I would like to appologize to all members for the behavior of my NRA leadership at the Republican convention. To go ahead against McCain’s wishes and have a party that is ridiculed on the ABC news by Charlie-whats-his-name is unpardonable. This is not my NRA.
My e-mail to them
“Really, how dumb can you get. To go ahead and have a big party on the evening of Gustauv and then invite ABC news so you can make the 7:00 Charlie show. Every idiot involved in that hoax should be listed on your website with a written appology. We pay our dues with the hopes that those representing us will act in our behalf. Shame, shame, shame on you. I don’t think I will be a mamber next year if you don’t make some quick ammends. BTW - please refund this years dues to all members for your stupidity.”
Bob
I agree they do some really dumb stuff sometimes. I am more upset about their stance on the Heller case and all they did to slow it. Now that it has been ruled on it is simply the best thing to happen to gun owners, ever.
I stopped sending money to them when they failed to take legitamate actions against board member Joaquin Jackson over very stupid comments he made in a televised interview.
I have been a Patron member for years and a life member since '77. My son has been a Life member since he was about 2. I have problems with the way they do a lot of things these days…
art
I’m a proud member of the NRA and have been for many years. I did the easy pay program to be able to afford my life membership when I was younger. I then upgraded to an Endowment member and have been a Patron member for years now.
Do I agree with every single thing they do? NO, but I don’t agree with my wife on everything either. We’re coming up on our 25th wedding anniversary.
The NRA is the voice of sportsman and it is a great organization. While McCain is not a true conservative on many fronts he sure is much closer to our ideals than anything Barack Hussein Obama is about on sportsmen’s rights.
If your opinion is different, that’s OK, it’s America.
Having been a member a few times I dont wonder why I have not chosen to renew in the past 20 years. I value what the organization stands for , I cant stand some of its practices. That said ,aside from severe management blunders its still a good group.
Perch
The NRA has not represented sportsman for as long as I can remember. The weapons they seem bent on protecting are totally irrelevant to any concept of ethical hunting. And Clay, don’t you think that eight years of the best president big oil can buy is enough? It’s time for a change.
There’s going to be a change ANYWAY, because of the 8 year term limit. Keep in mind that oil is what keeps your truck running and what gets you to Fish-Ins and hunting fields. Can’t get along without it.
The new President will either be a friend or foe to sportsmen. The choice will be made by the voters, so it’s important we look at all the issues and ask hard questions of the candidates. I’m sure some are looking at the Swiss and their rhinoceros petting zoo mentality as a model for this country, while others will take a more balanced approach.
Ding Ding Ding. Sir you Are 100% correct the “sportsmen argument” is a code for “Look the other way while my party tries to flush the second amendment.”
While the NRA can do stuid things at times, rember the 2nd amendment is not about the right to own firearms for hunting. It is an indiviual right to own firearms for any lawful reason.
I think that we are all on the same page about this. While I did use the term sportsman in an earlier post, the second amendment is definately about owning firearms and not hunting. Remember Zumbo’s comments about black rifles not being appropriate for hunting? He no longer has a job at Outdoor Life. One of my favorite quotes is that the second amendment isn’t about duck hunting. It is about the rights of the people to take back the government if they did not represent the people. Remember they just had a revolution. So even the statement about “lawful reason” is not accurate, because when they over threw the Brits it was definately illegal by the law of the day.
My comments about sportsman, is that the NRA does much for hunters, police department instruction, gun safety, woman protection etc beside just a second amendment group. Make no mistake about it though, the purpose of the organization is to protect the second amendment, but like Ducks Unlimited, when they benefit ducks they also benefit song birds and many other wild animals etc. There are many groups that benefit from the main objective of protecting the second amendment.
I still stand by my original comments that the NRA is the best firearms group to belong to. There are others that do good work, but the NRA is the best of the group in my opinion and I put my money where my mouth is on this one.
If you are a sportsman, hunter, target shooter, competitive shooter, firearms owner or someone that doesn’t even own a firearm but believes in the second amendment, you should be a current member of the organization. Do more than talk about it, join.
i wholey agree with you clay. and those that don’t should just thank the NRA that they are still allowed to own a gun. or better yet just stay on the sidelines and be quiet and enjoy the freedom that someone else fought for.
Actually, if you look at websites run by supporters of each candidate’s respective sides, the only difference I can find is that Obama supports a ban on assault weapons while John Sidney McCain III does not. I’m not a hunter so I’d like to ask hunters (or target shooters for that matter), what’s the sporting use of an assault weapon?
the 2nd amendment does not refer to only ‘sporting’ used of arms. it actually refers to the non-sporting use of arms, as in fighting with arms against an oppressor wheather it be a foreign entity of our oppressive government. you know fighting for our freedom. the 2nd amendment is not to be defined so narrowly as many would opine.
Didn’t it start out that way? Our constitution is as political as you can get. Guess what, it isn’t all bad. Being involved in politics protects our rights as we know them.
I don’t think that anyone has been rude on this thread. Everyone doesn’t agree, but this is America and that’s cool to disagree. We are not all the politically correct drones of the world and that’s how life should be.
Marty
The second amendment does not say the right ot keep and bear PC arms shall not be infringed. It says nothing about hunting or sporting uses of firearms. In those days those things were simply assumed. And it was not about sport, at all.
A few points to consider; Heller vs. DC changed everything this past July. The SCOTUS ruling says the right is an individual right and we have the RIGHT to defend ourselves. In England they have the right to run, but not to defend themselves, even in their own homes. The popular stance in the anti-gun media and crowd was the right referred to militias, whatever they are, as opposed to whatever they WERE. We will have no more of that flawed logic.
Actually, “assault rifles” are used by many in all sorts of hunting and target shooting applications and have been for years. Especially varmint hunters as most are based on the 223 cartridge.
Another point in Heller is the concept that firearm ownership cannot be discriminated upon by looks or feel. There has been no bloodbath created by assault rifle (Gawd I hate that term!) misuse, despite media hype. In order to ban a particular firearm type there has to be clear and compelling cause based on real facts. There are no assault rifle bans that can meet those criteria.
A final thought… Despite the warnings of blood filling the streets when gun laws are relaxed, there is not a single case, anywhere in the World of a gun law actually reducing crime. Quite the opposite has been observed nearly every time. Nothing spells victim quite like “unarmed citizen.” Look at Austrailia for example.
art