NRA membership

R

Rifle

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I have a problem with some of my friends who are gun owners but not NRA members. No amount of discussion seems to get them to see the light. I can only conclude they are happy to freeload on NRA's efforts.

So, let me ask. If there are users of this forum who are not NRA members, why not? If you have a lucid argument I'd love to hear it.

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Life is hopelessly complex for those who have no principles.
 
ask your friends which of their other rights they are willing to give up, then point out that without the 2nd, NONE of the others will be viable. tell them that if their rights aren't worth 35 dollars a year, then they don't have much to live for.
cmore


NIL ILLEGITIMI CARBORUNDUM
 
I know a brilliant gentleman of unmatched integrity and I greatly respect him. He is a gun owner (and a "crack shot") who will not join the NRA, subscribe to gun mags, or get a CHL. He wants to remain 100% anonymous in reference to guns. Trust me, he has succeeded!

This worries me. At one time, he worked deep within the bowels of our federal government. He has shared a lot of information with me, but when it comes to this, he simply clams up - says he has his reasons and they're valid.

I respect his views - not just out of courtesy but from my personal experiences with him. He's not a parasite - trust me on this one! And it gives me the willies trying to figure out what he knows that makes him so careful about this one subject.
 
Cowardice, Laziness, Cheapness? It is one of those three. I suffered "briefly" from one of those afflictions on this issue.

NRA, GOA, JFPO, something at least.
 
Mr. Prichard,
Could you add:
1) financial difficulties, and
2) preference for a different pro-gun organization.

What WE believe is not always palatable to others....
 
I'm a strong member in the NRA, have been nominated to be a member of the Honor of Legion with the NRA, but I have also had my disagreements with the NRA. I have challenaged the NRA on several ocassions, and wrote plenty of letters to the NRA telling them how I felt. I have threatened to leave the NRA numerous of times, but it is times like this I'm proud to be a member of the NRA and I still support them in all they are doing, and some day maybe the rest of non-members will wake up and realize this powerful organization has saved their Second Amendments Rights once again.

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Society is safer when the criminal does not know who is armed
 
cmore: tried that. didn't work.

Dennis: Your friend obviously knows (or suspects) whats up. That is, the government intends to abolish private ownership of weapons. So HE is anonymous regarding gun ownership. That leaves you and me hanging out to dry and is no help in getting things squared away. One man hiding his guns is useless to himself and to us. A loud, committed, united front is the only proper response.

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Life is hopelessly complex for those who have no principles.
 
well let me be the first to jump in the fire and say i ain't a nra member. i see great claims as to what they've done, but i don't see the results. despite the liberal media claiming the repubs crumbled under nra pressure the other day, all they accomplished was to put it off for another day. what are they doing in calif. about the weapon consfication that is going to take place there? just what exactly have they done to prevent our weapons from being taken away? more and more gun laws and restrictions are going into place every day, have they tried to stand strong and not go for a compromise? nope!!! have they tried to get the people who just hunt, to stand w/ the people who like "assualt weapons"? if they have, they've failed miserably. i almost joined, just because they were being demonized so much in the press, but finally came to my senses.
it's not in their(the organization's) best interest to win, since they would have nothing to do. if they're so damn bad, where are all these gun laws comming from? the nra members i know, and there are several, don't know/care squat about what's going on w/ all the laws. the just pay their dues, get a sticker, and read their magizines. now i know y'all have some good arguements for me, and i don't have the stats(the dates of all the big gun bills that passed, in front of me to counter what y'all say, so let the flames begin!!!
wait a minute, i forgot about the freeloader thing. i call, write, e-mail, my reps about guns issues as well as others, do you? or do you depend on the mighty nra do it for you??? you can call me a whole lots of things, and a whole bunch of them would probably be true, but just because i make my voice heard directly(meaning, not through the nra) don't call me no damn freeloader!!!!
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what me worry?




[This message has been edited by longhair (edited June 22, 1999).]
 
I (and many I know) are ready to give up our life memberships in NRA. As far as I am concerned the NRA is about as good as the Republican party-worthless! They compromise at every turn-I'm getting so angry writing this I have to stop.
One of my friends ordered some stuff from Midway last week, when asked if he wanted to "round up" for the NRA, he replied, "Are you kidding?" He aked her if anyone had rounded up that week, and she said "no."
 
I ended my membership in "Waynes World" a few years ago out of discust with the organization. I decided there was no sense sending my money to an organization that refuses to use it's resources even remotely effectively and has sold out its supporters on numerous occasions. I've come to the conclusion that the NRA could have triple the membership and money it has now and it would still be ineffective. ( By the way I do send money to GOA but unfortunately they are a relatively small group).

[{(Waynes World!)}]
[{(Waynes World!)}]
 
I also have had my moments with the NRA, but I remain a loyal member. At one time I too thought that abandoning the NRA was the thing to do, but that would be sticking my head in the sand and ignoring the "whole" of the situation. If we do not ALL stick together, we will have ZERO voice.

