Bruce from West Oz
New member
<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Under the Gun
The more pressure there is to regulate firearms, the stronger the National Rifle Association becomes. But like the besieged tobacco lobby, the NRA can't resist forever.
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
If ever there was a time when the gun lobby should be vanquished, it is now. This year alone, there have been Columbine (15 dead, 23 wounded), the Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth (eight dead, seven wounded), and the
North Valley Jewish Community Center near Los Angeles (five wounded). Then Atlanta (nine dead, 13 wounded), and just the other week, Honolulu (seven dead) and Seattle (two dead, two wounded). But the National Rifle Association is not only alive, it is also thriving. Despite the shootings, the NRA
is raising record amounts of political
contributions, experiencing record growth in membership, and boasting about its strongest financial position in years. "I've been here through good times and bad times," says Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president. "We've never been in a better position."
Such is the upside-down world of gun control. The NRA's defenders become most active, inspired, and effective when the right to bear arms is under assault. The organization itself seems to get stronger when its issues are in the crosshairs, even if that means--as it always does--mayhem, destruction, and death. (Emphasis added)
All of which helps explain why in 1999, the worst year in memory for mass shootings, the NRA tied for No. 2 in Fortune's Power 25 survey of clout in the capital, its highest rank ever. It was rated No. 1 among Congressmen and their staffs, the people on the frontlines of lobbying.
At the same time, lawmakers and the NRA know that the outlook over the long haul isn't so sunny. Ultimately, shooting people is not good PR. As long as guns are freely available, the NRA is condemned to be in one form of retreat or another. Like the resilient but reviled tobacco lobby, the gun lobby's best hope is to maintain a holding action against forces that won't rest until they get more stringent regulation. No one, not even the NRA, imagines that gun restrictions already on the books will ever be rolled back. Here's how a longtime NRA supporter on Capitol Hill explains the future of the gun-control debate: "We are engaged in a very long, very grim, very hard-fought war. If we are successful, the [gun control] issue
will be plaguing our kids and grandkids. If
we aren't successful, they won't be dealing with it because we will have lost."[/quote]
Read the whole thing at:
http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/1999/12/06/nra.html
B
The more pressure there is to regulate firearms, the stronger the National Rifle Association becomes. But like the besieged tobacco lobby, the NRA can't resist forever.
By Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
If ever there was a time when the gun lobby should be vanquished, it is now. This year alone, there have been Columbine (15 dead, 23 wounded), the Wedgwood Baptist Church in Fort Worth (eight dead, seven wounded), and the
North Valley Jewish Community Center near Los Angeles (five wounded). Then Atlanta (nine dead, 13 wounded), and just the other week, Honolulu (seven dead) and Seattle (two dead, two wounded). But the National Rifle Association is not only alive, it is also thriving. Despite the shootings, the NRA
is raising record amounts of political
contributions, experiencing record growth in membership, and boasting about its strongest financial position in years. "I've been here through good times and bad times," says Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president. "We've never been in a better position."
Such is the upside-down world of gun control. The NRA's defenders become most active, inspired, and effective when the right to bear arms is under assault. The organization itself seems to get stronger when its issues are in the crosshairs, even if that means--as it always does--mayhem, destruction, and death. (Emphasis added)
All of which helps explain why in 1999, the worst year in memory for mass shootings, the NRA tied for No. 2 in Fortune's Power 25 survey of clout in the capital, its highest rank ever. It was rated No. 1 among Congressmen and their staffs, the people on the frontlines of lobbying.
At the same time, lawmakers and the NRA know that the outlook over the long haul isn't so sunny. Ultimately, shooting people is not good PR. As long as guns are freely available, the NRA is condemned to be in one form of retreat or another. Like the resilient but reviled tobacco lobby, the gun lobby's best hope is to maintain a holding action against forces that won't rest until they get more stringent regulation. No one, not even the NRA, imagines that gun restrictions already on the books will ever be rolled back. Here's how a longtime NRA supporter on Capitol Hill explains the future of the gun-control debate: "We are engaged in a very long, very grim, very hard-fought war. If we are successful, the [gun control] issue
will be plaguing our kids and grandkids. If
we aren't successful, they won't be dealing with it because we will have lost."[/quote]
Read the whole thing at:
http://www.pathfinder.com/fortune/1999/12/06/nra.html
B
