcheting up regs on this feature or that device or that firearm. It’s an anti-gunners dream. I’ll let you think on that for a moment.
The counterargument to all of what’s been said is that the NRA cannot afford to be ideologically pure. They work in the trenches, day in and day out. They see how the sausage gets made, they need to be pragmatic and calculating. Small sacrifices are necessary for the greater good even if that undermines the core ethos of the club.
Over the years, no one has done more to advance the 2A rights of law-abiding gun owners. That includes not only ending concealed carry bans in states like Illinois and in federal enclaves like D.C., but also blocking federal prohibitions on black rifles, high capacity magazines and efforts to criminalize private transfers. Remember, the NRA fought the good fight in the wake of Sandy Hook, when the political wind for gun banning was as strong as it ever was. The NRA came out victorious in 2013. No new legislation was passed at the federal level.
So where does this leave us? Last week, in an article on the public comments submitted to the ATF on bump stock reclassification, a lot of you talked about pulling NRA donations and tearing up membership cards. I’m not sure that’s the right approach. To suggest that Chris and Wayne are complete sellouts is going too far. They’re certainly not. I’d argue that we need them as much today as we did ever before. My take is that they’re not our enemy. They’re just — like millions of other Americans — moderately pro-gun.
There are roughly 120 million US gun owners with 300 to 400 million guns and over 2 trillion rounds of ammo. Less than 2/10 of 1% of them are involved in a violent incident with a gun of any kind on an annualized basis. How are the lawful owners (99.8%) to blame for problems caused by 0.2% of all gun owners? No, this is not an assault on guns, it is an assault on free speech and political freedom. The assault is on the First Amendment, not the Second. We publicly exercise our right of free speech and association in order to disagree with them, so in retaliation they have branded us as tantamount to murderers. Joseph Goebbels would approve of their tactics.
We all need to remember if the DNA ever did get gun controls removed they wouldn’t have jobs anymore. Its in their interest to keep the wobbly fence where it is.
Oops. I hate autocorrect.
Apparently your autocorrect is a Liberal!
The people who run the NRA are no different than the establishment Republicans in the House and Senate. They are just as bad as Mitch McConnell and John McCain. The establishment Republicans- Republicans In Name Only (RINOs) are no different than Democrats, in that they want more and more big government. If the NRA wanted the people to support them, they would support the people and work to overturn the three major pieces of federal anti gun legislation that have been passed. The 1934 National Firearms Act, 1968 Gun Control Act, and the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act. These three acts are all worthy of removal.
Get rid of the current NRA people and get rid of RINO Republicans.
And replace them with whom? The NRA supported the NFA and did little to oppose the GCA or the FOPA. As for RINOs, just how many Republicans are more committed to gun rights than they are to their re-election?
Gerald you seem to have it all figured out. Only problem is that every thing you say /believe is complete garbage. I would bet that you have zero experience in business or any sort of leadership qualities. Gerald get a hobby that doesn’t require much intelligence, you’ll be great at whatever it is.
I can’t help but wonder how many of these 2A nutjobs squalling for machine guns in every living room would change their tunes had one of their children been the victim of these quasi military massacres… ALL of you have blood on your hands, including the NRA, the greedy profit over humanity at all costs Gun Lobby and the sycophantic Politicians like Little Marco that gobble the GAM of these Lobbyist’s that support them…You should all be ashamed of yourselves…When you say “from my cold dead fingers”… I say, WITH PLEASURE…Get ready psychos…We’ve had enough and we’re coming for you…
If we went after actual “psychos” we might not have any mass shootings. Neither the NRA or any other gun-rights organization is the problem, it’s the mental-health and privacy advocates who have opposed adding mental-health records to the NICS database.
The psycho is you dear friend if you want to come for us with your not so veiled threat of violence. You and your ilk are another reason why we are armed and not fearful of your empty threats. Good day to you.
Nutjob calling the kettle black… Back away from the keyboard nutjob, and walk back upstairs to Nancy Pelosi’s Office.
“We’ve had enough and we’re coming for you” lol. Please do. I mean it snowflake. Please come and get me. We’ll see who leaves that battle. Just write down any last words you have for your loved ones before you do. I promise to get it to them for you.
\”Small sacrifices\” = Death by a thousand cuts.