As far as I am concerned, having one voice that at times I have my differences with is better than no voice at all. I will continue to send my money to the NRA and the NRA-ILA.
I am also a member of the GOA, GOC (Gun Owners of Kalifornia) and the CRPA (Kalifornia Rifle and Pistol Assn.

I respect that some of you have chosen not to belong to the NRA, but you should belong to at least one pro-gun group and contribute financially!! If you do not, then I am sorry, you are sticking you head in the sand.


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To own firearms is to affirm that freedom and liberty are not gifts from the state.
 
Dear NRA drumbeaters!

I was a member of the NRA, probably before some of you were old enough to shave. Anyway, the NRA sold us out on Gun Control in '34, '68, '94 and who knows when else?

The NRA are a bunch of Washington fat cats, just like the United Way, etc., lap dogs that will trade away our rights for their privileges, granted by the "powers that be." Wake up and smell the coffee!

The time has long passed for relief through legislation or other peaceful means. The questions of today will have to be answered with 'Blood and Iron.' The question for you is, "Will you stand, or will you cower like a sheep?"

Only a rifle, and the will to use it, will decide whether you stand as a free man or cower as a bootlicking slave.


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Son of Liberty
 
Elker, i agree that sitting there not doing anything, may be construde as putting your head in the sand. but like i said, i'm just not setting here, i let the people who represent me know how i feel, now how the hell is that putting your head in the sand.
I'm fully aware of what's going on, i know that the government is taking away our freedoms & rights everyday. but i also see, that w/ all the money/people the nra has, they don't seem to be doing squat!! i feel either the members that are letting the leadership of the nra, or the leadership it's self have their heads buried. evidently the nra leadership does not listen to it's own members. who has their head in the sand? look around, you'll see!!!
note: this is not a flame of anyone on this board. it is only an observation made by me.
if i offended anyone, it was unintentional!!
longhair, with head fully facing what's ahead!

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what me worry?
 
Let us not forget that the NRA saved us from this last gun bill that got defeated. Yes, concerned Americans called their congressmen but it was the NRA that was in Washington representing us.
Many of you sound like people I know that don't vote because they think politics is corrupt. While the latter may be true the only way to change things is to voice your opinion. The problem is no one wants to here your opinion. However, people listen when someone representing millions of voters
speaks. Thats where the NRA comes in. It is still our job to let the NRA know what we want. The fact that some of you have lazy freinds that are NRA members doesn't ruin what the NRA has done for our constitutional rights. Yes they have compromised on some issues but sometimes a compromise is necessary in order to hold your ground. Even if they were wrong you don't throw out the baby with the bath water.
Bottom line is no matter how active you are in your rights you are still one voice unless you unite under one Flag.


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"It is easier to get out of jail then it is a morgue"
Live long and defend yourself!
John 3:16



[This message has been edited by leedesert (edited June 22, 1999).]
 
Sorry guys if I rubbed your fur the wrong way. If you are calling your representatives; if you are writing letters; if you are tactfully bringing the fence setters over to the pro-gun side; you are then obviously concerned and are partially doing your part as a Patriot...However, if one does nothing or makes a late thrust at being a total Patriot, then the head is in the sand.

Let me explain. Besides bringing my fellow fence sitting citizens into the pro-gun fold, my personnal effort to protect the Bill of Rights (specifically the 2nd Amendment) is to not only become educated in the anti-gun stuff on the front page, but also the anti-gun stuff that is buried in legislative bills and in amendments. The little buried items are the on-going areas that we really must keep up front, not wait until shootings at schools cause us to become fully active. These obscure legislative bills and amendments are the ones that creep into the regulations and become fact WITHOUT notice. You can probably name some that have happened in your State and you were not aware of them until they affected you.

Only when you belong to a pro-gun group who will get you the information directly, will you become aware and react accordingly, as those things that will rub your fur wrong do not always appear in the papers or in the forum chats, or even by word of mouth.

That is why I made the comment "you should belong to at least one pro-gun group and contribute financially". These groups can not exist without funding. This is one of my reasons for belonging to the NRA.


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To own firearms is to affirm that freedom and liberty are not gifts from the state.
 
Leedesert: Let's rephrase that. "Sometimes retreat is ncessary to hold your ground." Ok, you didn't say that, but that's how I see the NRA. I see, not a strategy aimed at winning, accepting the attendent risk of losing, but instead a strategy of losing as slowly as possible. Which guarantees that we WILL lose!

The way I see it, every year we're becoming weaker. It is NOT in our interest to delay a final confrontation, even if the odds are against us, because they're getting worse all the time!

So forget a million man march, let's put five million, TEN MILLION men in Washington, and paralize the whole district for a week. Maybe occupy it permanently, until they start repealing laws.

