Why should I re-join the NRA?

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About the UnitedWay, [...] UnitedWay banks it and makes money on the interest, then remits. Lord knows what they do with the interest they make across all the self-directed giving they receive, but I can tell you that its almost assuredly not good. They support a whole lot of organizations like Planned Parenthood and other Leftist organizations that may be helped by this scheme... It's worth looking into...
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I too have my share of problems with them, like the support they give to Democrats, which I'm not too happy about.
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^^
This makes me not want to join the NRA. Not because they necessarily agree with this as a whole, but because they have failed to establish an atmosphere where I could even remotely imagine walking into a convention without being ostracized.
Do they actively support stuff like this? No. Do they have a long standing tradition of "letting it slip." ... Yes!

Believe it or not some people who enjoy owning, shooting and even carrying guns are not one issue voters. They do not see everything through the lense of a single issue. This might or might not put themselves at odds with the people and things the NRA supports in their persuit of our gun rights.
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This, probably summarizes it best. And rhetoric like the following sure isn't helping.

NO DO NOT !!! We old timers have been paying for you worthless scalawags for decades now so it does not matter any more and neither do you. IN my case I have been doing so since 1958 and have had the unmitigated pleasure of seeing a lot of those cheapskates cash in their chips. As per usual in all things there are the doers and those who are a waste of oxygen, too cheap even to carry their own weight and wated it all handed to 'em as a freebie. <deleted> And so it goes....
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I am 41 and became a lifetime member a few years ago. You don'nt need to agree with every single issue to justify being a member of an organization. Nor should it tarnish the fact that the work the NRA does is extremely important and necessary.

I was in Canada on business back when they were losing many of their individual rights to own firearms. Several Canadians made the point to tell me they lost those rights largely BECAUSE they DON'T have an NRA in Canada.

The government has your money and has the ability to legislate ridiculous laws daily. Most of us work reguklar jobs and don't have the time to read numerous 1000 page bills and decipher the legalese in them. It takes a large and powerful group (like the NRA) to monitor all the new bills being discussed AND get the word out to the people about these new bills. You can nitpick away at the NRA if you want, but it is not possible for them to be a "one size fits all" organization. What is possible for the NRA, however, is to be a serious watchdog over our Constitutional rights.
 
Where I work we get a booklet that lists national and local recipients for United Way. You can specify exactly where you want your money to go.
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I've always suspected that the percentage of designated dollars is small enough, that they can deduct an equal amount of un-designated dollars from a recipient and thus rebalance the money such that designated giving has zero impact on the end game.

Further, your gift is reduced by the UW adminstrative cost (over 10% when I last checked) as opposed to giving directly to your chosen recipient.
 
The only way I could stop the incessant junk mail and phone calls was to let my membership lapse, then when I got the first call to see why I told the very polite solicitor that I wished to no longer have my dues support the constant begging. The solicitor asked if i would renew if they stopped the harassment entirely, to which I replied heck yes. That's been maybe 5 years ago and my request so far has been honored.
 
My problem with the NRA is not the junk mail (although it does get ridiculous), I simply feel like they support gun rights for all of the wrong reasons. For example, if the federal government wanted to pass a law stating that every state has to respect gun rights, the NRA would most definitely support it. The problem is that the federal gov't has no right to pass such a law. The gov't doesn't give us our rights, we have our rights because we are human. The NRA's main goal is to use the gov't to "give" us rights; they don't understand that we have rights REGARDLESS of what the gov't says or does. Organizations like the NRA support guns in general, without thought to liberty or tyranny.

Unfortunately, I am required to have an NRA membership by the only local gun range in town. I would much rather give my money to a group dedicated to liberty in general than an organization that flaunts the second amendment.
 
Steve, no idea how the NRA is using the govt to give us gun rights. Please provide examples.

Most of what I see is the NRA attempting to stop the constant onslaught of anti-gun legislation to restrict, regulate and tax all kinds of guns and ammo.
 
My problem with the NRA is not the junk mail (although it does get ridiculous), I simply feel like they support gun rights for all of the wrong reasons. For example, if the federal government wanted to pass a law stating that every state has to respect gun rights, the NRA would most definitely support it. The problem is that the federal gov't has no right to pass such a law. The gov't doesn't give us our rights, we have our rights because we are human. The NRA's main goal is to use the gov't to "give" us rights; they don't understand that we have rights REGARDLESS of what the gov't says or does. Organizations like the NRA support guns in general, without thought to liberty or tyranny.

