NRA Really An Asset to RKBA Folks?

[Sevengunner]

Take a look at the item in today's Washington Post written by a former NRA staffer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/14/AR2007121401328.html

It's probably a fair generalization that most lobby organizations and large non-profit organizations exist to support the people who work there, but that doesn't mean we have to contribute.

I'd be interested in knowing THR members' views on this.

 

[Mot45acp]

I wont be renewing, hence my pending sig line. Those A holes sold my name to every telemarketer in the country.

My national no call status went from 0 calls, to 4-9 a night. All around dinner time. I am currently searching for a more reputable organization to give my dollars to.

Every time I got a flyer or letter from them, it was like the mail man saying: "Here, you throw this away."

My mind was made up before the article.

 

[Jorg Nysgerrig]

Already posted: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=323797

 

[B36]

If it were not for the NRA, there would be no RKBA.

Funny, been a member for 40 years,and I get no calls, almost no mail except the magazine I get.

 

[antsi]

Dude is a disgruntled former employee. He is pandering to a media that hates the NRA and loathes gun owners.

Dividing gun owners over support for the NRA plays right into the antis' hands.

It's probably a fair generalization that most lobby organizations and large non-profit organizations exist to support the people who work there

I have heard versions of this argument over and over. "The NRA would be out of business if they ever really defeated the antis. Therefore they're just trying to perpetuate their own existence by secretly perpetuating the fight over RKBA."

It's nonsense. You can say the same thing about any profession. "Doctors and nurses would be out of business if they ever really eradicated disease. They're secretly making people sick just to perpetuate their own existence."
Right. And firemen go out and set fires when nobody's looking. Street sweepers spread dirt on the streets. Plumbers create leaks. Go look in your garage - there's probably a mechanic sneaking around out there, sabotaging your car, just to drum up business.

Besides, it is demonstrably untrue of the NRA. Far and away the majority of the organization is devoted to promoting and administering competitions, training, education, and all their other non-legislative activities. Political action is a small fraction of overall NRA activity. Remove the barriers to gun ownership, and all those other activities would boom, more than making up the slack for the loss of political activity.

This dude is the darling of the antis. They are not promoting and cheering him on because they want gun owners to have more effective representation. They are cheering him on because it helps their cause to divide gun owners and decrease support for the NRA.

 

[antsi]

My national no call status went from 0 calls, to 4-9 a night. All around dinner time. I am currently searching for a more reputable organization to give my dollars to.

Odd. I am a member. I get no solicitation calls at all. I wonder why they singled you out for this treatment?

 

[Glockman17366]

Anyway...there are elections for the leadership of the NRA.
We vote them in and keep voting them in, right?
But, the current leadership does have a pretty positive track record in keeping anti-rights legislation under control...not 100%, but pretty good.

I gotta admit...I wonder how many of the leadership do actually shoot. Can Wayne LaPierre hit a target?

 

[Quaamik]

I tend to take anything written by, or published in, the Washinton Post with a large amount of salt. Especially when it comes to gun rights related things.

Does the NRA waste a lot of money? Yes
Are there NRA staffers who are paid a LOT more than they should be? Yes

As far as the NRA "refusing to compromise": Isn't that what all of us wanted? Go back 20 - 30 years and the NRA was more than willing to compromise. It got us a lot didn't it? The membership drove them to accept no compromises. And as a result, we haven't had any significant peice of anti gun legislation passed since the AWB.

As far as the DC ban, the NRA has explained it's stance on challanging it for years. They would prefer not to bring such a challange to the SCOTUS as long as there is a reasonable chance that we could lose. Yes, I said we could LOSE. There is every reason to believe that the SCOTUS will be divided on the issue. And if they rule against us, gun rights will have been set back an unbelievable amount. It's not that they wanted to use that as a rally point, it's that they didn't want to load cannons for the anti gunners to use against us (which would be what an anti-gun / anti-individual rights rulling by SCOTUS would be).

Is there another pro-gun organization out there that could step in and fill the NRAs shoes in the short mid and long term? Not right now.

Let's look at the players:

GOA: They are probably the second biggest pro-gun organization. But they don't have the credibility that the NRA does with gun owners, and they don't have the respect and contacts (or member numbers) needed to force the politicians to listen to them.

Second Amendment foundation: Ask most gun owners about them and the answer you are most likely to get is: "who?" They are good at what they do, but they are also narrowly focused.

There isn't a viable 4th organization on the nation scene.

So, sadly, we don't have a lot of choices. We can support the NRA and call for them to use our money better, we can support another group while hoping they get big and powerful enough (without encountering the same pitfalls as the NRA) before anti gunners can squeeze through some other restriction, or we can try to do both at once. Doing both at once is the hardest course. It's also probably the best.

 

[frankie_the_yankee]

If it were not for the NRA, there would be no RKBA.

You nailed it, man.

The guy who wrote that article is a jerk.

Of course the NRA raises a lot of money. Money is power, and we need power to defend the RKBA. If the NRA didn't raise a lot of money our gun rights would be toast.

Look at how much Soros is spending. You think you're gonna beat that with some high-minded appeals to sweet reason? To be heard over the mainstream media (all anti gun) takes M-O-N-E-Y.

Sure, the phone calls are irritating. I deal with them like a grown up. I blow off the ones I want to blow off, and I give to the ones I want to give to. If someone calls at an inconvenient time, I blow them off.

All the other gun rights organizations put together don't have one tenth the influence of the NRA. Every politician in this country knows how to count, and when they have to count to 4 million they take notice.

Some people act as though shall issue carry laws in 40 states and Castle Doctrine laws in over 20 just fell out of the sky.

 

[MakAttak]

Does the NRA waste a lot of money? Yes
Are there NRA staffers who are paid a LOT more than they should be? Yes

You might be interested to know that the NRA has a lot of turnover (that is, people leaving the NRA employment) because they pay less than what the staffers can get in other companies doing the same jobs...

Do people even investigate their claims anymore or just base their ideas off of how they feel?

 

[Dave Workman]

Quaamik wrote:

GOA: They are probably the second biggest pro-gun organization. But they don't have the credibility that the NRA does with gun owners, and they don't have the respect and contacts (or member numbers) needed to force the politicians to listen to them.

Second Amendment foundation: Ask most gun owners about them and the answer you are most likely to get is: "who?" They are good at what they do, but they are also narrowly focused.

Actually, GOA is not the second largest, I'd have to say the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, followed closely by the Second Amendment Foundation, and then GOA.

Ask someone who sued to stop the New Orleans gun grab, and they'll say "NRA" and that's half true. SAF is a full partner in that lawsuit, co-plaintiff and was actually preparing to file its own lawsuit when it became obvious NRA was going to also file, so they joined forces.

Ditto the San Francisco gun ban. SAF told S-Fran 6 months ahead of the vote that they would be in court the following day if those fools went ahead with the election and passed their stupid Proposition H.
Now, 23 years ago, SAF sued S-Fran on its own, nobody else in there with them, over the Dianne Feinstein gun ban, and won that case.

CCRKBA does a considerable amount of grassroots organizing around the country and is co-sponsor, with SAF, of the annual Gun Rights Policy Conference.

 

[orionengnr]

Dave:

Who?

And unfortunately, that is what 85% of the readers of this post are saying right now....

Who knows what GOA or SAF are? A few of us do. Who knows about the NRA? Just about everyone.

Pay your money, take your choice. If I had the financial wherewithal, I would support all of the above. I do not, so I support the NRA and the TSRA (Texas State Rifle Association) for now. More to follow.

Do what you can, but choose wisely. The NRA is not perfect, but without them I suspect we'd have been in a deep hole a long time ago.