Why do so many gun owners dislike the NRA?

[EliteCageFighting]

Why do so many gun owners dislike the NRA?

Not looking for arguments here, this is a genuine question.

I would like to join some type of activist group to help do my part retaining our 2nd Amendment, but am uncertain of which one.


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[melensdad]

The NRA has done some silly things. Mostly what the NRA is blamed for is caving in a couple times and compromising. One thing that shocks me is that the NRA gets blamed for caving into the Clinton Assault Weapons Ban. The recounts of the story differ, some suggest that it would not pass at all except the NRA helped to pass it. Others suggest it was going to pass so the NRA stepped in and helped craft some compromise language like the 10 year sunset.

The way I see it, the NRA is really the ONLY game in town that can actually affect gun rights in a positive manner. I'm a member of the GOA and the JFPO in addition to the NRA. I'm a past member of the 2nd Amendment Foundation and the CCRKBA. But here is what I know, at the end of the day the politicians fear the NRA and its members but don't give a giant rat's butt about the other organizations because they simply cannot turn out the vote, the letters, the complaints or the protests.

I strongly believe that all gun owners need to be vocal members of the NRA. I also believe that it is very wise to be a member of at least one or two other pro-gun organizations to keep the NRA from drifting too far. I think the current attitude at the NRA is a no-compromise attitude. That has not always been the case. So there is room to criticize.

However, the reality is that the GOA, JFPO, 2nd Amend Found, and the CCRKBA combined will have about as much influence on the House & the Senate as Bob Barr and the Libertarian Party had on the election in November. Hang your hat on any of them, or all of them, and you might as well turn in your guns today. Best bet is to marry up to the NRA and work to keep them honest by also joining GOA, etc.

 

[Annie Oakley]

What Melensdad said!

 

[dburkhead]

 

[bwframe]

Well said Melensdad!

You can whine and bitch and moan about the NRA of the past. OR, you can join the ONLY organization that has any chance of preserving our rights!

 

[schwaky18]

Hey nobody's perfect. And I like to think that the NRA compromises because they hold the view that a something is better than nothing. Say the AWB's sunset provision was a product of them compromising. Yea it sucks that they did compromise (because none of our rights should be compromised) but I for one am happy that they did because without the sunset provision we wouldn't be stocking up right now. Who is to say the AWB wouldn't have passed anyways and wouldn't have had a sunset provision.

Ofcourse they could just be spineless wussies. But I try to look for the good in people.

 

[melensdad]

Who is to say the AWB wouldn't have passed anyways and wouldn't have had a sunset provision.

And that is the rub. Some suggest, without proof, that the AWB would not have passed. It is true that it would have been close, but it is also true that momentum had been gaining. Some suggest that it was all but dead, but that is simply not true, it was certainly hung up, but it was being pushed very hard and many members of the GOP were very helpful in getting it passed. I believe that it would have eventually passed WITHOUT a sunset clause. I'm thankful that we got the sunset and give credit to the NRA for getting it inserted. Do I think the AWB sucked, you betcha! But I'm glad we got the best deal out of a bad situation. Now we get to fight it again and I can bet there will be no sunset provision inserted this time. We are in for the fight of our lives and the fight to protect future rights.

 

[Fletch]

Back to the original question, the other fault of the NRA is that like all organizations of its type, once a certain critical mass is reached, significant amounts of money have to be diverted from "the cause" to "maintaining the organization". A lot of people I hear complaining gripe about the NRA HQ, the extravagance of its annual convention, and so forth. It's a Catch-22, of course: without "the show", it has a hard time recruiting members and schmoozing politicians.

The NRA is not perfect, and it is fairly moderate in its pro-gun stance, compared to the other organizations. But it's the 800-pound gorilla, and you want him on your side.

 

[karlsgunbunker]

IMHO The NRA is nothing other than a Money Making Machine.
They thrive on Anti-Gun Legislation. If the Anti-Gun Legislation Stops, No more Money for the NRA.

When one of the officers of a "Pro Gun Group says, "No one needs more than a 10 round magazine", you know they are not on our side.

 

[schwaky18]

IMHO The NRA is nothing other than a Money Making Machine.
They thrive on Anti-Gun Legislation. If the Anti-Gun Legislation Stops, No more Money for the NRA.

When one of the officers of a "Pro Gun Group says, "No one needs more than a 10 round magazine", you know they are not on our side.

Good point, but is it better to support them or have no one? I ask myself this question every year. Is this an org. that I want to support? I am not a lifetime member because I think that is dumb, who is to say they won't do a 180 and be against us in 20 years. So I take it on a year by year basis. Every year I look at what they stand for and consider if they are worth my support. And I do consider them a Money Making Machine that needs anit-gun legislation. But the thing is there will always be anti-gun legislation from someone or some group.

It is getting harder to support them when they have a dumb a$$ say stuff like that. But they did help get rid of a lot of the liberals that were part of the AWB. No one has the power of the NRA and even if they aren't fully on our side, someone is better than no one. I mean my one vote won't scare anyone but the NRA does.

I think they have lost their way but I am still a member because I feel that they are the only one big enough to really have any pull and even if they don't pull as much as we would like I still think they help stop more extreme legislation.

But I am also a member of other orgs. I figure that competition is good for the NRA and will keep them in check. If we as members get sick of their crap we can all take our money elsewhere and the NRA knows this.

 

[melensdad]

Well Bill Ruger Sr is dead.

He is the one who said that first. Chuck Shumer jumped on it and incorporated a 10 round limit into the Clinton AWB. Bill Ruger Sr was a member of the NRA and the head of a large gun company too. Fortunately his children and those currently in charge of the company he built do not feel the same way.