One cannot even justify sacrifices as \”compromise,\” because we never get anything in return (like sacrificing bump stocks for universal concealed carry reciprocity). When we win, we win outright, but when we surrender, we get nothing in return. What good will it do to \”win\” on concealed carry if the \”sacrifices\” cost us the guns and ammunition we\’re supposed carry? What good will sacrificing bump stocks do if we also lose the guns they\’re made for? The sacrifices have NEVER gained us anything. They signal weakness and encourage more infringements, as well as build upon the infringements already made.
The ONLY strategy is to be dragged kicking a screaming into every loss. Put up the best fight EVERY time, knowing that you\’ll win some and lose others. Just giving in here and there is a LOSS for us that the opposition didn\’t even have to fight for, and, because WE surrendered, we may have passed up an opportunity to win.
NEVER surrender! NEVER give up!
We may eventually lose, but the organizations that are supposed to be fighting for our rights should not be complicit in any loss. That\’s not why they exist.
NRA is the one everyone knows about that they love to hate.
GOA and SAF are actually winning court cases fighting for our rights.
Right you are. If nothing else, that is a good reason to support the NRA. “GOA and SAF are actually winning court cases fighting for our rights” only because public focus is on the “evil empire” of the NRA.
I’m not knocking the NRA, but if you’re not already a member of Gun Owners of America (GOA), they are the “NO” compromise organization on gun rights. You should check them out.
https://gunowners.org/
The one thing the NRA has been really good at is asking for money. Not a week goes by that I don’t get at least 2 requests for more money. If I gave them $1 million on Monday, by Friday they would be asking for more. Perhaps if Wayne and Chris didn’t make so much money in salaries, they wouldn’t need to beg so much. I think it is time for Wayne to retire. He has been there so long, he is losing sight of what he should be fighting for. I, for 1, have no interest in bump-stocks. I will never have one, but other gun owners do. I also have no interest in owning a 1911, but others do. It’s not what one person wants, it’s about what is good for all gun owners. We have less than 1 year before Congress turns Democrat. It’s time for the NRA to stop screwing us and get Congress to pass hearing protection and dumping the NFA. They need to stop stirring up crap to generate another crisis so you can beg for more money to fight… Fight who? Yourself?
Unfortunately like ANY large organization the NRA is akin to an overloaded dump truck careening down the legislative highway, swaying dangerously back and forth, sometimes on track other times way off. I’ve found it better to also support smaller grass root organizations that are established such as GOA and JPFO. Almost every state has a forum and organization that collaborates and supports local gun owners. The NRA seems to have tried and increase it’s effectiveness in todays social media and younger generations, but losing ground to big businesses and political lobbyist.
I am a NRA Patron Life member. I quit the NAGR after about 1 year because Duddly? was bashing the NRA. I called them and told them so. I agree, we need to stop the in fighting. If you don’t you might as well turn your guns in right now. You can’t have everything you want. Facts are facts, you are going to have to compromise somewhere. We need to focus on retiring the liberals from office, not on bashing the pro gun organizations. Even if they aren’t Pro enough for you. We need all the support we can get. UNITE! Notice I didn’t bash any organization here.
NRA HAS STABBED FREEDOM EAGLE IN THE BEAK!!!! DO NOT GIVE THEM ANY MONEY UNTIL WE CAN BUY MACHINE GUNS AT 7-11 LIKE WE USE TO BEFORE THEY HELPED BAN IT BY MAKING A DEAL WITH LUCIFER HIMSELF (DEMONCRATS). SUPPORT GOA UNTIL THEY OVERTHROW THE NRA IDIOT DEVIL WORSHIPPERS
I just took a jaunt down through the comments, from start to finish and I must say that the NRA is in trouble if what I have read is a reliable indicator. GunsAmerica has tried to soft-soap the issue from their opening title, but they might as well not have tried. I see a seething mass of discontent against the Good ol’ Boy coalition at NRA home base and it’s not going to disappear anytime soon. What did they think; that they could just keep on feeding us the same old regurgitated slop forever and that we’d just keep lapping it up like some sort of thanxgiving feast?
I support the NRA because they are the strongest voice we have, even though the leadership is not always on the stick, as it were.
I’m a Benefactor Member and have been Life Member since 1995.
I give as much each year as I can.
I am a voting member and I can make a difference.
So your the guy who voted for the sellouts. Good goin’ pal!
The NRA will not change. It is designed to function a certain way. The NRA has been supporting gun control since before the 1934 Act, while simultaneously pronouncing it is supporting the RKBA. Even the NRA is opposed to “shall not be infringed.”
