THE NRA – ITS WORST ENEMY
Guns, guns, guns – it’s all the rage
by anti-gun advocates, inner city victims of crime, and of course, the media. Of
the most vocal and influential of pro-gun advocates, we have the National Rifle
Association (NRA), an organization that boasts as its flag a protector of our
Second Amendment rights. Regardless of where you stand on the issue, any
proclamation should be enclosed in an atmosphere of reason.
Recently, it was reported by Newsday (Feb 2, 2013) [NRA lists
anti-gun groups, celebs]. The fact that the NRA notes the list was posted Sept
17, 2012 raises the question as to why Newsday decided to report it now.
Nevertheless, the list is newsworthy. It names a variety of individuals,
celebrities, organizations and corporations the NRA has deemed anti-gun, to
include a multitude of religious groups. While some of these
individuals/celebrities, corporations and religious groups have actively
postured as anti-gun; the NRA’s uncompromising litmus test has defaulted by
including many avid supporters of pro-gun rights.
One case in point is the classification
of ex-game show host Bob Barker as anti-gun. The fact that the octogenarian
sleeps with a .38-caliber pistol next to his bed, shoots skeet and donated to
the group’s choice of president, Republican Mitt Romney, evidently didn’t come
up on the radar. By its own extension the NRA has positioned itself in
opposition to wide segments of American society, to include the American
Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing, the National Association of School
Psychologists, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (its first
president – Martin Luther King Jr.), the United Methodist Church and the
Episcopal Church, to name a few. Worry not if you are a member of the
Democratic Party; you are at the top of the list.
As a member of the NRA for forty years,
I can honestly say, “Move over Bob.” The paranoia emanating from the NRA comes
from the top, and if you listen carefully, you’ll notice it matches the chorus
from the opposition. The atmosphere of reason has vanished. As president of a
rifle & pistol club, I am proud to have witnessed a membership with diversified
interests, ranging from target shooting, competitive trap & skeet, to
hunting. None of our members would ever hunt with a semi-automatic assault
weapon. Some of us actually cheat occasionally and go fishing. Some of us vote
Democratic. With all its resources, how can the leadership of the NRA fail to recognize
its own constituency?
I don’t plan to give up my
membership because of misguided leadership. Alienation of a vast segment of
American society is not a proper course to secure the Second Amendment. On the
contrary, it serves to divide and dilute the true purpose of the amendment. I’ve
been good to the great outdoors, and the great outdoors have been good to me. The
ghost of Charlton Heston is alive and well. In these difficult times, I do hope the NRA
will be able to recruit what’s left of the Southern Christians, Methodists,
Episcopalians, and Democrats. By contrast, neither Mayor Michael Bloomberg nor
his pro-gun control group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, made the list. Go Figure!