Stop defending the TENTH amendment in court, and ask, no, DEMAND, that the Supreme court stop dodging this issue, and either uphold the Second amendment or strike it down. And tell them in no uncertain words that if they pick the latter course, we'll cease to accord this country's legal system any legitimacy anymore.

Tell the Republicans that we gave them Congress, and we can, we WILL take it away, if they don't stop gun control in it's tracks. And we don't give a damn whether that means the Democrats take control and pass gun control laws, because, (See below) we don't intend to obey them anyway!

Take a gun to work YEAR. Beg, borrow, or steal the air time for a nationwide broadcast, and tell gun owners that the time for accomidation is past, that there's no room left for compromise. So just start carrying your guns wherever you go, and DARE the governemnt to make something of it!

We've compromised for thirty years, and look where it's got us. Stop compromising, and maybe we'll finish the trip in a hurry. But maybe we'll win! We sure aren't going to win the way we're doing things now!
 
This was to be an answer to Rile's post about the freeloader who won't join the NRA, for whatever reason. Before I retired, I worked for the Federal Government. I was the union steward for my location. I was forced by federal law to represent everyboby at my work location, whether they belonged of not. Did I like this? Hell no! But I did it at two seperate locations in two states and was re-elected every time from start to retirement. I worked just as hard for non-members as for members. What's my point? The NRA is in the same boat as I was. They gave to support all firearm owners. I'll bet, that if they would support legislation that would only protect gtheir members I.E. only non-members would be affected by new gun laws, the membership would swell so fast, that they wouldn't know what hit them.
I strongly agree with some of the comments above about the NRA's compromising. The media keeps saying that the NRA has lost it's power. I say the NRA is not using it's power.
I have a collection of American Rifleman magazines from 1936 to the present date. (I'm not that old, just bought up somebody'd collection LOL) Some interestions stuff. While the NRA was very influential in stopping most bad gun laws, there was mutual respect and cooperation between the NRA and lawmakers. The problem became serious whn Dodd of Connecticut started trying to push what eventually became GCA 1968. With the support of Kennedy and other anti-gun lawmakers, they used GCA 68 to further their agenda. This has forced the NRA to fight not only on the national level, but on state and local levels too.
Yes they have compromised. And every compromise has cost us. This angers me to such a point, that I have been hospitalized once so far, over the Littleton feeding frenzy done by those spineless bastards in the Senate. (sorry for the French, but I am very angry)
Some of you may have noticed that I have dropped my "COMPROMISE IS NOT AN OPTION" signature. I still believe that way. However, I think there are some anti-gun lurkers on the forum. I received several flaming E-mails. Sometimes my wife logs on to my site as we share certain bookmarked areas. She got upset and asked me to stop signing off that way. In respect to her I have done so.
Boy have I gotten off thread. Anyway, I belong to the NRA (lifer) and won't quit. I also belong to GOA, CCRKBA, 2nd Amendment Foundation, JPFO, Brassroots, LEAA, and probably a couple more that I can't think off offhand. I write letters to my representatives, and call them, but somehow I don't think they listen. My old grandfather used to say that "You're pissing up a rope." The way our representative represent themselves, and their rich cronies, makes me think Pop was right. They no longer represent us. Maybe we should send them a message. Vote the bums out.
Rant mode off, I think.
Paul B.
 
I like most of you often disagree with the NRA, I also disagree with the wife more often but we manage to stick together. It does not matter what organization you belong to as long as the organization supports the philosophies you believe in and ultimately a collective front is being presented.
Individual gunownership is analogous to a religion, not in the biblical sense but in the belief that there is a higher purpose. Without the belief in a higher purpose we have nothing to support our humbel thoughts upon. The individual must think that there is a higher principal which guides their actions and thoughts. Some may call it hero worship others deny there ever was a hero.
We here in the United States have a basic premise that the 2nd Amendment is the foundation for the individual ownership of firearms, from this you may build any way you choose. As long as it does not undermine the foundation and lead to collapse.
Point being made is STOP THE DEBATE about which is the better organization, the real debate is with those forces that seek to undermine the foundation.

Nuff said! There that feels better, gonna get a glass of something cold now and pour it overmyself
 
[Rant mode on]Brett Bellmore, PaulB, and others of like mind, you are truly kindred spirits of mine. When are those other folks going to get a clue? You can't give in to the gungrabbers. Give 'em an inch and they'll take a mile! My dad used to say "pissing up a rope" all the time, too!

I agree that the NRA does not want to win, it wants to lose slower. What we need is another Lexington and Concord. Only in this day of koolaid-thin blood, who has the B@!!$ to stand up to the powers-that-be?

I refuse to even acknowledge the existence of these so-called advocacy groups who want to uphold the "shooting sports" My guns are not only for sport, they are for AHs who need killing, thugs, gummint, or otherwise! [rant mode off]

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Yankee Doodle
 
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