The NRA has evolved into a highly specialized, well oiled machine that is capable of doing one function: fund raising.
The NRA is not a Gun Rights Organization or they would be much more proactive working towards repealing ALL the NFA rules regulations except limiting criminal and NUTCASE possession of any firearms!
End of Subject!
In the eighties I hunted,shot High Power and mostly enjoyed old military rifles. In hindsight I may have been a bit of a fudd even though I owned a M1 Garand 😉 When the “BAN” passed I had no desire to own a AR in any configuration but the idea of banning fire arms biased partly on appearence ticked me off so bad that I quit the NRA for doing a ” Matedor” on it. In 2006 I got back to match shooting in High Power ,Vintage Military rifle and Three position small bore. In order to shoot matches at my local club which is an NRA only membership I got back in as a life member, my Wife is also a life member. Horror of horrors in 2007 I purchased a nice Compass Lake AR 15 A2 National Match Rifle and began posting personal best and club best scores in my club , no Fudd left in me. It is indeed time for Wayne to go, He has done a lot of good for us but new leadership is needed. Life members can vote on NRA officers so I try to vote for right thinking candidates. Not giving up yet.
I joined the NRA in 1971, right around the time of the Cincinnati Reforms. I’ve never strayed from them even though they often do things that I disagree with because they have over the years proven to be the most effective tool we have to fight the left on the Second Amendment. I will agree with you that Wayne LaPierre isn’t perfect, he’s no Jesus Christ by any measure, but unlike some on this post, I don’t expect him or anyone else to be. He does what he feels is best, if he falls short point it out and work to change his mind, name calling and juvenile attacks, accusations of philosophical impurity, and charges of deception and treason serve no useful purpose. I’ve noticed on many different sites now that NRA bashing has become the pass time of choice for many of you and it’s simply unacceptable if we’re going to survive the battle we have to fight with the left. United we win, divided we fall. I know it’s an old cliche, but it’s a very accurate one. I hope the bashing doesn’t become too rampant on this site because I like GunsAmaerica, but just like the ISSAA (Idaho State Second Amendment Association) who I walked away from when they did it as I investigated them for membership, I’ll do the same here if I have to though I’d rather not. Political cannibalism is a suicide pact for our cause.
I’m an endowment member, and I agree something isn’t kosher in the NRA , it’s a cancer called greed. We need fighters not business men. Time to cut the fat , no more corporate running or ruining the real reason it’s the NRA.
We can’t cut corners in this war , yes war . All gun owners are in jeopardy with the fake attacks being pushed as real. Real attacks are bad enough , no matter what if someone wants to kill they will. All the laws on the books have never stopped any. Cain killed his brother over jealousy of being the first born. Really is there any better reason for abortion , kill all the first born . Just like Antigun laws. Take the guns murder will still happen.
Look at all the lives saved with a gun , if an armed teacher was in Florida I’d bet there would many still alive and unhurt. Happening all the time normal citizen helping and saving police and others.
” May all your enemies be on full auto .”
– A very wise individual .
The NRA is supporting the largest targeted disarmament in the history of our nation by cover up and hiding things from there membership. I am referring to marijuana. This was designed to disarm the very people that have the best chance to survive an attack. The young and the hip. The people that were given immunities covertly and are at the perk of there physical condition. Ask them why there is a cover up?
Bump stocks are stupid. Anti-NRA posters are probably all Democrat trolls.
Bump stocks are no more stupid than expensive hunting rifles and $65,000 BMW’s.
Yeah, but they’re still stupid.
I do not like the concept of Bump stocks, but I don’t mind others having them. We should not have the “NFA” anyway. Keep and bear arms means Howitzers and Hand Grenades to me, but that might increase the severity of mass destruction.
I am a lifetime member, and in the past donated a good bit to the NRA, now that money goes to the GOA, NAGR, 2AF. 2AF actually sues government entities for gun rights.
I have seen the NRA actively supporting gun owners in Oregon where I reside, but it was for naught. They don’t pick their fights, nor their retreats, well.
You just outed yourself troll.
Chris Cox and Wayne LaPierre need to be retired or fired, NOW. Their replacements need to be limited to 5 year contracts that can only be renewed one time, for a total of 10 years. All of the NRA’s books need to be open to the membership to read and review, in-person at NRA Headquarters.
