I am a new NRA member, what do I do now?

D

Dangus

New member
I joined the NRA thanks to Frosty.

Problem is... what do I do now? Do I just say, "Oh, I'm an NRA member!" or do I get to do something? Hell I can't even vote for NRA officials, which for a brand new member is sorta understandable since if it were that easy the MMMers would just join and vote us out of existance, but still, I wanna do SOMETHING. Is there a local NRA chapter that meets or something? They certainly haven't told me about any such things, all I have gotten so far is junk mail asking for more money, but all I have is time and youth on my side, I am flat out broke.

Anyway, thanks in advance...
 
Well Dangus, the junk mail is certainly not what I expected when I joined, but that is what the Postman left every day or two. In my opinion the best thing about being in the NRA is the access to the illusion of power. Whenever sending a letter to Representative XXX be sure to include the CC: NRA ILA, Alexandria, VA at the bottom.

Like others I fault the NRA for fighting holding actions against the 'grabbers'. But is there a bigger, better organized action group? Probably not. So use it for what it is worth in terms of influencing the legislators and send in an extra $21 if you think you can win some guns in the NRA Sweepstakes. There may be some local chapters that meet, but you may need to do the legwork to find out when and where.
 
I would say to forget about the "cc NRA-ILA stuff". A letter from a concerned citizen is worth more than one from a group. I am a life member of NRA and almost never mention the NRA in letters (whether they are to politicians or newspapers).
What to do now? It depends on your interests and talents. As a member you are now eligible to be on a Friends of NRA committee and help collect donations and organize events. On the political side, you could volunteer with the ILA to be on an election action committee to help pro-RKBA candidates.
There are several programs offered by NRA. Chances are that one or more will interest you.

Welcome to NRA.
Butch

P.S. The fund raising letters are annoying but seem to be a necessary evil. They are quite effective in raising money for the political effort.
 
Since you asked I will tell you . We decided on a task to be performed by the next new member and that's you . Go smack the dawg snot out of Yoko Ono .We'll talk about Jane Fonda later .
 
Dangus,

The first thing you need to do is go out and get another gun owner to join. Tell that person to do the same. 3.5 millon NRA members out of maybe 60 million law-abiding gun owners? That's pathetic!

The NRA has its faults, but we're the biggest bull in the anti-gunners' china shop.
 
If you contact the NRA, I'm sure they have an affiliated gun club in your area. With meetings and everything. They also have the Friends of the NRA, who put on fund raisers for their Endowment fund (income only used to support shooting ranges, hunters safety programs, Eddie Eagle etc. Principal is not touched) This is a worth while cause as it helps to get the youth involved in the shooting sports... Ask for the phone number of their state co-ordinator and they can get you in contact with the group responsible for putting the dinner on. Selling tickets is a big part of this effort.
 
What next? As mentioned, recruiting more members is good- also-Visit- and consider supporting- these fine sites (and share these links with everybody you know!)--
http://www.gunowners.org -Gunowners
http://www.jpfo.org -JPFO--Our Jewish Friends
http://www.keepandbeararms.com -Keepandbeararms--New & Agressive
http://www.thefiringline.com -TheFiringLine--Tech info, good forum
http://www.trt-co.org -New Home of the TRT!
http://www.sas-aim.org/ -The Second Amendment Sisters

Edited to fix link. - TBM

[Edited by TheBluesMan on 12-23-2000 at 09:31 PM]
 
Get the addresses of all your congressmen, and make a "fill in the blank" letter for for each of them, saved in your word processor. Every time you hear about a gun bill, write them a letter...and other issues too, not just guns.
 
Reduce mailings

Bam Bam:

You can call their 1-800 and have yourself removed from mailings asking for money. They keep them up because they do generate revenue.

straightShot
 
What do you do next?

You get on the quarterly payment plan to become a Life Member, and then you start working your way up through patron, benefactor, and whatever levels they have.

Try out the NRA credit card, as well. (I had one for years, but finally cancelled because I had just WAY too many credit cards, and was getting in over my head).

Start recruiting your friends and family members.

Join an affiliated club.

Select the Second Amendment Foundation as your Combined Federal Campaign designee (if you work for a company that participates in the CFC).
 
Well basically where I am, I have been sick for months and out of work, only recently starting to recover. Now I have medical costs piling up with no clear idea of what is wrong with me... so money is not available to donate, but I have a decent amount of time. I would really think the NRA would be a lot more effective if local chapters met as a standard part of being in the NRA. Frankly I can see why they are often accused of not representing the masses of gun owners, they don't even help them organize their thoughts on issues. I am glad I am part of it now, but I really wanna do something with that....
 
Now get Active!!

Congrats to a new member!
First, and easiest, is to sign up family members, and close
friends, and don't forget about your spouse.
Short on cash, yet want to increase the numbers?
Sign the spouse up as a Liberty Member, for 10.00,
same goes for friends whom want to join, yet don't care to get another magazine in the mail, (or can't read ;-)
( I signed up 6 at work, out of 12 men!!)
Join Gun Owners of America, the best pro-second amendment-strict constructionist bunch around.
Keep your membership to BOTH groups, even if you eventually see the NRA as Second Amendment "lite", vs GOA as Second Amendment "hard core".
Do you know your State congress-critters names? Senators?
Find their names, addresses, and phone numbers, write them down, than call them! Same goes for Speaker of the House, and the Senate Majority Leader.
The Gun Owners of America have an E-Mail service, to send out Alerts to direct you to call your congress-critter
when pending legislation needs a Pro Gun voice, and an e-mail takes just a few seconds.
Most important, don't give up!! , and again, Congrats!!
 
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