Here is is, straight from the horse’s…mouth. They want them all, folks. AR-15s, your old Marlin Glenfield, great-grandpa’s shotgun. They want them all. They will use whatever pretense they can use to get them. “This is merely the beginning.”
When gun grabbers tell you something like this, you’d better take them at their word. They’re not done yet.
Understand that there is no politician, no political party, that we can trust to stand by us in this fight. The latest assault on our rights in Florida was passed by a Republican controlled legislature and signed by a Republican governor (who happens to be a transplant from gun ban happy Illinois). Politicians blow wherever the wind blows them. Right now, the wind is not blowing from our direction. That needs to change.
There are things we can do as individuals to make this change. It’s important to write, email and call your elected critters at every level when you get the word they are considering legislation that will curtail your rights. I just got an email from our state gun rights group on a move by a local municipality that would shut down one of the biggest gun shows in the state. You bet I’m letting those worthies know that I’m not happy with that idea.
You should be a member of the NRA. While there are a lot of gun owners who piss and moan about the NRA not being pure enough or asking for money too often or whatever, the NRA is suing in federal court to overturn the Florida law. Things like this cost money, and I’m going to drop some coin into some of the NRA’s various online cups to help support the fight. I’d much rather the fight take place in a court room than on my front porch.
Speaking of the NRA, if you aren’t a member, why? Because you were once and they asked you for money? They called you on the phone or sent you mail? Like I said, fighting for your rights costs money. Lobbying in DC and 50 state capitals isn’t cheap and if you want it done well, you don’t do it on the cheap. You hire professionals and you give them the best tools of the trade, and that includes money. We gun owners supply the money. You don’t want phone calls, just tell them and they’ll stop. You don’t want the mail, simply toss it.
And please, for the love of John Moses Browning, don’t tell me about Gun Owners of America and the rest. Sure, they’re doing good works, but the NRA is the 800 pound gorilla. With something like 6 million members, when they knock on doors, the doors open. We need to give them more members so they can say they represent 8 million, 10 million, 20 million voters, because nothing gets a politician’s attention like the possibility of being an unemployed politician.
Way too many people thought they could relax when Trump won the presidency. They’ve spent the last year plus kicked back and doing jack for gun rights. Well guess what? The other side hasn’t been kicked back–they’ve been organizing and waiting for the right time to make another mad dash for gun bans. 17 dead kids in Florida was their right time. They’re on the move and moving hard and fast. Get off your butt and start fighting back.
You are correct that the NRA is the big boy in the room.
Having said that, they chose not to bother with Heller or others that GOA participated in and won for us. That wasn't the NRA, they chose to stand aside. "Twas the GOA and others that got us where we are today.
The NRA is living on it's past, and they haven't (so far) done much but capitulate in the past 30 years or so.
If the NRA was even trying to do what they are supposed to do (besides fundraise so that they can grow their offices and pay their people outrageous salaries) then GOA would never hag started. But thy didn't/haven't/wont and so we have GOA.
Here's more:
The NRA is willing to let Bump Stocks be banned (I don't need, nor want one, but believe it opens the door for other bans) and were willing to toss these devices under the bus for political expediency and compliancy…
The GOA is willing to fight.
Just so you know, I am a member of both.
Realistically, Heller was won by the Second Amendment Foundation, not the NRA or GOA. The NRA didn't care for the SAF's case and pursued a competing case. As for bump stocks, you're talking about a firearm accessory, not a firearm. That's ground that there is absolutely zero legal precedent to stand on. If I'm going to pick a hill to die on, Bump Stock Hill ain't going to be it.
I'm not saying the NRA is perfect. Far from it, and I disagree with them on a regular basis. Search this blog for NRA and see what you get. But right now we're in danger of getting our butts painted into a nice, neat little corner, and I'm not about to out-holier-than-thou myself and hitch my wagon to the horse with the least ability to pull. If you think the NRA hasn't done anything for the last 30 years but capitulate, I would suggest you either haven't been paying enough attention or you're allowing your prejudices to blind you.
I'm a member of both. But I still haven't seen them do much beyond back away from tough issues. If you can show me where I am wrong, I'd love to be educated.
Without the NRA, and the insurance they offer, my range would not exist. But they backed up from the start of the original AWB, and haven't pushed back since as far as I can see. They've supported the least bad candidates in most presidential and senatorial races, but really, what active stuff have they done. What GAINS have they accomplished? What pushback have they undertaken? What have they done to *increase* our rights? What holding actions have they taken to help us KEEP our rights? All I've seen is capitulation.
Here's today's for a start: http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2018/03/12/trump-shifts-on-gun-control/ Short version is that the NRA was able to bring enough pressure to bear that Trump kicked his "raise the long gun purchase age to 21" to a "blue ribbon committee". In DC, that is where things are sent to die.
I'll allow you to research the others. They're there if you want to be intellectually honest.