I renewed my NRA membership today

Good for you!!!!

I belong to the NRA too. And yes, I am deeply concerned about the leadership, as are many here.
But, you know what? So the NRA has some warts -- even big ones. Other progun organizations are less than perfect.
Rather than get in a snit over which is best/most effective/purest/whatever, I belong to several of them and donate to all of them.
I cover the field.
A perfect solution?

Probably not, really .... but while the old bromide "any port in a storm" has its wisdom, I prefer an alteration; "every port in a storm!"

joehxx said:

I came to the conclusion recently that the NRA has the most political muscle of all the gun rights
organizations. It is the only group that the Democrats fear.

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The choice to renew, or not, is not an issue for those of us with life memberships.

In reality, the NRA has diminishing political muscle, due to its internal problems. Other pro-gun organizations are more effective. But, the antigunners have not awoken to this fact yet. Hence, the NRA serves as a convenient target for them, and thus it might still have some usefulness for us. (It's a "sacrificial anode" and distraction in the gun debate.)

Welcome back! I hope you also occasionally respond to the avalanche of mail you’re about to receive with a check to NRA-ILA, the political wing that’s been protecting our rights.

The anti-gun sector is constantly expressing their outright hatred for the NRA. That tells me that the NRA does indeed have considerable muscle in the political world. They have had some internal problems but I'm hoping they can get all that cleaned up and behind them and then move forward. I upgraded my membership to the Endowment level a few years ago and still make an occasional donation to both the NRA and another gun rights group locally. Because it's all for a good cause.

Another life member that cannot choose to not renew. I will not give another dime to the NRA while the current leadership is in power. I suspect this thread will be locked shortly as this forum has little tolerance for a discussion of this subject.

I also renewed after a 6-month lapse. I don't agree with a lot of things going on, but I don't completely agree with ANY group no matter the cause. That being said, they are still the biggest advocacy group, we still need their presence, and we can hope for a restructuring in the future, but not if they collapse. At the moment, yearly membership dues is all they receive, with all other extra funds going to the SAF and VCDL, but I will keep my eyes open, and that may change in the future.

AlexanderA said:

The choice to renew, or not, is not an issue for those of us with life memberships.

In reality, the NRA has diminishing political muscle, due to its internal problems. Other pro-gun organizations are more effective. But, the antigunners have not awoken to this fact yet. Hence, the NRA serves as a convenient target for them, and thus it might still have some usefulness for us. (It's a "sacrificial anode" and distraction in the gun debate.)

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You still have not learned your lesson in Virginia yet have you?

Virginia is small potatoes in the overall anti-gun fight. While the Democrat Primaries are a disorganized bar fight at the moment make no mistake that whoever comes out with the nomination will be very anti-gun.

AlexanderA said:

(It's a "sacrificial anode" and distraction in the gun debate.)

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As a former marine engineer I commend your choice of analogy.
And I'm still an NRA member though no longer an instructor.

BSA1 said:

You still have not learned your lesson in Virginia yet have you?

Virginia is small potatoes in the overall anti-gun fight. While the Democrat Primaries are a disorganized bar fight at the moment make no mistake that whoever comes out with the nomination will be very anti-gun.

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The NRA played only a minor roll in what happened in Virginia. They were not even present for the Lobby day gathering. They had there own much smaller rally days before the main event. They couldn't be bothered to work with the more grass roots effort.

Not a member but I give a few beans when I check out at Midway. More groups should partner with retailers because its easy to donate at check out.

NRA Life Member here. Thanks for your support.

Staff decided awhile ago that we didn't want any NRA pro and con wars. It's rather a political issue now as compared to a gun issue. Thus, in keeping with that past decision, I'm going to close this. Otherwise it will go down into flames as we spiral into they are only game in town vs. the perceived leadership problem

Sorry.