What has the NRA recently done?

[Beatnik]

All of this is all fine and dandy - it's great things that they do on these fronts.

Fine and dandy?

Here's what they've done recently....

THEY SETTLED WITH NEW ORLEANS.

They had a black-and-white case complete with video footage of a 70 year old woman getting tackled by the SWAT team, an opportunity to press Katrina as a civil rights violation, an opportunity to point out the REAL reason for gun ownership in this country (exactly instances like post-Katrina), and the opportunity to embarrass the ever-living *&^T% out of a major US city and possibly even have its do-nothing grabber mayor eating out of a dumpster by now.

Instead, they settled for getting a couple firearms back to their original owners.

If that's a victory, then all you us-vs-them types really need to reevaluate where the line is, and what side you're actually on.

There's facts for you... don't let the bandwagoneers get to you, everything you need to make an informed decision is beaten to death every time someone makes a passionate plea begging us to waste our money.

Oh, and NRAphiles, please note that if you pushed membership for educational reasons, I'd be 100% behind you. That is, after all, the original purpose of the group and presumably why they were so asleep at the wheel for the entire 20th century.

 

[Explorer1]

As an NRA instructor, I can attest the NRA does LOTS of great stuff. I also am not a fan of many of their political activities as we are giving away the slowly but surely. Only recently, after Heller, has there been any real offense in protecting our Constitutional rights.

That said, they do a GREAT job of supporting training and ranges. I am also involved in the Friends of the NRA activities and see the benefits of the money they provide to kids and ladies shooting programs as well as range development and improvements.

 

[jhansman]

Ummm, called me once a day for two weeks, even after I asked them to take me off their list. PITA.

 

[Sinixstar]

See my mention of the SAF's Chicago incorporation case in the post above yours.

See my mention of the fact that operating within a failed federal framework - is not a victory by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[Sinixstar]

They had a black-and-white case complete with video footage of a 70 year old woman getting tackled by the SWAT team, an opportunity to press Katrina as a civil rights violation, an opportunity to point out the REAL reason for gun ownership in this country (exactly instances like post-Katrina), and the opportunity to embarrass the ever-living *&^T% out of a major US city and possibly even have its do-nothing grabber mayor eating out of a dumpster by now.

Instead, they settled for getting a couple firearms back to their original owners.

That's because no matter how they like to bill themselves, they are not a civil-rights organization, they are a gun organization first and foremost.
That will always trump basic civil rights. They are admittedly a single-issue group. It's not their place to take on little old ladies getting taken on by the swat team, thier job is to get guns back to owners, and fight gun laws. Period.

This is largely why they're so ineffective on the national stage.
You cannot look at national issues, least of all national issues of the civil rights variety, in a vacuum - and have any expectation of success.

 

[cliffy]

The NRA is our ONLY viable voice to date

Support NRA to your last dollar's value. I wish I had more dollars, but I'm among the barely able to support my family. I'm a hundred dollar supporter, but when I hear of billions of dollars spent on rediculous causes, I'm a lost cause. Yet, all us lost causes could band together and perhaps create a viable voice. I don't know what else to say . . . cliffy

 

[Logan5]

I recently taught the basic pistol safety course to two more people who are requesting state concealed carry permits. It's easy to disagree with NRA-ILA positions, but on a basic level, we all have more places to shoot, more competitions to shoot in, and more potential friends to shoot against in them thanks to NRA programs. The NRA has had to get involved in, and good at, political things kind of in spite of itself. The main point has always been places to shoot, matches to shoot in, and fellow members to shoot against. Maybe I'm wrong, but I have the impression that most new shooter education happens via NRA programs, and that they do a good job overall.

 

[mljdeckard]

No other organization has much clout at all in D.C., whether you like them or not. If more gun owners were members, they wouldn't HAVE to hustle for funds like prostitutes. They wouldn't HAVE to make the best worst deal they could. They wouldn't negotiate with the other side, because they wouldn't HAVE to.

It's like being in a big fight, attacked from all sides, and 1/10th of the people in the middle are beating the bad guys back, while the other 90% are making excuses about not liking how the defenders fight because they fight dirty and everything isn't going perfectly. Again, you're welcome.

 

[Sinixstar]

It's like being in a big fight, attacked from all sides, and 1/10th of the people in the middle are beating the bad guys back, while the other 90% are making excuses about not liking how the defenders fight because they fight dirty and everything isn't going perfectly. Again, you're welcome.

That's to assume that the rest of us are just sitting on our hands...

 

[mljdeckard]

I never said you're doing nothing. Just not anything really effective.

 

[Sinixstar]

I never said you're doing nothing. Just not anything really effective.

if you say so...

 

[HeavenlySword]

There might be a reason we haven't joined the NRA. It could have furthered American Gun Ownership drastically by widely publicizing the 70 year old granny getting tackled by a SWAT team.

Publicizing that incident, given enough time, could reinforce castle doctrine all across America, stop police from using no-knock entries, increase the amount of gun-owners in America, and maybe even wake up the people to "Not only does authoritarian governmental power NOT save you from natural disasters, it kicks you in the face when you try to save yourself."

 

[owlhoot]

NRA membership is an individual prerogative. And it is easy enough to recite a multitude of reasons not to belong to the NRA - some of them may even be valid. But when I hear them, I can't help but think, here are the summer soldiers and the sunshine patriots of the war to preserve our gun rights. It is extremely unfair to condemn the NRA for their faults when you do not give credit for their virtues. And it is extremely short sighted to withhold your membership when numbers matter so much when dealing with politicians. NRA has an auxiliary membership program (sans magazine) that costs only a few dollars, yet it gets your name on the roll which is what counts.

