The NRA, like the GOP, has found itself well down the road to irrelevance. By pandering to the ideology of the extremists they attract, they've alienated the majority of Americans. This includes many who'd support some of their ideas if it wasn't for their obstinate insistence on no compromise, no common sense solutions.
When faced with horrific tragedies and real issues to be addressed, instead of moving to the center or at least acknowledging an issue with guns, they double down on rhetoric. Instead of catering to mental stable gun owners, they've narrowed their audience further and further by stoking the fires of paranoia in the minds of conspiracy theorists and militia members. Rather than promote responsible gun ownership, they've cashed in on the wannabe Rambos and people who wouldn't be able to pass the psychological exam to become a police officer or soldier.
Now before people start of on the "well, you're just a liberal who wants to take everyone's guns away" tirade, I used to read "American Rifleman" when I was a kid. Every issue started off with a collection of short stories about people who used their weapon to protect themselves and/or shoot a bad guy. Back then, it was more about hunting and self defense than it is today. I really dug the idea of being able to eliminate a coyote at 500 yards with a .25-06 and plinking cans with a .22 has been something I've enjoyed since I was 7 years old. Blowing up a stuff with an AR at a target range out in the middle of the woods? That's a little slice of burnt gunpowder heaven to me.
However, the NRA doesn't represent me anymore. I own a 12 gauge shotgun with shells that range from 00 buckshot for home defense to #6 shot for the water moccasins that hang out in the ditches between the cane fields that surround my house. I have owned various handguns and a concealed carry permit but I don't buy into the constant fear they sell that causes their members to nervously pat their waistband every time they see a black person at the adjacent gas pump at 1 in the morning.
Their answer to gun violence? More fear, more paranoia. Buy more guns, buy more ammo, become a member and slap an NRA sticker on your vehicle to scare off criminals. And seriously, who the fuck are these nuts who want an AR-15 for home defense? Fire one of those at an intruder and miss? That 5.56mm round will scream right through 2 layers of drywall and insulation and right into your spouse or child sleeping in an adjacent room. Don't tell me you need a semi-auto weapon with a 30 round clip and armor piercing rounds to protect you from a crackhead. Chances are you're a lousy shot but let's be honest, you want to really, really kill someone.
These aren't people who really want to protect their homes, they have this delusional, Fox News fed fantasy that Obama and the UN are going to show up to take them to detention camps. They have watched Red Dawn or Rambo one time too many and think that they will somehow fight off an imagined repressive government with a single rifle, and the NRA reinforces that delusion at every opportunity to make even more money.
I'll support reasonable restrictions on gun ownership, including special licenses for military-styled weapons such as an AR-15 and bans on high capacity magazines. I also think that we should take the police officers who we pay to bust people for smoking pot and reassign them to walk the halls of our schools instead. We aren't going to stop gun violence in our country, violence has been part of our history since the beginning. We can make a dent in it and we can make it harder for people who suddenly snap to go on rampages like we saw at Sandy Hook or Aurora.
If you're a responsible person, you should be able support certain safeguards which in no way restrict your ability to own or use firearms in a responsible manner. Or you can follow the way of the NRA, double down on stupid, and follow the bloody trail to irrelevancy. Your choice.
I too own weapons, and I agree with you 100%. I left The GOP when they were hijacked by wing nuts, and though never a card carrying member of the NRA, I did support their cause. Not anymore. They are done in my book.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post - I'm sharing on FB.
ReplyDeleteI too am a gun owner, and I concur with your thoughts here. I was raised in a very right leaning household, and I used to read my dad's NRA magazines as a kid. I fully support the second amendment, but realize that the principle that limits our ownership of "arms" like missiles and machine guns doesn't stop where the NRA says it does. An ounce of prevention, as they say, is worth a pound of cure.
ReplyDeleteThe guns I own are pieces of family history and I would be loathe to give them up. But we do need more sensible regulations these days, and a lot fewer Rambo wannabees.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, they don't. They represent GUN MANUFACTURERS! They just use the 2nd Amendment to keep the malleable gun sheeple voting.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sensible regulations, along with smart deterrent actions, like the police officers in every school, and psychological testing, would do the trick. I am not for an out and out ban on guns. There are too many people that actually use them for the purposes of putting food on their tables. Semper Fi!
ReplyDeleteOur high school had a security guard, and a police officer. The town established a mini-police station within the school. Most of his time was spent monitoring hallways watching for drug sales, but if you accidentally dialed 9-1-1 (I did once because you had to dial 9 to get an outside line)and he was there in one minute, gun out. It scared me and the student I was with. He actually arrested my grandson for "starting a protest" because a friend was getting kicked out due to his family moving to another town. The vice principal had already handled the problem, but the officer dragged my grandson out in handcuffs. I thought that was a bit of overkill. I think it takes a very special type of officer to work in a school setting.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. Tolerant.
DeleteI agree....kinda. The NRA is a racist, bottom feeding organization from day one. However, I think the problems we have can be solved without further restrictions on specific weapons; tighten up the background check necessary to own any weapon. Period. Beyond that, we currently have around 48,000 psychiatric beds available to treat the needs of over 300 million people. That may be a bigger issue
DeleteThere's a simple question that sorts out the madness.
ReplyDeleteAsk: "From whom/what do you think your pop-gun armory is supposed to defend you?"
By their evasions shalt thou know them.
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ReplyDeleteExcellent post. Just shared on Facebook. THIS is what the NRA should be fighting for.
ReplyDeletegreat post, I'll be sharing it with my friends on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI don't own any guns, I don't like guns, but I support Second Amendment rights. I agree with you all throughout this blog, and I definitely think you make your case very clearly. I wish more people could think this out the way that you have. People who own guns need to really start making decisions about what is necessary and safe. My boyfriend owns guns, and the NRA doesn't represent him either!
ReplyDeletei own no weapons, and likely never will. i support gun ownership, and not just because it's in the constitution
ReplyDeletei think it's absolutely ridiculous that some people, as in the example you gave, think they have a prayer against the military they pretend to admire if those grunts were laying siege to their home. i think it's ridiculous to insist that criminals won't follow laws when reasonable laws do more than just attempt to prevent things like unlawful gun ownership
imagine if EVERY gun in the country (never gonna happen, but just pretend) was registered, had its unique characteristics (for ballistics) registered, and had a title to it. imagine if EVERY gun owner needed to prove competence, understanding of gun care and safe handling, and renew their certification on a regular basis. imagine if EVERY gun sale, whether from an individual or a store, included a signing over of a physical title, registered with the state
if that happened, then guns would be equally regulated as cars. let me rephrase that: devices built and kept ONLY for the purpose of destruction (yes, that .22 destroyed those poor defenseless cans...i can live with that) would be equally regulated as devices that when misused, mistreated, or placed in extreme circumstances can be dangerous
that's just common sense
While I might not agree with police officers patrolling hallways as a way of being, I think gun laws in this country are ridiculously lenient. Further more, if we merely shut down the ability to sell guns at gun shows without a back ground check, that would reduce a lot of crazies right there! I too posted on FB. Great post in that we need MORE reasonable gun owners to speak out against the lobbying machine of the NRA and gun manufacturers and the right wingnuts hijacking of the GOP.
ReplyDeleteYES!
DeleteI agree with you. Good blog.
ReplyDelete