The days of million dollar salaries, lavish parties and private jets must come to an end. NRA members need to drain their own “Swamp” first. After that, we can mobilize to repeal the 1934, 1968, 1986 Gun Control Acts, eliminate the BATFE and repeal the “Gun Free” School (Killing) Zone Act. Why these have not been our goals all along, I have no idea.
Feeding a beast that creates or is complicit in creating crisis after crisis in order to keep fund raising going, is a waste of resources and time.
I agree .I turned in my NRA membership in 1986 and haven’t supported them since. I was a FFL O3 dealer “machine guns” .at the time.The NFA market crashed and I felt I was stuck with 1000’s of dollars worth of guns I couldn’t sell. I was not able to hold out till the prices recovered.I sent a letter to the NRA asking why would they back the 1986 act , they sent me ( no kidding ) a file about 2 inches thick on why they agreed to support the future ban on sales of new machine gun to the civilian market. Thanks NRA but NO Thanks Never give an inch.
If the “1000’s of dollars worth of guns” were select fire/full auto and transferable they would be worth a fortune today.
“I was a FFL O3 dealer “machine guns” at the time.”
Your comment is one of those that make the discussion difficult as it is inaccurate. An 03FFL is a “Curio and Relic” “collector’s” license.
What (I assume) you had was a “Class 3” enhancement of an 01FFL (perhaps another FFL).
As we so often criticize the anti-gun lobby for not using the right terms we need to get them straight ourselves.
Sorry to hear of your problem, but to borrow a line from “Star Trek – the Wrath of Khan:”
“The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few – or the one.”
I’m with you buddy!
Attacking the NRA is a really politically stupid thing for gun owners to do. If you disagree with the NRA on a particular issue, politely make your case with reasoned arguments. Do not attack your friends and allies.
Exactly. The NRA is and will be the most effective voice for gun-owners and the 2nd Amendment. It seems motorcycling, golf, and guns attract a lot of know-it-alls with a yellow-jacket in their boxers. Just continually pissed off at everything.
My thoughts also.
Don’t throw out the baby, with the bath water.
NRA has made amazing strides in the correct direction, especially during the reign of the liberals. So rather take the approach of , expressing the direction that you would rather see your club go.
I agree with MAUSER6863 on the subject of where the NRA should be laser focused (repeal all infringements, eliminate alphabet soup agencies), but why dispose of an asset (Cox/LaPierre)? Rather, let’s channel that resource in a direction we feel appropriate.
I have donated money to the NRA in the past but I have not been a dues-paid, current member for about 15 years. They can have my money, they can have my address but one thing I will never give the NRA is my phone number.
I’ve been a Life Member for decades, not once been called by NRA…… just my experience
hope we gun owners come thur this ok????? i’m sending extra money to nra to fight for our rights,we need to get rid of FBI
I’m a Benefactor Member and have been a Life Member since 1995 and I don’t think the NRA has ever called me on the phone.
If they did, I told them, like every other solicitor, to never call me again.
I have been called by the NRA several times over the years but only when I was lax in renewing my membership. To use one of my Mother’s favorite expressions, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”
Wayne Lapierre was personally complicit in sacrificing civilian machine gun ownership to the Hughes Amendment in 1986. Charlie Range passed Hughes fraudulently and illegally, and Lapierre could have fought it and won. I dropped my membership many years ago, after repeatedly calling the NRA attorneys and asking them to fight to overturn Hughes, and never getting a meaningful response.
Brother Bob… this is no reflection on your comment .. on our side of the Battlements All Brothers are Honorable.. all Sisters Virtuous…and we can always learn from each other.. ..
Wayne LaPierre , Neal Knox, Arron Zelman, Larry Pratt… They properly reside in a place of Honor among the greatest Defenders of Liberty .
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Teddy Roosevelt
Nice.
i was turned down for a gun purchase a couple years ago, no known reason,i contacted the fbi an the atf,they wanted my fingerprints an all that i contacted the nra an got a letter back in about a month from atf an fbi saying i was approved for purchase of fire arm,i have sense purshased one,no proplems go nra
All of you flaming-hair radical geniuses need to take a deep breath and get a grip. Machine guns have been illegal for anyone but the military and the comprehensively-vetted individual for over 80 years. And their possession by every whistling dick that wants one has always been dis-approved of by 99% of the sane, law-abiding public even before that. You lunatics that don’t know where to draw the line are just hurting the 2nd Amendment cause by proving to the general public that there are nuts in the gun community who have no common sense and shouldn’t be trusted. If you absolutely have to fire more than 500 rounds a minute to get your jollies there are plenty of Title III-licensed ranges where you can go an do that. But please tone it down for the sake of us normal people who realize we don’t need real military assault weapons for enjoyment or self-defense. Oh, and please buy a freaking dictionary and learn to spell!
ignorance is a terrible thing.
