Friday, August 6, 2010

ABC notices that, far from being Liberty leading the charge, the NRA is actually an aging whore losing her clientele.


How the NRA represents itself to its members.


The real NRA in action.

"ABC News asked the NRA several times to comment for this story, but it refused. "
No doubt. Here's a snippet:
The statistics tell the story: There are about 50 million gun owners in America. Close to half of all American households possess guns -- more than 200 million guns all told, and we buy 4.5 million more guns every year.

Whether you like it or not, for better or worse, it's a fact: America is an armed nation. And to gun owners -- the vast majority of whom are law-abiding citizens -- that's the way it was meant to be.

Now, more than ever, many gun owners are proudly, aggressively asserting their rights to keep and bear arms.

At a barbeque in Portland, Maine, a small grassroots organization meets to promote one goal: the right to carry weapons openly in public.

"We're just out here, exercising our rights," said event participant Scott Walker. "We're just here to have a good time." . . .

In many ways (this) is the new face of the gun rights movement.

For decades, the National Rifle Association has been fighting gun-control efforts in Congress and across the country on behalf of its 4.3 million members. But the old "guns vs. no guns" debate that was once the face of the American gun movement is being transformed into a "guns vs. more guns" issue, and the NRA is now feeling the heat from its own backyard.

Small, focused, pro-gun, grassroots groups like Belanger's believe the enormous organization has become too bureaucratic and conservative to focus on their local issues, such as fighting for more open-carry laws.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

even in our state the NRA have cut deals or tried to, contrary to our own state PRO gun, no comprimise group with the state legislators which has created bigger problems here in NC. The NRA have comprimised since 1934, 1968 and so on. What part of "infringement" to they not get? the same can be said of apathetic gun owners who have allowed this with elected officials at ALL levels. I hear this all the time, "the NRA is looking out for us", OK and to what end would that really be?
TOM III
TOM III

Brian K Miller said...

So, um, MSM publishes an article on an open-carry barbeque and attempts to use that event to smear the NRA and you leap on board the bandwagon?

Whatever.

I'm not ending my support for the NRA anytime soon. The more the MSM works to discredit them the more it indicates to me they must be doing something right.

Anonymous said...

The NRA. Once so proud and vigilante.
Now being supplanted by groups such as GOA and SAF.
If the NRA would pull their heads out of their corporate asses, and become more then a one-trick pony, they might become powerful again with their dwindling membership.
After all, any gun rights group that supports Dingy Harry Reid because of a few pro-2A votes, but ignores the rest of his voting record, is just BEGGING to become irrelevent.

For now, the NRA is just a legend in their own minds, living on past faded glories.

B Woodman
III-per

Anonymous said...

No, the NRA has become a business -a fairly large business - and like most businesses does what it sees it needs to do to stay in business.
And like far too many big businesses these days, its customer base is way down on its list of concerns...

Defender said...

Wow. I can't believe ABC publicized those gun ownership statistics (which we know are an UNDERestimate). I bet they've heard from ... uh, several of us about their anti-gun-rights stance.
I left the NRA years ago. And that was years after THEY left ME. An unconstitutional law is an unconstitutional law, even if it's "on the books." The NRA rhetoric on that is the same as that of the Brady crew: Obey them.
They have a Minuteman in their logo, but they urged Californians to turn in their formerly-legal militia rifles when semi-autos were banned there. Mustn't be viewed as extreme.
If the EPA rules by fiat that lead ammunition is illegal to use AND POSSESS -- highly unlikely, but within the realm of possibility -- plus there's the UN small arms treaty looming -- I fully believe the NRA would suggest that we turn over our muskets, powder and shot to the Redcoats.
Well, maybe they're coming around. The lead ammo band WOULD affect skeet and trap shooting. We always though those would be last to be taken away. Double-barrel shotguns and dust-size pellets.

Anonymous said...

For 20 years (or more!) the NRA has been about deals. First it started with magazine deals then with insurance deals. But, actually, the deals were always deals with the devil himself: the United States Federal Corporation ( http://usavsus.info ). The US Populous' coercion into a crooked system has taken 4 generations and the NRA has been a very small part of it. While looking like and taking dues in lieu of fighting for our rights, they are actually controlled opposition that, on important points, cave. I left the NRA 15 years ago. Get with GOA, CCRKBA, Second Amendment Foundation, anything.

