I've already read it. Like I said, it was a simple case, no problems there.
Um, the document is dated 9/23, do you even know when the seizures took place? Try long before then, how about, September 8th, yeah, there we go. But the NRA had little control over that. They had to of course find some gun owners that suffered damages, or did they?
You see, this is one of the most common arguments we get from NRA supporters. They can't do anything until they find some gun owners that have suffered damages, so that's why they only fight certain fights, and sometimes later that we wish they would. But hey, wait a minute:
That's from a legal document that the NRA distributed to certain individuals with a "not for publication" stamp on it initially, then later made it public. You see, the seizures were first reported on September 8th, though they were technically illegally authorized on August 26th through the NO goverment's misunderstanding of their authority after declaring a state of emergency.
http://www.saf.org/new.orleans.lawsuit/memorandum.in.support.pdf
So, really, according to the NRA and the legal precedents they cite, they had authority to act a lot sooner than they did, but they did not. It took nearly two weeks before they did anything, and only after finding a victim to sail in on.
Sorry, I know I baited you, and it was not fair, but I was honestly giving you the benefit of the doubt that you'd know better.
How many would never have had their guns confiscated if your 800lb Gorilla had acted sooner? Remember, it took them 3 days to even issue a press statement. That's one thing I think they did wrong.
My point is not that they are useless, they just don't do anything on their own, and tend only to act when it is in their best interest, not the interest of the individuals they collect dues from. And that is fine, most, if not all organizations are the same way and it honestly cannot be helped in most cases. My problem is not with the NRA existing, or even doing what it does, my issue is with folks that blindly believe the NRA is "the only game in town" when they do little more than smaller, local groups with 1/20 of the money, manpower and clout. Those suits against the confiscations were slam dunks, the NRA does not have the sack to take on the tough fights, they only take the ones they know they can win, or at least compromise on enough to tout what they did get as a major victory while the other side does the same.
The GOA meanwhile, alerts their members and gets more coverage in 5 days than the NRA gave it in nearly a month. The GOA had the videos and newspaper articles linked at their website. They contacted local officials and helped draft legislation to change the situation, which they got support for very quickly.
Now, the NRA got the win in court pretty quickly, like I said, easy run. The GOA helped Rep. Scalise put together and gain support for a measure that passed the House by a vote of 78-1 and then was later sent to Gov. Kathleen Blanco's desk. The resolution does three things:
1. It points out that innocent civilians did, in fact, have their guns confiscated (stolen) in September.
2. It gives a "sense of the legislature" that the governor should bring up legislation in the next session to repeal laws that were used to justify the confiscation of firearms during an emergency.
3. Finally, the resolution indicates that ALL citizens who had firearms confiscated must have their guns returned.
Scalise is now working on introducing binding legislation that he
will actively push in January of next year. This bill will amend the
state code to remove any language that could provide a pretext for
the future confiscation of guns in the state. He already has several
dozen cosponsors.
They have since been putting pressure on U.S. Inspector General Glenn Fine to investigate and hold the responsible parties accountable.
They have also since been putting pressure on the Attorney General of Louisiana to do the same.
The NRA is not the only game in town, they did not do it all alone and sometimes they hurt as much as they help.
I don't think those that support the NRA, despite all of their faults, are wrong or bad gun owners or whatever; I simply ask for the same courtesy in return.