Unfortunately, I am required to have an NRA membership by the only local gun range in town. I would much rather give my money to a group dedicated to liberty in general than an organization that flaunts the second amendment.
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you need to look at the current situation.........

the FACT is.......gun rights are not viewed as rights........and with the exception of a few states....most likely will not be treated as rights.....you need to take what you can get when you can get it.......that is simply the world we live in.....the "all or nothing" approach is not going to get you anywhere.

now im all for 'sticking to your guns'............but if by some elf magic, the federal govt said "we are going to make it mandatory for all states to honor the 2A and do away with any gun laws"..........you'd be a damn fool not to agree because in some odd philosophical semantics it is actually an infringement on your rights.
 
Sorry, I can't think of a single reason why the OP should re-join the NRA. All the reasons stated above. I let my membership expire 2 years ago, and joined another organization.
 
M-Cameron: 'Philosophical semantics' is what determines right and wrong, whether it be through religion or scientific thought. I definitely have a problem just throwing away the principles I live by because it's the lesser of two evils.

Blue_ridge: The fact that the NRA uses the government (which eventually leads to people in uniform using force) is enough in my mind to show that they are trying to 'force' gun rights. If the NRA lobbies for the gov't to pass a law, then the gov't will use force (i.e. police, military) to enforce that law. I have a huge moral issue with that. See:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Non-aggression_principle

for more on what I'm talking about.

I'm all for gun rights, heck I carry daily. But using political means (usually under table) to 'secure' our rights leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
 
Stan here, life, endowment, patron and benefactor member, certified shotgun instructor. I, too, get tired of the solicitation. I make semiannual donations, not inconsiderable but not extravagant, because I still think they are our best defense against government anti-gun tyrrany.
When I get calls for more money between my gift periods I politely say, "You got your donation in June, another one is coming in December," and hang up.
As far as the "gifts" go, if I get something in the mail I didn't order, I keep it and throw away any and all requests for payment or return. It is mine by law.
 
M-Cameron: 'Philosophical semantics' is what determines right and wrong, whether it be through religion or scientific thought. I definitely have a problem just throwing away the principles I live by because it's the lesser of two evils.
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so im assuming youve never voted before.........





the thing is.....the 2A says " the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be INFRINGED"


that doesnt mean there cant be laws about guns.......it just means those laws can infringe on ownership........

.....so if the Govt wanted to pass laws to encourage gun ownership.......they are able to without violating the 2A.
 
NRA life member, SAF life member. Will send them more cash when I can.

They are in thethe vanguard of fighting for your rights. The other side doesn't just want all your guns, they want all your knives too. They want you to go to jail for years for defending yourself, while violent criminals spend an afternoon in jails. They want you enslaved.

Go read about England for a while ( http://inspectorgadget.wordpress.com/ ) and decide how much you don't care.

Go read about the gang member who just shot 7 small kids at the National Zoo (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/25/teenager-stabbed-national-zoo-during-easter-celebr/ ). The other side thinks that is acceptable collateral damage, but you should be locked up for carrying a defensive tool in DC.
 
M-Cameron: Actually, I haven't voted in quite awhile. Again, the lesser of two evils is still evil, and just because the majority vote for something doesn't give it any moral credence at all.

I agree with you about the 2A. The problem is that just because a majority 'votes' on something, it doesn't make it morally right. In fact, voting just lends credibility to the gov't because they claim 'Oh, you people voted on that, so stop whining.'

Honestly, I feel like the world is in such bad shape right now because people make moral compromises. I am doing my best not to. I think the best way BY FAR to help with RKBA is word of mouth. After all, if public opinion turned against guns, they would be gone in an instant.
 
I feel you should renew your membership. If you want to stop the stuff coming you can opt out--I did and have not received even ONE thing/call/email since. I am a life member an do not get any renewal notice either. I do get the Rifleman magazine because I do want it.

The NRA has done a LOT of good even though I personally also do disagree with their methods/results sometimes. We need to band together and the NRA is the biggest thing going. If any one here has a better organization to belong to as far as RKBA and firearms advancement please let the rest of us in on the best kept secret around.

Arflin Greebly has it spelled out well in post #19 IMHO. Strength in numbers is hard to argue with especially when you are passionate about a worth while cause. The choice is ultimately yours. Just don't come to hide behind me when they legislate all your rights away.:scrutiny:
 
If you support the gun hobby or gun rights, it is incumbent upon you to join and support the NRA. It is the preeminent pro-gun lobby. No other organization comes close.

Don't make the mistake of believing that just because things could be better, that they couldn't instead be much worse.

People aren't used to thinking that way, but please try to bear in mind the scores of gun restrictions that you are not burdened by thanks directly to our friends in the NRA.
 
