I personally believe that the NRA has done more to protect our 2nd Amendment right to bear arms than any other single organization out there. The NRA has more than 4 Million current members and the polls show that at least 25 Million fellow Americans believe that they are NRA members even though their membership status may not be fully up to date. It is largely thanks to the efforts of the NRA along with other local gun rights organizations in many states that we now have a majority of the states with "shall issue" concealed carry laws (which previously had "might issue" or "shall NOT issue" laws). There is of course still much work to be done but we are making good progress.
Stand up & help in the fight by Joining the NRA. It only costs $25/yr with the current discounted rate (normally $35/yr). I spend more than that on ammo with a single trip to the gun range where I regularly go to exercise my right to own, carry, & shoot my guns which has been defended for many years by the NRA. The more of us who join in supporting the NRA, the more clout they will have with Politicians when they ask them to support our gun rights. Join as many gun rights organizations as you are able, the more the better. I have many other great gun rights organizations linked to on the right under the heading of "Gun Rights Sites." Most of them cost very little to join. But at least join with me in support of the NRA by becoming a fellow NRA member.
If you're already a member than NRA memberships also make a great gift for those not already familiar with what they are missing out on. I bet after a one year gift membership many will decide to continue the membership on their own. You can finish your Christmas or Birthday shopping in seconds online just by filling out the on-line form & spending $25 per gift membership. It sure beats shopping in packed shopping malls fighting with other shoppers over the last available pet rock or whatever the hot item ends up being this year. You'll save time & will feel good that you have taken an extra step to support our gun rights. What better gift can we give ourselves than that?
I'm a recent first time gun owner and just joined the NRA less than 2 weeks ago, still waiting on my membership packet! :)
ReplyDelete"The National Rifle Association has been in support of workable, enforceable gun control legislation since its very inception in 1871."
ReplyDelete—NRA Executive Vice President Franklin L. Orth. NRA's American Rifleman Magazine, March 1968, P. 22.
"The NRA supported The National Firearms Act of 1934 which taxes and requires registration of such firearms as machine guns, sawed-off rifles and sawed-off shotguns. ... NRA support of Federal gun legislation did not stop with the earlier Dodd bills. It currently backs several Senate and House bills which, through amendment, would put new teeth into the National and Federal Firearms Acts."
— American Rifleman, March 1968, P. 22 [NRA Supported the National Firearms Act of 1934, by Angel Shamaya, March 29, 2002.]
Congratulations Andy, welcome to the fold. I'm glad that you've found the fun of gun ownership & I'm sure your packet will arrive soon. :)
ReplyDeleteDavid - thanks for the comments & link. I agree that the NRA is not as strict as I am on the 2nd Amendment. I believe that they've tried to appear more middle of the road to the "average" citizen who feels some gun control is required such as NICS, etc. although they have fought off & defeated many bad gun control laws that would have made us much worse off, and have also helped win good legislation to help us to be better off. Personally I'm a strict constitutionalist - it says "the right of the people to keep & bear arms shall not be infringed" but I also realize that we can't win the war all at once, it takes a gradual movement winning over our fellow Americans little by little which is what I believe the NRA is trying to do - I also highly endorse being members of other groups such as the SAF & local gun rights organizations. It will take all of us working together to win this war, including the NRA, the SAF, and many others including independent gun owners. Thanks again for your comment :)
I also live in Arizona and enjoy the Ben Avery Range as often as possible. But, when it comes to the NRA, I must say that I am no longer a member. Furthermore, I cannot, in good concience, suggest that anyone else join. They have NEVER come out in support of Ron Paul's legislation...The 2nd Amendment Protection Act of 2007. And, they are currently in bed with long time ant--gun memberes of the House and Senate with this, so called, NICS improvement Act. This piece of legislation, if enacted, will be grossly abused...and the NRA knows it. No, if the NRA wants MY support, they need walk away from this legislation and publicly speak out against it. That's what their ues paying members should expect them to do.
ReplyDeleteSorry Dustin but I can’t agree the NRA has compromised for the Last time for me. I live in Illinois where the NRA compromised on the Illinois FOID card after race riots in 1965. The gun control package they supported was based on the 1928 German gun control laws that were used by the Nazi’s. You can do a web search for an article titled “German Gun Control and the Illinois FOID”, by Raymond Benwood, the article will explain what I’m posting about.
ReplyDeleteOk, thanks for your comments shotgun & anonymous. I knew that this could be a controversial subject as some folks feel very strongly against joining the NRA as I've heard their comments on community message boards in the past. I of course do not condemn anyone who chooses not to join the NRA based on present positions of the NRA that they strongly disagree with. I only ask that everyone join as many pro-gun organizations as they are able to. If not the NRA, than perhaps the SAF and a local organization in your home state such as the AZCDL in Arizona. All I ask is that everyone support our 2nd Amendment as much as possible directly via communication with legislators, voting for pro-gun candidates, & via membership in gun rights groups. There are roughly 144 Million of my fellow Americans in households with guns (based on data from the ATF that estimates roughly 50% of households have at least 1 gun & 2005 household data from the US Census) and not nearly that many are members of all of the US gun rights groups combined, so I know there are some holdouts out there who have not yet joined us in the fight against the gun grabbers. Those of us in favor of the 2nd Amendment must all hang together or we will all hang separately. :)
ReplyDeleteI will resume support for the NRA when they stop supporting the enemy. Project Exile is but one example of their treachery.