The original 1934 Gun Control Act included all firearms, rifles, pistols, shotguns, as well as machine guns. The idea was simply to tax guns to death and to kill the gun industry and gun culture in America. Only the rich and privileged would be able to afford firearms.
The plan was that all guns in civilian possession would be allowed to be registered. If you sold or bought a gun, after the passage of the Act, you would pay a $200 transfer tax and be photographed and fingerprinted. The $200 amount of the tax was the same as the cost to buy a new Thompson Submachine Gun at the time, which was the pinnacle of gun technology in 1934. $200 was equivalent to 3 to 4 months take home pay for the average worker at that time or around $3,735.00 today. So if this was passed as written, today, you could purchase a $1,000 AR-15 or a $200 Kel Tec pistol and then pay an additional $3,735 in tax on top of the purchase price.
This is the liberal definition of “Common Sense” gun control and was passed by Congress. Before passage, the Democrats were worried about losing their seats in Congress, so they dropped pistols, rifles and shotguns from the legislation and just applied the law to Machine Guns, which were never a significant crime problem as 99.9% of people either didn’t own them or couldn’t afford them in the first place. In 1968, they created a new category of weapons, “Destructive Devices: which was basically anything over .50 caliber and other devices like hand grenades and landmines.
Of the approximately 182,000 fully transferable machine guns in civilian hands, only 2, since 1934, have been used by their owners to commit crimes, both of whom were police officers. One was a MAC-10 Submachine gun used in a revenge killing of a drug dealer and the details of the other incident are unknown. The fact is, legal machine guns are the least dangerous guns owned by the public. THIS IS A FACT.
Despite this nearly perfect record, Congress voted to outlaw the purchase of any new machine guns by civilians in 1986. So much for “Common Sense” gun control.
Taxation is the power to destroy. Currently new a semi-automatic AR15 sells for around $1,000, a used fully automatic M-16 sells for around $25,000 to $40,000, as the supply of guns is frozen and there are more willing buyers than guns. As with the original intent of the 1934 Gun Control Act, only the rich and the powerful can afford to buy machine guns.
Freedom for Some, is Freedom for None
Perfect is the enemy of good. That is where you are.
SPOT ON!
Wow so your normal
Yet you start off with insults
Are you sure you aren’t just a troll
There aren’t ranges that don’t have full auto in every state
So your going to tell me how and where I can spend my money
You sound an awful lot like a politician
Clearly it was wrong for me to call you geniuses and I apologize for that. A person who can’t deal with punctuation of any kind should never be called that. Mauser6863 knows a lot of questionable history but doesn’t acknowledge the bottom line of machine gun legislation is that the general public won’t tolerate them being available to non-military individuals that have not been very carefully vetted. I’m not a troll, I own 50+ firearms and love the smell of burning gunpowder as much as you do. But I learned a long time ago that society is going to tell you what is acceptable. If you are one of the .1% that thinks everyone should have unlimited access to military hardware you are by definition a fringe element wacko and should not be surprised if society takes steps to place you under observation. When you ask the NRA to waste resources trying to fight a losing battle on your behalf, you are asking them to lose credibility with mainstream America. That hurts all gun owners because what the NRA membership has going for us is that we have truth and reason on our side.
The NRA wrote off NY Years ago! They don’t even show up to Try to fight these gun stealing bastards anymore.
So, I donate ALL my pro gun funds to the NY pistol Assn, and a couple other NY based pro gun groups. At least they Try to help us.
I have not given the NRA a dollar in over 3 years now, and I Never will again!
The only thing worse than an enemy is a traitorous friend. At least anti gun politicians tell you to your face they don’t like guns the NRA will tell you they are pro gun all the while supporting further erosion of the second amendment.
