Carl N. Brown
Member
For the context of the NRA 1990s jack booted thug comment, I would suggest reading and thinking about this:
http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/parameters/Articles/97autumn/lujan.htm
Thomas R. Lujan, "Legal Aspects of Domestic Employment of the Army", Parameters US Army War College Quarterly, Autumn 1997, Vol. XXVII, No. 3.*
The NRA's 1990s criticism of the common use of maximum force with minimum judgement, killing civilians unnecessarily at Ruby Ridge and Waco, acting like jack-booted thugs, lying to the military about bogus drug claims to get around Posse Commitatus restrictions on use of military assets in domestic law enforcement, was right in my opinion. Protesting the ATF kicking in door the door of Ken Ballew's apartment, shooting first, investigating later, was the right thing to do. NRA joining with ACLU, GOA, CORE and others to protest excessive police force in letters to the Clinton Administration was among their finest hours.
If the jack boot doesn't fit, you don't have to claim it. But I remember the atmosphere from 1970 to the late 1990s.
The NRA track record has been criticising the government for killing civilians in the name of gun control, often (see Lujan) by making bogus drug war claims to get around the Posse Commitatus Act. The NRA has long advocated law enforcement stop killing people in the name of gun control. Show me a link or source cite to where the NRA was "advocating people killing Federal L.E.O.s"
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"And as far afield of their tax exempt status as they have walked in the past couple of decades, I would certainly not object to a review by the IRS Employee Plans/Exempt Organizations (EP/EO) bureau."
The NRA testified against Joseph B. Tydings' federal gun registration bill in 1968 as an educational association for gun owners. The bill (a wet dream of LBJ) failed. An anonymous congress member (not Thomas Dodd, not Jacob Javitts, but probably Tydings) asked the FBI to investigate the NRA as an unregistered lobby with a view toward pulling their tax exempt status. Rather than fight the FBI and LBJ, NRA decided the best choice was to organize and register a lobbying organisation (which became the NRA-ILA separate from the NRA the tax exempt educational association). The FBI in turn recognized the lobby arm and dropped the investigation to pull the tax exempt status the NRA education association for the American gun owner. The attempt to pull NRA tax exempt status failed in Dec 1968. The NRA lobby arm campaigned against Tydings when he ran for re-election in 1970 and Tydings claims it was NRA that got him de-elected. You can try to pull the NRA's tax exemption like the Johnson Administration tried but the chances for success are nil to nada. The wall between NRA and NRA-ILA is well lawyered.
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* Colonel Thomas R. Lujan held various judge advocate assignments, most notably in support of special operations forces. US Special Forces at Ft Hood complained to him that the ATF teams training in close quarter combat at Ft Hood in 1993 for the raid at Waco had made questionable requests for military personnel and equipment.
After the fact and in review Col Rex Applegate was also a notable critic of the raid at Waco and served at tech advisor for the critical film Waco: Rules of Engagement.
http://ssi.armywarcollege.edu/pubs/parameters/Articles/97autumn/lujan.htm
Thomas R. Lujan, "Legal Aspects of Domestic Employment of the Army", Parameters US Army War College Quarterly, Autumn 1997, Vol. XXVII, No. 3.*
The NRA's 1990s criticism of the common use of maximum force with minimum judgement, killing civilians unnecessarily at Ruby Ridge and Waco, acting like jack-booted thugs, lying to the military about bogus drug claims to get around Posse Commitatus restrictions on use of military assets in domestic law enforcement, was right in my opinion. Protesting the ATF kicking in door the door of Ken Ballew's apartment, shooting first, investigating later, was the right thing to do. NRA joining with ACLU, GOA, CORE and others to protest excessive police force in letters to the Clinton Administration was among their finest hours.
If the jack boot doesn't fit, you don't have to claim it. But I remember the atmosphere from 1970 to the late 1990s.
The NRA track record has been criticising the government for killing civilians in the name of gun control, often (see Lujan) by making bogus drug war claims to get around the Posse Commitatus Act. The NRA has long advocated law enforcement stop killing people in the name of gun control. Show me a link or source cite to where the NRA was "advocating people killing Federal L.E.O.s"
-
"And as far afield of their tax exempt status as they have walked in the past couple of decades, I would certainly not object to a review by the IRS Employee Plans/Exempt Organizations (EP/EO) bureau."
The NRA testified against Joseph B. Tydings' federal gun registration bill in 1968 as an educational association for gun owners. The bill (a wet dream of LBJ) failed. An anonymous congress member (not Thomas Dodd, not Jacob Javitts, but probably Tydings) asked the FBI to investigate the NRA as an unregistered lobby with a view toward pulling their tax exempt status. Rather than fight the FBI and LBJ, NRA decided the best choice was to organize and register a lobbying organisation (which became the NRA-ILA separate from the NRA the tax exempt educational association). The FBI in turn recognized the lobby arm and dropped the investigation to pull the tax exempt status the NRA education association for the American gun owner. The attempt to pull NRA tax exempt status failed in Dec 1968. The NRA lobby arm campaigned against Tydings when he ran for re-election in 1970 and Tydings claims it was NRA that got him de-elected. You can try to pull the NRA's tax exemption like the Johnson Administration tried but the chances for success are nil to nada. The wall between NRA and NRA-ILA is well lawyered.
______________________________
* Colonel Thomas R. Lujan held various judge advocate assignments, most notably in support of special operations forces. US Special Forces at Ft Hood complained to him that the ATF teams training in close quarter combat at Ft Hood in 1993 for the raid at Waco had made questionable requests for military personnel and equipment.
After the fact and in review Col Rex Applegate was also a notable critic of the raid at Waco and served at tech advisor for the critical film Waco: Rules of Engagement.