Do the right thing. Join the NRA.

 

[Frank Ettin]

[1] They are the most effective RKBA organization. They have the largest membership of any of them, and they do the best that they can with that membership base. Politics is strictly a numbers game. If the NRA had more members, it could be that much more effective. And those folks who complain about the NRA's so called failures need to tell us who did, or could have, actually accomplished more.

[2] The NRA is at the forefront of shooter education and safety training. Their program for certifying instructors in a variety of disciplines helps make competent training more readily available to the public. And their "Refuse to be a Victim" program is excellent.

 

[kfire]

They've probably raised Lapierre's pay again.

Wayne Lapierre, Jr., Executive VP National Rifle Association $810,705.

Seems he bumps it up a hundred grand every couple of years. I remember it was 500k then 600 and next 700. I could give but I'd then have to find 32,427 others so we could pay his salary. Then I am guessing he stays at expensive hotels and flys around alot like the guys from United Way.

 

[Frank Ettin]

And kfire, what do you think the going rate is for an Exec VP of an organization the size and with the budget of the NRA?

 

[TAB]

it depends on the CEO... some make a few hundred k others make 10s of millions...

Reguardless of all that, he makes more then twice as much as the POUS and it takes... wait for it...
23163 NRA members just to pay for him. I think I'll spend my $35/ year on stamps so I can write my congressmen.

 

[garymc]

They didn't prevent the 94 ban. On the other hand, why do you think it wasn't renewed? Didn't Bush say he'd sign it if Congress put it in front of him? I think he had a pretty good idea he wasn't going to see it. If they hadn't opposed anti-gun Representatives and Senators and supported pro-gun ones, would it have passed? You are welcome to pick questions #1 or 3 to answer. Perhaps everything they said in opposition of the renewal of the 94 ban was "fearmongering." Would that be because no assault, excuse me, home defense weapon ban could ever pass the Congress? Nobody has mentioned the firearms insurance they have.

Having said that, I let my membership lapse twice because they couldn't quit inserting the name of a previous employer between my name and address, no matter how hard they tried.

 

[sturmgewehr]

The reason the '94 ban sunset and wasn't reinstated is because the voters, not the NRA, kicked the Congressmen responsible for it out of office. It was one of the biggest upsets in Congressional history. After that, it became a hot potato issue that no Congressman dare touch if he wanted to stay in office.

 

[sturmgewehr]

No other organization has much clout at all in D.C., whether you like them or not.

Since they're currently the largest and admittedly not the strongest 2nd Amendment advocate, you just want to accept that vs. getting people to join more aggressive organizations? Just leave it the same... let the negotiate our rights away... it's the best we can do. Bologna.

If more gun owners were members, they wouldn't HAVE to hustle for funds like prostitutes. They wouldn't HAVE to make the best worst deal they could. They wouldn't negotiate with the other side, because they wouldn't HAVE to.

That's exceptionally naive if you honestly believe that. They are one of the largest, best funded and most influential lobby groups EVER... and yet they are one of the weakest because of their willingness to compromise. They're no where near being bankrupt when they make such compromises either. This excuse simply doesn't float.

They will always "hustle" for funds regardless of their financial position. They are like any other business, always seeking more money. That in and of itself isn't a crime, although it's very annoying to people like me who watch them squander the money on compromises and inaction (like Heller) vs. taking hard-line positions and backing them.

 

[taprackbang]

Has the NRA dealt with GCA 68 and NFA34 yet?
If so, when? And if not, how much longer til' they do?
NFA 34 and GCA68 are the crux of our RKBA problem.

And why the NRA's high esteem of that rogue gov't agency 'that regulates firearms?'

Which RKBA group do you join? Only 2, and I will let you guess
which ones they are.

 

[taprackbang]

Wayne Lapierre, Jr., Executive VP National Rifle Association $810,705.

Wow! Did not know that!
A bought man is a pliable man.
In other words, can a man be paid to turn a blind eye to certain
key issues, like NFA 34 and GCA 68?

 

[Rimmer]

What's going on in Missouri?

http://www.nraila.org/Legislation/State/Specific.aspx?st=MO

Try visiting the NRA web site. They and the local volunteers are active all across the USA, in every state.

NRA Link

 

[Rimmer]

Beatnik: Here's what they've done recently....

THEY SETTLED WITH NEW ORLEANS.

"After Years of Stonewalling, New Orleans Mayor Admits Illegal Gun Confiscation, Settles with NRA"
Text

This was a three year legal effort. NEW ORLEANS settled with the NRA. This was about the unconstitutional confiscation of lawfully owned firearms.

Maybe I'm missing something but this legal "precedent" might be a positive for gun owners, today and tomorrow, throughout America. You know, something to reference should confiscation come up again. Maybe SCOTUS would take it into consideration. Just say'in....

 

[Vonderek]

These Pro- and Anti-NRA threads seem to come up on a bi-weekly basis. The OP to me sounded like he was already predisposed against the NRA and is just agitating...stirring the pot and causing dissension amongst other members here. If anyone truthfully is seeking information on the NRA there are about a thousand threads on it here already and it is about 30 seconds worth of time using the search function. You can also go to their website. Or Google "NRA" and it will give you several lifetimes of results to pore through. I for one am tired of defending my organization. You're either for it or against it and no one is going to change their minds.