What keeps you from being involved?

[BigFatKen]

NRA Sale

I've felt like I'm stealing from the NRA for some time now since paid $150 for my life membership in 1975. I just re-upped to Patron. Might be the free jacket but at least some goes to the worthy cause.

 

[Michigander]

I am not actively involved, other than talking to people when the subject comes up, because the system is, for all intents and purposes, totally corrupt, totally broke. It is beyond repair.

Our "Constitutional Republic" is a mere ghost of what it was or what it should be. I do not see it getting better.

Sure, more shall-issue CCW states now, and the AWB sunset, but that is two steps forward among 50 step backwards. Besides, CCW is defacto registration, something people do in droves now when there was a time when people would have fought tooth and nail against registration.

Voter fraud. Pre-emptive wars for oil. Destruction of our Constitution from within. NAFTA, GATT, etc.

Things will get worse before they get better and I'll tell you what . . . the vast majority of us will not be around when it does get "better."

Whatever you do, or I do, or we do, "they" are doing more, have more resources, and have history and the stupid televized public on their side.

Fatalistic? Realistic? Labels matter not. The trends are clear, the writing on the wall is etched in crystal.

 

[Monkeyleg]

"Fatalistic? Realistic? Labels matter not. The trends are clear, the writing on the wall is etched in crystal."

IOW, there's nothing you can do, which means you have to do nothing.

Pass the buffalo wings. What time is the game on?

 

[stdlrf11]

I had to vote for "King of the Hill" just because its funny.

Actually, I do want to be more involved, I just don't know how.

stdlrf11

 

[Autolycus]

I dont really have any money to give to an organization. I am an NRA member due to the kindness of a Glocktalk member who raffled away a 1 year membership.

As it stands I am a broke college student and I can barely afford to shoot. Money is a big issue for me. I tried to start a gun club at my old college. The only response I got was NO!

As it stands I try to make a reasonable point when it comes to firearms. But here in IL it seems to be pointless. The gun rights orgs are fighting amongst each other. Are largest one is just a bunch of old guys who seem more interested in their trap shooting and shotguns.

My biggest desire is a shall issue CCW law here in IL. There is little support for a CCW law here in IL. I know a few organizations, www.ICarry.org and www.concealedcarry.org , are working for our rights. As it stands concealedcarry.org is really more of a 1 man show bitching about local government. ICarry.org is our best bet but many will not support the leader because he is a young guy. His name is Sean Kranish and he posts here as SAK.

His devotion to our cause is amazing! He risks felony charges just to prove a point. Do a searh for his username and you will find out what I am talking about. If you cannot check out www.icarry.org for more information.

Anyways as I was saying... here in IL there is almost no hope. We are fighting for air so to speak. Our local government had a poll on our recent election ballots...

"For the health and safety of our children and our entire community, would you support the ban of military-style assault weapons and .50 caliber guns?"

...

It seemed unreal to see that. Then I realized I was living in Illinois where this kind of crap goes on all the time. It is an exercise in futility here in IL to work for gun rights. We are populated by hunters who could care less about other gun issues. We have a governor who thinks that a gun in the hands of a citizen is a bad thing no matter what. We have a large population here that has no interest in guns and knows only what they see in movies and TV. They think videogames contain accurate information about guns and that the effects are the same as in real life. We have senators who send flyers telling people that they are protecting us from criminals armed with machine guns. We have cops who wont back the idea of any type of CCW license.

I voted in your poll. I voted for the

"I want to be more involved but I don't believe I can make a difference."

option.

Sometimes there really is not much we can do. It gets frustrating when we come here and ask for help. It doesn’t help when we see people suggesting we move, to leave the state, to carry illegally, or telling us it will not get better. Sometimes we cant just move due to personal reasons. We are stuck here for whatever reason. School in my case. I cannot afford the out of state tuition. Others because of their family or their job. I sometimes have to know… if I could CCW here, would I move? I don’t know. I want to say yes right now but it is not really for gun rights. It is more for personal reasons.

But overall we start to get frustrated. This last election was really frustrating for us Illinoisans. We worked hard and it actually looked like we had a shot at a new governor. However we ended up losing. (Don’t worry though this one will probably be leaving in handcuffs!) We are pawns to an anti-gun majority. That is the simple truth. Illinois is not a pro-gun place to live. In some regards we are better than NYC or New Jersey. Even California. However there you at least have a chance to get rejected for a CCW permit.

A lot of people on THR blame political parties. Its not always right. In the case of IL…we had a Republican who would not sign the CCW bill that made it to his desk. Instead he vetoed it. In 2004 we had another shall issue CCW bill that was lost in the agricultural committee. I know for sure our governor would not sign it but if it made it to him we could at least say we tried. Its not always the political party or votes either. I will not vote Republican or Democrat because I don’t like either of them. I agree with each party on some issues but not wholly. I am a Libertarian and we didn’t even have a gubernatorial candidate on the ballot here in IL. So I voted for the Republican candidate But personally I did not vote for any other Republicans or Democrats. I don’t agree with them.

As it stands I am getting tired of things now. We have a choice between two candidates

Less Anti-Gun than the other guy(R) or SUPER Anti-Gun(D)

. What are we to do? If we raise money to support the one who is less anti we are screwed simply because they are a Republican why bother becomes the feeling of many pro-gunners I know? When we have no real good choice, what should we do? If we are faced with an anti in the next election, what are we going to do? Its very likely here in IL that we get 2 anti gun candidates.

So not all of us are not helping. Some of us just have our hands tied. I try to present guns in a positive image. I vote pro-gun if I am able. (I will vote for the most pro gun candidate who has a chance at winning when I must) I try to take newbies shooting when I can. I am an NRA member and plan to renew my membership next year when it expires. I try to get the ball rolling but it seems that nobody around here wants to play.

Anyways I am sorry for the venting and the confusing typing. I am watching tv (not King of the Hill mind you…) and posting. As well as it is 4:15 in the am.

Cheers.

 

[Barbara]

Just re-reading the thread and it looks like I missed some posts. On my way out the door right now but will respond later. Thanks for the responses.

 

[Linda]

Tecumseh, stop with the defeatest attitude and get involved with ICarry.org.
Obviously you're fimiliar with Sean. Do you think he wouldn't embrace the help with gun rights in your state? Not every group is just looking for money. A body that still has blood pulsating thru it, that is willing to help, is worth far more than a few bucks a year.

And trust me, those "young guys" learn alot, and become the respected ones in a couple years because of their hard work and dedication. I've seen it first hand with my organization!

 

[telomerase]

I am not actively involved, other than talking to people when the subject comes up, because the system is, for all intents and purposes, totally corrupt, totally broke. It is beyond repair.

There's more to life than Diebold machines. Every new shooter you take to the range is a long-term victory for our side.

 

[pcosmar]

As one of the "disenfranchised" I do what I can to wake others up. Though working on my own rights keeps me busy, Most groups don't want me as a member.
It's an appearance thing. I'm OK with that, for now.