I’ve said it on these pages before and I’ll say it again – I’ve watched the NRA at the state level in Georgia pull the rug out from under the true guns rights advocates time and time again, to the point where I’m totally disgusted with them. We make ZERO progress here, passing “rights” bills that are nothing of the sort, bills that are simply meant to provide coverage for anti-2nd Amendment politicians to be able to say at re-election time that they “love that ol’ 2nd Amendment – see, I voted for bill so-and-so!” Perfect example is the laughably named Campus Carry bill, which is anything but. There were so many exclusion zones and gotchas built into that bill that no one dares to carry on campus lest they get trapped in the maze of ever-changing “you can carry here if the sky is partly cloudy and a hobo is dancing in the street but not if a mouse is peeking from it hole”-type zones. Then of course the NRA gives these clowns A+ ratings, in spite of the objections of the members. Who cares what we, the life members, think anyway?
So we watch as our gun rights in Georgia have stalled and expect them to slowly wilt away as Georgia slowly becomes a blue state. Mark my words.
Very well said!
I have to agree with 99.44% of the article, I just wish you had gone further. There is a cancer growing in the NRA. It is the power drunk, over paid servants of the organization named Chris Cox and Wayne LaPierre. At more than five million dollars a year they lord over the membership and have come to adopt an air of royalty, just watch them at any event. I am surprised they haven’t adopted a ring kissing ritual, they feel so secure in there positions that they no longer feel they are employed by the association, but in fact rule over it. They both need to go, and now. They need to b replaced with servants of the organization, contracted to support and defend our rights for a given contract period and then go to hell home. Term limits. The NRA is being ruled by a self proclaimed king and a prince consort. Off with there heads and onward to the future.
I am a Life Member of the NRA, and though I will remain so I do not support there positions as of late, they are giving to much ground and not taking the fight to those that are trying to take away our 2A rights in a lot of places. Apparently they have given up on CA, and likely will do same with NJ. But if you just throw in the towel and let the liberals have a little they always come back and want to take more. Our forefathers were quite clear about what the 2nd Amendment was saying and its purpose, it is FOR THE PEOPLE and it SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED. That needs to be made clear at some point so in the end we need some more judges on the supreme court who will have the balls to once and for all declare that all laws that INFRINGE on the 2nd Amendment are NULL AND VOID. There is simple one law required when it comes to firearms, at both the state and federal level, if you are a criminal you lose your rights to own a firearm, that is it one single law. And you actually have to penalize people who violate that law so that it sticks not like most states do today which is nothing.
David, I think you have gotten to the heart of the matter, and your claims show why the popular idea of the meaning of 2A is not likely to take hold. Consider three of your statements.
1. “we need some more judges on the supreme court who will … declare that all laws that INFRINGE on the 2nd Amendment are NULL AND VOID”
This might result if SCOTUS were to be packed with quite extreme ideologues, but IMO would result in a Constitutional crisis.
2. “[The NRA] are giving to much ground and not taking the fight to those that are trying to take away our 2A rights.”
My own state, Maryland, has made some quite explicit laws governing guns which are not liked by NRA. I expected a challenge from NRA but none was forthcoming. My take is that NRA knows they would be playing with fire to suggest overruling states’s rights in this area. The public is quite clear about wanting something done about the slaughter, and unimpressed by talk of “good guys with guns”. And most telling, SCOTUS has refused to review several state gun control laws.
3. “Our forefathers were quite clear about what the 2nd Amendment was saying and its purpose”
Perhaps, but that determination is for no one but SCOTUS, and they have made no sweeping statement.
Well bunk is bunk and lie’s are lie’s. The NRA in all it’s glory has let gun owners down time and time again with compromise. One can only compromise so much then there is nothing left to compromise! The founding Fathers were absolute in their intent with the second amendment, “the people, right to bear arms, shall not be infringed” The Constitution is under attack and has been for more years than most can even fathom! The USA is the only lasting Constitutional Republic in the world. It has been called the last vestige of freedom for a reason! We “The People” not only have the right to protect and defend Our Constitution, “We The People” by being such, have the responsibility to do so, the apathy of that responsibility over the years is why we have over 5000 gun laws on the Federal, State, City and County level and the compromise has got to stop and Freedom restored!
“God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion.
The people cannot be all, and always, well informed. The part which is
wrong will be discontented, in proportion to the importance of the facts
they misconceive. If they remain quiet under such misconceptions,
it is lethargy, the forerunner of death to the public liberty. …
And what country can preserve its liberties, if its rulers are not
warned from time to time, that this people preserve the spirit of
resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as
to the facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost
in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from
time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
It is its natural manure.”