ReplyDeleteI have belonged to the NRA going on 30 years now and will probably continue to be a member to support the good they do in the areas of training and safety.
ReplyDeleteThat said, their fearmongering fundraiser begging falls on deaf ears. My donations go to SAF, GOA, RKBA, and other organizations taking a hard line against the gun banners.
Didn't help their case when they claimed sole credit for the NOLA anti confiscation lawsuit, ignoring all the work done by SAF. And now they are using Parker/Heller in their latest fundraisers when they did everything they could to stop that case from reaching the courts. Hard to trust an organization who's cash flow seems dependent on sustaining a conflict as opposed to resolving that conflict.
Don't let em get your down Dustin. Welcome to the party. There are a lot of well meaning folks out there who don't have much to offer the pro-gun movement other than anger.
ReplyDeleteI can sympathize with being tired of compromising our rights away, but it's not NRA that's responsible for this. It's the fact that gun rights, until recently, was losing support among the public, who put the worms in Congress, that pass the laws, that destroy our rights.
GOA and JPFO, as organizations, have laudable goals, but they don't have a workable strategy for achieving them, nor the money, nor the membership numbers to move the ball forward.
GOA in particular is prone to lying about NRA backed bills in an attempt to smear the organization so folks will give more money to them.
I think you picked the right team to join, personally.
No the NRA is not perfect, but when you need an 800lb gorilla, well I can't think of a better one.
ReplyDeleteGOA, SAF, JPFO are all great groups & yes they are more hardline, but until they can reach out & get their memberships up, the NRA is what we got
Thank you Sebastian & Duck. Yes I agree 100%. Something else for all of us to remember is that the NRA is an organization of over 4 Million gun owners. It is controlled by its members who elect like minded board members who in turn appoint like minded officers. I'm sure that the NRA does not make any change in official policy without the approval of the board as they try to stay in focus of the "majority" of its members in order to be re-elected. It is not possible for 4 Million gun owners to ever fully agree on every piece of gun legislation, and the official position of the NRA changes over time as the opinions of the NRA members change. It isn't an "extreme far right" organization, although it is a highly conservative organization, which is probably a good portion of the reason that it has so many more members than those that are further to the right. The NRA is more well respected than either the Republican or Democratic parties, and there are supporters on both sides of the isle, although by far the majority of NRA members are conservative. The long & short of it is, join all of the gun rights groups that agree with you most of the time & work hard to protect your rights. I doubt you'll find a single organization that you will agree with all of the time, unless you run it yourself. 4 Million people are a lot of folks to try to get on the same page. Feel free to join the NRA & vote to elect board members that you most agree with.
ReplyDeleteDustin:
ReplyDeleteI don't agree w/ the NRA 100% but still upped my membership to life. I also joined numerous local organizations.
I agree with Duck, NRA is a good 800lb gorilla to have on your side. I'm also a member of the TSRA (Texas State Rifle Association). One thing I have noticed is that the antis will divide and conquer. NRA may not be perfect, but it isn't a one issue club. No matter which magazine you choose you'll get info about all the issues. Mostly, it will be the issues that are hot for the moment.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to the club.
Everyone with a vote must do so in order to keep our rights. www.freewebs.com/cdreloader/
ReplyDeleteIt would seem to me that there are a lot of gun owners out there who are willing to accept the NRA and it's current leadership based on it's size alone. Remember, there are a lot of REAL pro-gun organizations out there. Organizations who WON'T compromise your Rights away. As long as the NRA comtinues to enjoy your support, they have no reason to change. If the 4 million NRA members shifted their membership to GOA or JPFO, THEY would be the 800 pound Gorilla.
ReplyDeleteAs for lack of stratigy in other organizations...what kind of statigy does it take to just say NO WAY! The NRA has a stratigy alright. It's called MONEY. They will never change until the money dries up.
I have called them several times trying to get an answer as to why they are in bed with McCarthy, Schumer and the Brady Bunch and WHY they are supporting this so called NICS improvement Bill. The response I got was pure BS. They KNOW, that if this Bill is passed, there will be NO FUNDING for any appeals or relief frocess. They are creating job security for themselves in fear of a Supreme Court ruling that the 2nd Amendmant IS an INDIVIDUAL Right. Such a ruling would greatly reduce the power...as well as membership that they now enjoy. It's about the MONEY.
Thanks for your input Shotgun. The NRA actually IS the 4 million members. We vote for the board members who have similar views & they in turn appoint NRA officers who have similar views and the board controls NRA policy & goals. The NRA isn't some small group of individuals who create their own agenda to shove down the throats of its members, it is a member controlled organization. While it isn't possible for 4 million people to agree on everything, it is possible for us to fight toward a common overall goal.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do fully support joining multiple organizations, why place all your eggs in one basket? My current favorites are the NRA, the SAF, and AZCDL. I also largely agree with the overall views of GOA with the exception of their methods of attacking the NICS improvement bill via the misinformation they have been putting out against it. Their statements contain all out lies at worst & random conjecture at best while making the statements as if they were fact rather than just conjecture.
However, to each their own, I have no beef with people wanting to be members of GOA as I currently am one myself.
Well Really what we really need to do is support as many of them as we can
ReplyDeleteNRA
GOA
SAF
JPFO
& our state groups!
For the prices of a few boxes of ammo, you can join them all.
Couldn't agree more Duck. It is a small price to pay to support our right to use ammo. After all, without the right to own & shoot guns, what good would our ammo do?
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