Join or don't join. You are a free man and an adult. I suspect that you already know what you want to do.
I don't know what the "Script" is but I'll give you my opinion on the matter.
The NRA is not all perfect and I don't agree with everything they do. They do however fight for our rights and every member that they have is one more tiny bit of leverage they can use when lobbying politicians.
There are a lot of enemies of the 2nd Amendment out there. They are well funded and well organized. They have their pet politicians and researchers that produce loads of "Junk Science." The anti gunners have most of the media behind them and let's face it...our children are being educated by anti gun teachers and professors.
You can pick your friends but you can't expect them to be perfect. The NRA is the best friend that we gun owners have. They are not perfect. As a matter of fact I agree with you. I wish they would stop sending me so much junk mail. When I look at Biden, Schumer, Clinton, Boxer, Obama, Pelosi, Kerry, etc, etc, etc. I am however glad to the NRA on my side.
Do you believe that we would still be enjoying the 2nd Amendment rights that we currently have if the NRA was gone?
I don't.
Ask yourself if helping the NRA serves your interests and this nation. Ask yourself if they are so large of an annoyance that it's not worth sending them a $35 check.
$35 and monthly junk mail means more to some than to others. I don't find it that big of a deal and I get junk mail for my entire household since all of us are members (paid for by me). I like my 2nd Amendment rights and will keep my membership(s) up to date until they do more than simply annoy me with mailings.
 
ccw_steve said:
...I simply feel like they support gun rights for all of the wrong reasons. ... they don't understand that we have rights REGARDLESS of what the gov't says or does. Organizations like the NRA support guns in general, without thought to liberty or tyranny...
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Welcome to life in the real world.

The NRA is a political organization. We live in a political world. What happens in the political arena will affect what we do and how we live. Ideological purity doesn't get things done.

ccw_steve said:
...I'm all for gun rights, heck I carry daily. But using political means (usually under table) to 'secure' our rights leaves a bad taste in my mouth...
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So you fail to recognize that not using proper political strategies could result in laws that make your exercise of what you see as your rights a criminal offense. I guess from your perspective you still have the right. But to me, if exercising that right will land you in jail, it ain't much of a right.

In the real world we have deal with pragmatic reality. Ideological purity exists only in alternate universes.
 
You must live in a cave somewhere if the NRA is the "only" organization asking your for money.

Re-join. Don`t join. That is your call.....


This subject has been beat to death. Why not write the NRA and tell them
you no longer need their services and your going to finance what they do all by yourself. Good luck on that journey...........
 
We always hear the anti-gun zealots complaining about the NRA and its influence. That's reason enough to renew in my opinion.
 
I don't agree with everything the NRA does, like endorse Harry Reid, but the fact is they are the most powerful 2nd A organization up in Washington and have one many noteworthy battles for us.

If you don't like them then join the Second Amendment Foundation, or another useful group in order to promote 2nd A rights somehow.
 
Join the NRA

I don't work for the NRA but I have a lot of friends there. I know that the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action is fighting over 100 anti-gun, anti-shooting bills in state legislatures (including 4 in my state of Maryland) right now. The Education Division supports over 60,000 certified instructors, many of whom teach hunter safety and shooting sports courses at no cost. They estimate that over 500,000 people took courses last year to meet state certifications. The new website for kids out of the publications department is really nice and gets thousands of hits every day (www.nrainsights.org).

I'm a life member and a Ring of Freedom member, my three sons are life members, and eventually my 8 grandkids will be life members. And I will be attending the NRA Annual Meeting this week in Pittsburgh.

If you're a recreational shooter, competitive shooter, or hunter you need to support the only organization that is allowing us to participate in these activities. Just my opinion. Tom
 
The NRA worked with Harry Reid in developing a range in Nevada but did not endorse him.
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They may not have endorsed him officially, but they sure propped him up.

In my neck of the woods they officially endorsed Gene Taylor, over his more pro 2nd A opponent Steven Palazzo, who won anyway. In your face NRA.

It just seems to me that they will endorse the wrong candidates, especially incumbents, just because they show signs of being pro 2nd A, even if they are wrong on everything else.

They still do a lot of good and I support them anyway.
 
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Ben86 said:
...It just seems to me that they will endorse the wrong candidates, especially incumbents, just because they show signs of being pro 2nd A, even if they are wrong on everything else...
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[1] Yes, the NRA is only about the RKBA. If you don't like an NRA endorsed candidate because of his stand on non-2nd Amendment issues, that's your decision.

[2] An incumbent with a good 2nd Amendment record is pretty much always going to have more potential to be helpful to our RKBA interests than a "new kid on the block." The incumbent will have seniority, know the ropes and have a better shot at important committee assignments.
 
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