Thomas Jefferson
I have contributed a fair amount of money to the NRA through the years. No more! I’ve come to view them as a shill. They project the pretense that they are the protectors of the second amendment just so they can continue their moneymaking operation from the members wallets.
It has been a long time since the atmosphere in Congress and the White House has been as cordial to second amendment interests as it is now, yet what has been accomplished?
The SAFER act, the hearing protection act, and many other 2A initiatives have not even gotten out of the starting gate. The Las Vegas shooting happens and the NRA puppets immediately offer up bump stocks. A cheesy accessory yet something that should surely be protected under the second amendment.
Philando Castile was legally carrying his concealed firearm and disclosed such to the police but for having that firearm he was shot and killed by a nervous or overzealous officer. Where was the NRA outrage over this concealed carrying licensee losing his life when he was anything but engaged in a felonious criminal act.
Don’t forget, too, that the NRA was just fine with machine guns being banned so that now not only are they an NFA item but outrageously priced as supply continues to decline.
For an organization who claims to be the guardians to keep The right to bear arms from being infringed upon, they leave a lot to be desired. I’ve seen through the veil and I realize that Wayne and Chris as well as many others are living high off the hog while throwing just enough crumbs to the members so they keep their wallets open.
What a bunch of BUNK! The NRA is the enemy, all the gun restrictive legislation has been written by them 1986 and now with the bump stocks that has given a foot hold to total gun ban. Where are they when this recent school shooting happened? Why aren’t they out there with the facts and with an ad that says “own responsibly” like the alcohol commercial. JUST WHERE THE (you fill in the) _________ are they?
DOWN WITH THE NRA it is an Anti Gun organization. My money will go to the GOA!
I have never owned a bump stock, just too damn ugly. Have been waiting for something at least doesn’t make my rifle look like it’s wearing a club shoe…lol
NRA has been slipping in my opinion with there battles and giving in without input from there members. Hopefully this administration doesn’t fall to compromise and make some stupid deal with the Dems. 2nd Ammendment has been hanging on a string since Bill Clinton got his way.
Imagine where we would be right now if gun grabbing Hillary was in office. Alot more of us need to speak up with letters to our Congress men and not just gripe of forums. Stand up and take real action fire off emails until there sick of hearing from you. Don’t depend on others like the NRA to fight your fight.
When my rights are clearly spelled out in the Constitution, there should NEVER be a give and take! I was a life member for decades, and pulled my membership. My freedoms are not to be bartered with.
In 2016 in Missouri, the NRA endorsed a liberal, pro-Hillary Democrat for governor over a pro-gun, navy seal veteran Republican. Granted, the Democrat claimed to be pro-gun, but my God, he was a seriously pro-Hillary lib. The NRA has never justified this behavior. Makes me want to support the GOA more and the NRA less
As a life time member of the NRA, I don’t agree on Wayne Pierre’s position on “bumpstocks”. It’s a slippery slope on more gun control. I also would like the NFA to be desolved so every law abiding citizen can purchase any light armament that the military & law enforcement agencies have in their possession. Our fore father’s were very clear on the second amendment so that in the foreseeable future we can protect ourselves from the Tyranny of the federal & state governments. This is why we Americans are unique as the last bastion of hope of a well armed & trained citizentry.
Do let us know when they become extremely pro gun. ‘k thanks
I am a Life member of NRA but GOA is extremely pro gun and runs circles around the NRA when it comes to political action defending the second amendment.
The NRA has been whipping up the paranoia since I became aware of them back in the seventies. In order to survive and pay all the suits, they have to keep the fear going. Liberals claim legislators are in the pockets of the gun lobby, but it doesn’t appear that is the case as law after law is passed infringing on our rights with nothing done by the NRA. I have sent them my last dues check. No more until I see some action.
I’ve seen LaPierre in more than one interview say “He supports the ban on machine guns.” In other words the NFA. Well I don’t! The NRA needs new leadership, someone who is a gun guy, not a CEO just lining his pockets with my ever shrinking hard earned dollar. The NRA was the first major organization to back Trump, he owes us, and so does the majority pro gun Congress. We should’ve passed numerous pro-gun bills, instead we get the NRA arguing with itself over bumpstocks rather than taking the offensive. No more compromise and not another dime for the NRA until it replaces LaPierre with someone with balls and a genuine belief in the 2A!