Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire NRA not agressive enough??

Some gun owners, saying that the National Rifle Association isn't battling hard enough for their rights, are taking the fight into their own hands.

The 4.3 million-member NRA, one of the most powerful and well-funded lobbying groups in Washington, has for 35 years dominated the push to expand gun rights.

But its strategies aren't aggressive or imaginative enough for some gun owners who want to openly carry holstered pistols in public places, or to exploit loopholes in state gun laws to purchase semi-automatic rifles.

They are coming together in smaller, loosely organized groups that recruit on the Internet and find inspiration from the tea party movement.

On Monday, several thousand gun owners plan to mount two protests�a march in Washington and an "open-carry" rally in Mount Vernon, Va.

"More and more the gun-rights movement is moving toward a stand-up-and-shout approach," said Jeff Knox, director of the Firearms Coalition, a for-profit, loose-knit coalition of activists. "There's a lot of general frustration with NRA not taking a hard enough line."

Data on how many owners are joining the splinter groups are scant, because many are newly organized, and tend to seek contributions over formal memberships. In addition, some gun owners join more than one group. Mr. Knox estimated that the splinter groups had one million to 1.5 million members or regular contributors.

The NRA is "no longer absolutely the 800-pound gorilla" in the pro-gun movement, said Gary Marbut, a life member of the NRA and president of the Montana Shooting Sports Association, an NRA affiliate. "The NRA is running the risk of becoming insignificant, of fading into the background."

Well, yeah, just look at the board make-up and candidates.

Take George Kollitides for example. George works for Cerberus. (You know what Cerberus owns. If you don't, go educate yourself.)

Think about the kind of policies America's largest firearms company would support:

- Import bans on (surplus)firearms.
- Import bans on firearm parts. (For example, bans on imported AK barrels.)
- Import bans on ammunition.
- Opposition to anti-commerce clause state firearms.
- Bans on surplussing US military/Gov't firearms, ammunition and components.
- Bans on cheap lead-based projectiles.

All of these can be summed up in a phrase: Expect George to oppose any source of firearms that is cheaper than U.S. made retail firearms/ammunition. And expect him to oppose cheap/low margin anything.

Also, don't look for a guy like this to stand on principal when it affects his multi-billion dollar business. For instance, there is no way on Earth he would support cutting sales/support to Gov't entities that infringe on the 2nd. You don't really expect them to make a stand like Barret, do you?

Anybody on the board who is part of a large corp like ATK or part of SAAMI is going to hold similar views.

And let me get in my ARFCom dig.

What do you expect from them? Pushing Kollitides like the whores they are! Ed knows who butters his toast and it isn't you!

It doesn't have to do with imagination it has to do with agenda. The NRA's agenda is not to run out of battles to fight, hence the lack of pedal-to-the-metal strategy. The NRA and "pro-gun" politicians have bargained away piecemeal our natural right to self-defense for years. They have also successfully portrayed themselves as the only game in town.

I'm a long-time member, but recently have been re-thinking that. Bush squandered a Republican majority during his first years in the Whitehouse when at the very least, the ban on buying pistols interstate, should have been lifted, along with some other things that were doable.

The NRA fights a constant defensive war where you never win anything, you only prevent losses. We've needed to go on the offensive for years, and now the states are. They deserve our wholehearted support. Kudos to Arizona and Wyoming for their efforts.

Wait a minute. I'm the first one to say that the NRA needs to be more agressive, but you have to look at what's been acheived by them (us) as well. Some 38 States have "shall issue" carry permit laws. Three states now have "no permit" concealed carry laws. DC is no longer a total ban area and Chicago is under fire.

The NRA has done a lot. And being a NRA certified rifle instructor, I know first hand about their other, education side as well.

Sure, I want more agressive and pro-activeness but you have to give credit where due.

Cole and OSOK, I think you are both spot on in the points you make.

I am a NRA Life Member and used to do volunteer work. I don't now because I found a place for that in Calguns. I do think though that NRA has seen the light, and is now *spending money* in California on legal action.

But still the old boys are running the Board election process. I can't believe they have Joaquin Jackson on the Board of Directors, but they do.

jim

A recent article in our liberal Washington Post sums up the success of the NRA. Both the Post & the illustrious DC mayor cited the "Powerful NRA Gun Lobby" as the reason Republicans(possibly some Dems, too) have attached a revocation of gun laws to the new state hood bill. If the NRA is so ineffective its strange no other pro-gun group was mentioned. Certainly, the NRA is not perfect, but the power of their gun lobby cannot be disputed. Many don't even consider NRA efforts at gun safety & promoting & protecting hunters rights. In many pro-hunting issues the NRA joins with SCI & other hunting organizations to defeat the anti-hunting agenda. Even the anti gun owners recognize the benefits of the Eddie Eagle children's gun safety program. The Virginia Legislature has recommended that all school children attend an Eddie Eagle gun safety program. The NRA with its Hunter Services group has prepared training material on turkey hunting, Whitetail Deer hunting, & Western hunting to be presented to interested hunters. A turkey hunting seminar was just offered at NRA Hdq. jointly by NRA & SCI. Few ever recognize the NRA for this valuable work.

