I'm a big supporter of my 2nd amendment rights, but why is the NRA doing this

[JohnnyRingo]

I always respected the NRA, and appreciate what they do to protect my right to own, carry, and use firearms, however....

When do they cease to exist as a consumer rights advocate and lobby, and become an arm of the Republican party?

The NRA has been releasing commercials and fliers targeting Obama that have been at least "misleading", and less charitably out & out lies about his positions on gun control.

The NRA should hand out hard facts on the candidates' positions, and let members decide which one best suits their agenda:

From the non-partisan Annenberg Association Fact Check:
http://www.factcheck.org/elections-2008/nra_targets_obama.html

And this from CNN's Fact Check site (a very handy resource):
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/09/23/fact-check-does-obama-want-to-ban-guns-and-rifles/#more-20006

I have two friends here in Ohio who told me they can't vote for Obama "because the NRA says he's going to take away our rights". I'll be sending these links directly.

[YOY]

1. They play right into the hands of the Republicans

All the weapons in the world won't protect them from financial f*** ups and if the government wants them dead they will be...AK-47s be damned when someone drops a charge on your house.

[SteelPenguin]

2. Yeah the NRA consistently disappoints me

it's particularly bad this year. I had to go to their website to find some information on safety training and got deluged at first with their hyper-conservative political wing and the many lies.

I wish there were a sane association of hunters/sportsmen/gun owners.

[RedLetterRev]

7. Perhaps it's time to start one!

There are plenty of us, certainly enough to be worthwhile. Probably as many or more of us than there are of them.

How one goes about organizing such a thing, I haven't a clue, though. Big things start small, though and I'm pretty sure there's at least one DUer a lot smarter and more organized than I am who'd know just exactly what to do to start pulling it together.

I know this: If a progressive gun-owner's organization coalesced, I'd be so gone from NRA and moved over so fast that NRA's ears would ring. AND still take my dues back. AND let them know.

[HughMoran]

3. Yup, idiot neighbor has "Gun Owners for McCain" sign on lawn

Jeez, I wonder where he got that?

:freak:

[Cha]

6. Some of us should have signs that have

Obama's quote about not taking their guns away plus he's be better for the economy, stupid". :evilgrin:

Maybe leave the off the "stupid".

[JohnnyRingo]

11. Hahahaha.... Maybe not

After all, if people can't explore the candidates positions, and have to rely on one organization to dictate their vote, you might as well let them know who you're addressing

[Cha]

15. Maybe not

is right!

[ITsec]

9. Funny, since the GOA lists McLame's gun rating as an... F- ...

rat cheer...

http://www.gunowners.org/mccaintb.htm

[HughMoran]

13. Republicans are just stupid zombies

It doesn't matter what a Dems stance is - they just know who they're voting for.

[JohnnyRingo]

22. Thank you Thank you Thank you

I'm glad I didn't send the email to my gun owner friends yet.

This site is pretty damning for McCain on the 2nd amendment, and brings up the possibility that the NRA is just another GOP PAC of Republican lap dogs.

Why isn't the NRA mentioning McCain's demand for mandatory trigger locks for handguns, that's something that would normally make their blood boil.

[RedLetterRev]

4. I have been a thorn in their arse

since they've been handing out their crap-letters. I totally went off on NRA-ILA (a separate entity -- and I'll go so far as to say a wackjob entity). So far I haven't received any acknowledgment and the only reason I'm keeping my card is for discounts at the local indoor range. I've signed up for a CCH course offered by the local sheriff's office and can use the range time and the discounts are appreciated on a tight budget.

But none of that stops me from being a continuous pain in the NRA's ass. I figure, a non-member's letter they can just ditch. A member's letter has got to pull at least some notice before they pitch it. At least I hope. If they don't straighten up fast, the discounts are going to be not worth it because the CCH course is up in two weeks and I can ask for my next 4 years' dues back. That might get some more attention before the election.

Who knows. You do what you have to do. But no one should fall for the screamy screed that comes in those mail-outs. They don't even make sense, they're that far off the wall.

[napi21]

5. They've been pushing that crap for YEARS! When I first met

my husband, back in 1960, his whole family were members in the NRA, and EVERYONE OF THEM believed "The Dems want to take your guns away"! We've been married since 1964, and I've converted my husband, but rest of his family still believe that! Every once in a while even my husband will say "Does Obama want to take away the right to own a pistol?" I have the advantage to explain Barack's position because I have the time to do it, but most people who've heard that same crap for years & years, only hear a short rebuttal and it doesn't change their mind.

I think the main diff. between the NRA of the past and the one of today is that they do more conspicuous advertising!

[Viking12]

8. The NRA acts in the self-interest of the NRA, not gun owners

Their goal is self-perpetuation and power. They NEED to stir up controversy to justify their existence.

[Occam Bandage]

10. Special-interest groups tend to migrate towards one party.

NOW is practically a wing of the Democratic party. The NRA is practically a wing of the Republican party.

[Yanez Houston Jordan]

12. The NRA hasn't been a "consumer rights advocate and lobby" in decades. It's long been RNC's lobbying

tool.

This current ad isn't any different from ads it ran in 2004.

[izzybeans]

14. They have never been a consumer advocacy group.

They do this every election.

[ITsec]

16. I bailed from the NRA several years ago...

I too, am a lifetime gun owner and collector, and supporter of the 2nd Amendment.

The NRA is single issue, 2nd amendment above all. Nothing else matters. They refuse to see and acknowledge how the rest of the Constitution has been shredded, 1st, 4th, etc. by their boy The Chimpster. As long as they have their 99 round drums and pistol grips for their AK's, that's all that matters.

That, and their incessant begging for more money every month is the reason I refused to renew, and sent back everything I had related to the organization in that renewal envelope along with a scathing "thanks but no thanks" letter. Postage on them.

I'm sure that I'm on some secret "list" now.

[RedLetterRev]

17. I'm probably next.

But if I weren't on one s--tlist or another, I wouldn't know how to act. (sigh)

[LynneSin]

18. It's not the NRA but a small percentage of leaders within the NRA

I have NRA family members who see thru that bullshit and are voting Obama.

[Captiosus]

19. Reminds me of 14 years ago - A discussion with my father

I was in senior high school Government. My dad was an NRA member since before I was born. I got hand me down copies of "American Rifleman" since I was 8 years old. I learned to read through Wayne LaPierre's shit fairly rapidly.

So it was 1994, an election year and the following brief exchange between my father and I took place:

Dad: "I don't vote party. I vote for whom I feel is more qualified. Gun ownership is a critical issue to me, so I support whoever the NRA says is most qualified."
Me: "Then you're a Republican."
Dad: "No I'm not!"
Me: "Name one election year you didn't vote straight ticket Republican because the NRA always gives high 'grades' to Republicans."
Dad: *silence*

Didn't change his mind any, of course. He maintained he didn't vote party, but every year, without fail, he did. Republican straight ticket, every time. The only exception was when he voted for Douglas Wilder for Governor which he immediately "regretted", in his words.

[crankychatter]

20. arms/munitions manufacturers = corporate transnationals = war profiteers = GOP

any questions?

[quiller4]

21. NRA

Over the years the NRA has become more about right wing ideology and less about guns. I say that as a gun-owning Democrat who is an absolutist about the entire Bill of Rights. In Washington we got a big clue when the NRA helped to defeat Jolene Unsoeld despite the fact that she was a strong gun rights supporter. She also happened to be a liberal Democrat. The NRA poured money into her opponent's campaign over the objection of local NRA affiliate groups.