I find it hard to continue to blame the NRA for the past actions of some of its leaders. There have been a few other leaders inside the NRA who have said stupid things but I believe most of the mindless herd has been culled.

 

[dburkhead]

IMHO The NRA is nothing other than a Money Making Machine.
They thrive on Anti-Gun Legislation. If the Anti-Gun Legislation Stops, No more Money for the NRA.

When one of the officers of a "Pro Gun Group says, "No one needs more than a 10 round magazine", you know they are not on our side.

Because, of course, when one of the officers says something, you know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he speaks for the entire group, forever and ever, amen.

I'm a member of GOA, but I have no illusions. I'll believe that groups like GOA, JPFO, the 2nd Amendment Foundation, etc., are forces to be reckoned with when folk like the Brady Bunch start naming them as the opposition.

 

[Crystalship1]

Well Bill Ruger Sr is dead.

He is the one who said that first. Chuck Shumer jumped on it and incorporated a 10 round limit into the Clinton AWB. Bill Ruger Sr was a member of the NRA and the head of a large gun company too. Fortunately his children and those currently in charge of the company he built do not feel the same way.

I find it hard to continue to blame the NRA for the past actions of some of its leaders. There have been a few other leaders inside the NRA who have said stupid things but I believe most of the mindless herd has been culled.

You make good points. I recenly told someone that I wouldn't "re-up" when my 2 yr. NRA membership expires, but unless they do someting very stupid between now an then I probably will. I will continue to support more "hard-core" gun rights groups in addition.

 

[minuteman32]

I have many issues w/ the NRA, but I still became a life member. My prefered group is GOA. Less begging for $$, better use of the money they take in. Plus, no compromise! That is why I became a GOA life member. Also, Larry Pratt actually came to IN when our Lifetime LTC & Castle Law were signed by the Gov. The NRA, well it took them several months before they even acknowledged that we HAD a lifetime LTC. I joined both so as to increase the pro gun footprint, in the eyes of the politicians (& possibly on their butts, if needed). I would join more groups, and will, as $$ allows, & encourage everyone else to do the same. I let the leadership know my thoughts & figure it is more efficient to steer a group from the inside than the outside.

 

[cce1302]

Why did both the NRA and the Brady Bunch celebrate last years' passage of the 'Veterans disarmament act'?

 

[clt46910]

Why did both the NRA and the Brady Bunch celebrate last years' passage of the 'Veterans disarmament act'?

I thought it did not pass. Am I wrong?

 

[G McBride]

I am a LIFE MEMBER of the NRA. I believe that they are fighting hard for our rights. I understand that many people do not understand how our politics really work in the USA. There are a lot of back room deals made and there is a lot of smoozing that has to be done. You may not like this but it happens.

The Big National Convention is a Big Show and costs a lot of money but it is a show of strength and money that is backing the NRA. It is an outward sign to those in DC of how strong the NRA is and that they have a lot of voters behind them.

There will never be an organization that you will like all things about it. Many times you will only get out, what you put in. If you need a better example of how money influences the results in politics, I give you President Elect, Barak Obama. He won the elections because he had more money to campaign.

You have never needed the NRA more than you need them now.

 

[minuteman32]

One other point to ponder; ask someone who would like to get into the full auto aren,but can't afford to because the least expensive gun they can findis a M11 for $3000, or the run of the mill M16 is $10,000. The NRA let the machine gun feeze stay on the FOPA, saying it could be dealt with later.......... Hello, 23 yrs. later & nothing has been done!
By and large, the NRA does an okay job, but when they do screw up, they don't come back to clean up the mess.

 

[melensdad]

Why did both the NRA and the Brady Bunch celebrate last years' passage of the 'Veterans disarmament act'?

I thought it did not pass. Am I wrong?

This is another of those issues where the NRA takes heat. Yes it did pass. However some people suggest that the bill disarms veterans. Others suggest that only because the NRA was involved did veterans get protections. The Brady's were happy, and I don't know why, because as I looked at the law they didn't actually get anything other than to say they passed more 'restrictions'. The NRA was happy because they de-fanged the law and the 'restrictions' imposed are simply clarifications of things that were already non-issues like the fact that people classified as criminally insane can't possess firearms. The GOA was able to bash the NRA over this, and while I am a GOA member I don't understand the bashing because it looks like hype and not substance.

As for the machine gun laws, that is one restriction that I really HATE but that said, I'm not sure that we can lay any blame at the feet of the CURRENT leadership of the NRA. Yes there were past sins. Yes there have been screw ups. But it seems like many people just throw away the NRA and ignore facts. I guess its easier to complain about the past than to work to protect the future

I would also like to point out that dues to the NRA do not go to the LEGISLATIVE issues. They do help because the NRA uses its members to organize against politicians and against bad laws, but if you really want to help, then donate to the NRA-ILA (Institute for Legislative Action) because that is the lobbying arm of the organization.

For all the gun rights talk here and the chest beating against the NRA, I wonder how many non-members actually have testified in our House or Senate (I have) or how many are actively writing letters to the newspapers EVERY TIME there is an anti-gun piece written (I do) or who write to our congressmen/senators before, during and after votes (again I do). I'm tired of pulling you along with me. Hop out of the wagon and start to pull with me and the others who are pulling your weight.

 

[obijohn]

one thing to keep in mind is that the only organization that will agree with YOUR views 100% of the time will have a very small membership. YOU.

i am a patron life member of the nra and also support the other groups.