I suspect the truth lies somewhere between two extremes, but this is not always the case and may or may not be here. Time and again, in my own experience, I have seen good and honest people work hard and get something done, only at the last minute to have some cock-munching eunuch run up on the stage and claim credit for all that they did. Lots of people are so stupid and have such a herd-mentality that it works for them too. Not saying the NRA is entirely like this but...

Is the "Eddie Eagle" program still around? I have not heard of it for quite some time and sure hope it hasn't gone away. Our school kids need that teaching.

Most schools won't let it be taught now days, damn shame.

Tbear and other NRA strictly people,
When are you guys going to wake up and realize that the rank and file has had it up to the teeth with all of your double dealing self interest and manipulation? We want our rights now. We are sick and tired of hearing excuses and watching you and the major players in the firearms industry make deals that benefit you ($$$$$) and undermine the rest of us.
Frankly I don't give a damn what you guys do anymore and find it really funny how you take credit for CCW & Open Carry when this was the start of the tidal wave of people who are fed up with being victimized by illegal aliens, thugs, and their own government. It is time for all of you to face a new reality which is the people ain't gonna take this crap any more and are going to ensure that there is going to be a real change where it counts. You NRA bureaucrats and politicians can look forward to being thrown out of office real soon.
Obama and the status quo politicians are history. The next few elections will prove this beyond any doubt. Look around you. People are mad as hell and they ain't gonna take it any more. We are sick of your promises, sick of your deals, sick of your one sided compromises and sick of your leadership as it is presently represented.
Therefore you can look forward to a time when the decisions are going to be made by newly elected people of principle and the rest of y'all will be booted out on your butts. It's coming like a 500 car freight train in a tunnel rolling down hill and there ain't gonna be no way that any of you will be re-elected to office once it starts. Check it out. This is only the begining.

Flower Child

Well you know if they fought too hard they might be out of work.

I am a great admirer of the NRA. I recall a few years ago MSM tried to keep them from having a voice at all. I forget how it worked but I think the NRA got around it by creating their own TV news service and thus putting themselves legally in bed with their arch enemies like CBS.

I don't know the people there now but many year ago I hunted black bears with Colonel Merle Prebble who created the ILA and I was very impressed Merle and his manner of dealing with what he called, "the guys in black hats."

The NRA likes to come in late, when it looks like it's going to be a win, and act like they were there all along and it was their idea.

It wasn't the NRA that pushed for Virginia's "shall issue" law. The NRA was campaigning to stop pressing the issue. I was at the meeting where their spokeswoman told the NVCDL to cease and desist because they were working on a deal behind the scenes.

The NRA needs to PROMOTE firearms, not defend them.

The NRA really needs to become the NAA (National Arms Association) because the Second Amendment is about arms not guns.

Including Title II arms.

All arms short of nukes and chemical and biological.

It is my understanding that the NRA supported the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA34). The did a lot of compromising on the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA68) which gave us those jack booted storm troopers called the ATF, and now called the BATFE.
They compromised on the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) which stopped all sales of new full auto firearms to us peons. Only those already in private hands could be sold or transferred.
They compromise too damn much IMHO. But let's be totally honest. Let's say they get all those federal anti-gun laws repealled. All the city and state gun conrol laws repealled, what then. How will Wayne LaPierre and crew justify their massive salaries then? They don't want to win because if they do, they're out of a job. Gun control is their big cash cow and that ain't gonna kill the goose that's laying all those golden eggs. No, not by any means and that IMHO is the sad truth of the whole affair. I can't say as I blame them in a way but it is us, we the membership that are getting screwed. One of these days they'll compromise one time too many and our guns will be gone.
Paul B.

NRA was never intended to be a political group. Seems it is easy to condem an oganizaton that was founded to promote shooting and firearm training now that they fight to defend the 2nd amendment rights. Dim wits come out of the closet and say they are not doing enough. They are just like the people on welfare waitng for someone else to take care of them. To you non supporters get off your butt and put your $ where your mouth is and try to duplicate what a 6 million member SHOOTING and FIREARMS TRAINING organization is doing for the cause of defending the Constitution . Who cares who is on the board or who is the leaders,it is not a politicaly founded organization but is the biggest threat to anti gun politicions. Get a clue..........