Joining the NRA is the single simplest and most effective thing that every gun owner across the country can do to preserve gun rights.
No organization is perfect but the alternative is untenable.
I agree with Hobie and promote joining at every opportunity. However, the comment about no organization being perfect is a giant understatement regarding the NRA and changes could and should be made. with some 80 million or so gun owners in USA, we should have more than some 4 million members.
I would have preferred to have sent this privately to Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the NRA but searching the Rifleman magazine and NRA web site doesn't give me a clue of an address to him directly and just sending it to him at the NRA address probably would never be seen by him.
Invitations to join or upgrade include such trinkets as the bag or something as added inducement. Checks (& credit card charges) to the NRA get deposited instantly but delivery of the other items is slower and sometimes not at all.
I've been a member most of my life (I'm 81 years old) and, in 1993, I upgraded to Life Membership. After waiting several months for my certificate, I requested it and, a copy with name typed in and an irate answer arrived in several weeks. The one with the fancy print arrived a month after my wife framed the plain typed one.
In mid March this year, I upgraded to Endowment membership and was promised decals and a jacket with the Endowment Emblem on it. Credit card records show the charge recorded 3/27. A couple of weeks later, I got the membership card, one inside and one outside decal (most of us have more than one car) but no jacket. Still later, with another issue, I sent the following email.
Subject: Endowment membership
Membership services,
Last month I upgraded my Life Membership to Endowment Membership and did get my certificate and a window sticker. I understood I would get the jacket with endowment emblem and specified XL size but haven't received it yet. I would also like to buy a few more inside the window type stickers for my new cars and motorcycle.
This is not really any big deal but, when I got my Life Membership certificate in 1993, it noted I was Otis J King, Jr, MD and when I updated my membership info, I changed Mr to Dr Otis J King ,Jr, and that hasn't been given any attention that I can see. In prior years my rifleman and all correspondence was addressed to me as Dr but, in recent years, somehow that got changed to Mr for reasons not clear to me
With all the anti-gun medical organizations, I think we should recognize we have a large number of doctors as member and mostly dedicated members - many of the friends I have are at least Life Members.
--
OJ KING ,MD
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO
SEMPER FI
I got this reply:
Thank you for contacting us.
If you would be so kind as to reply to this email with your full name and
complete mailing address, we would be happy to look into this matter for you.
Thank you for your support!
Best regards,
Morgan
NRA Member Communications
P.S. Please make sure you include this and any previous correspondence.
Some Internet Providers, such as AOL for example, automatically cut out
previous messages when you reply to a message.
This will help insure a quick answer to your inquiry. Thanks again!
This is just arrogance - "Morgan" was just making making sure I know my place. The average third grader could have identified me with the information I provided. I provided the info demanded last month but have not received any reply yet so I guess I'm again being put in my place.
When I worked for a living, those who produced income and paid others for their work were "employers" (the boss) and those getting income from employers were "employees". I know the NRA has other income sources (advertising in magazines) but, without members paying dues, none of that would happen.
We need all the members we can get - imagine how far gun grabbers would get if we had only 40 million members - and I feel if the tail would quit wagging the dog, we might get more members. The full time staff needs to treat members and potential members with more consideration and that might go a long way to more members joining.