The sad fact of the matter is, why do we have to put so much effort and money into fighting for out constitutional rights? Why? They're defined but our federal government refuses to recognize them. Why?

I KNOW WHY!!!

Because what all of you see is not a federal government but a for-profit corporation re-named to the United States of America. We are "citizens" of a corporation. Tin foil hat,you say?

Read it and weep. I have been.

http://usavsus.info

http://americandreampreservation.com/node/5

If you thought the world sucked and our government was a collection of greedy bastards, well, you just got that confirmed.

Now, what are YOU going to do about it?

Anonymous said...

America has become a nation of parasitic paper mercenaries you hire to do your dirty work for you.

Sierra Club, PETA, NRA, etc,etc, they take your money (lots of it) and promise to use that money to work for you in the name of world progress. That way you can stay home and spend more quality time with your family, rather than having to waste time hanging out in the trenches with all those Washington lobbyists.

Except those paper mercenaries don't really work for you. They are busy padding their pockets and living the life of royalty, right alongside the enemy. Because they are the enemy. Stop letting them suck up to you like they are your best friend, they're not. Your naive gullibility keeps these people in power and then ends up working against you.
Stop supporting these leeches.
0321

MikeH. said...

Only because I renewed my membership in a multiple year package, my current NRA membership won't expire until 08 / 11.

Until Wayne LaPierre and Chris Cox, et al., are sent to the unemployment line, WITHOUT a golden parachute, I WILL NOT renew again... no matter how many dime store trinkets they offer.

And they can keep their videos, books, member preferred auto / life / health insurance, wines, cheese, crackers, online dating services and any other bullshit money grabbing games they play which have NOTHING to do with anything but separating members from their pocket contents.

At least at this point in time, I am thankful I never justified, to myself, the exorbitant cost of a life-time membership.

Michael A. Hill
NRA # 148670425

MikeH.
III

Anonymous said...

Greyhawk;
Just stay with the NRA. No sense posting here too. Or are you one of those fence straddlers who wins no matter what happens???

Anonymous said...

The NRA like the AARP is now a self-serving pos PAC.

The "lEADERSHIP" would seem to be content shooting skeet with $8000.00, Italian, silver inlaid over and under shootguns while life, liberty and happiness is wheeled and dealed away.

wl moses

parabarbarian said...

The NRA appears to be moribund and afraid of controversy. However, they may still have a place in the fight. The size of their membership for instance gives them clout with the political class smaller groups cannot muster -- quantity has a quality all it's own. The NRA has also been the lodestone for the collectivists hatred of the rights of gun owners and, ironically, this fixation allowed smaller group to slip in under the radar and define a more radical agenda. To survive the NRA needs to understand that the new breed of gun rights activists are not going away. Adapt to the new climate or be replaced.

Dennis308 said...

I´m a Endowment Member and I have NO intention of resigning my membership. Simply because Someday the nra just might wake the fu=k up.

But I also NO Longer Financially Support the nra(small caps intentional)not until the Board of Directors replace Chris Cox and Wayne La Pierre. I have requested to removed from the mailing list and do No longer participate in ANY nra events .

The nra has grown into a LOBBIST Group and is NOT Representing (that sounds familiar don´t it) It´s Membership, but their own Corporate Interests.

I Will as soon as I am financially able be joining Gun Owners America, a no nonsense
¨Shall Not Be Infringed¨ Organization. And how far do they go to embrace the Second, Larry Pratt of G.O.A. WAS at the
4-19 Restore the Constitution Rally Unlike the nra that did NOT have Any Official Persons From Their Organization Present. A notable absence. I could not be there and I do regret that, But I don´t have Millions of people sending me contributions to help Protect their and my rights.

Dennis
III
Texas

Kansas Scout said...

I was formerly unaware that a public relations firm basically captured the NRA about 20 years ago and is the real power behind the scenes. The NRA we used to know is long gone. There is some info on this takeover at "The Gun Zone"

Anonymous said...

I dropped my membership with the NRA after the DISCLOSE deal they pulled. I put my money with the GOA and JFPO. Both groups deserve additional support, and thet won't be cuttin' no deals.

Dedicated_Dad said...

Paper tiger.

Whoever said "4 generations" was right -- and it's no accident.

One major cut in rights per generation - then the next grows up not missing what they never had.

What's next?

DD