The sad descent of the NRA

As I have noted on countless occasions, I am a gun owner and I don't believe in gun confiscation.  Frankly, outside of maybe Rosie O'Donnell, I don't know anyone who does.  If the government even tried it, even if we had a GOP President, we would have an armed rebellion in this country.

I have been around hunting for most of my life.  I know hunters usually eat what they kill, and give away that which they cannot.  99% of them sit in a duck blind or a deer stand or walk a field, and do not visit any place that would  provide a "guaranteed kill", because that is the antithesis of sportsmanship.

When I was a child, my father, who was a part-time gunsmith when we lived in Northeast Arkansas in the late 1960s, was a member of the National Rifle Association, and subscribed to the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN magazine.  He hunted, and loaded his own ammunition.  Back then, the NRA would occasionally grumble about gun control laws, but they usually stuck to promoting gun safety and shooting sports, which is not a bad thing, I say, when done properly.

That was then, and this is now.

In their first major public statement since the tragedy in Newtown, CT a week ago, the NRA sent their leader and chief spokesman, Wayne LaPierre (who is a main reason my father grew to hate the NRA) out to speak on the matter.  Here is a transcript, and before I go any further, I would like you to stop and read this.

Go ahead, I can wait.

Denial's not just a river in Egypt , is it?

Everything is the problem except guns, and their easy access. Let us never forget that the National Rifle Association stands for nothing more than preserving unfettered access to guns to EVERYONE, regardless of age or mental illness.  They are NOT a gun rights organization, they are there to promote gun SALES.  To ANYONE, no matter what, even if it's someone who thinks the world will end and they are stocking up on guns and ammo to shoot anyone who may come near them.

By screaming that ANY attempt to restrict gun sales for ANY reason will lead to confiscation by ANY governmental or NON-governmental group that may pop into their heads, the NRA may be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy that eventually DOES lead to far more dramatic restrictions to gun ownership than any we have seen.

And that would not be a good thing, and it would be the fault of the NRA.  We NEED all loopholes closed regarding sales at gun shows (and KUDOS to my friend Councilor Myron Lowery, who is trying to get the gun show that is planned for the Agricenter cancelled) and there needs to be CLEAR definitions on what constitutes an assault weapon.  Like what former Senator Bob Kerrey said while running for re-election in NEBRASKA in 1994:



Exactly.  What the NRA is facing is a dose of unexpected reality.  The majority of Americans no longer believe that the Chinese are coming over the border to take our weapons.  If we have gun licensing and registration, it will not infringe upon my rights as a gun owner one bit.  Rights come with responsibilities, as EVERY conservative has ever told me, and our responsibilities as a society DEMAND that common-sense regulation of gun sales and ownership take place.

If we can do it for automobiles, we can do it for guns, or risk REALLY losing them.  Your call, NRA.