NRA Thoughts and Convention

Hey, guess what?! I'm still alive.

It's the time for our annual journey to the NRA Convention. This time it's in Charlotte, North Carolina. We plan to blog about the convention as we have done for the past five six years.

As is my usual practice here, I need to discuss the NRA. There are many gunnies out there that find it too compromising. They believe the NRA has made deals in the past that hurt our gun rights. Some of that is true. The NRA has been at the table when compromises were made such as during debate on the 1968 Gun Control Act.

Here's the thing. When you see a political freight train coming at you, do you stand in front of it, wave the Bill of Rights, and order it to stop? That's moral and non-compromising. It may even be on the side of angels, but it's often not effective. There are times when it is better to coax the brakeman into slowing the damn thing down. Maybe even stopping it.

Enough metaphors. There are people in these United States who don't believe the Second Amendment means anything except maybe some nebulous forgotten right for a state to sponsor a militia now replaced by the National Guard.

They believe the Second Amendment is an anachronism that's better ignored. They do not believe you have gun rights no matter how many times you quote the Bill of Rights. No matter how good your arguments are. They think gun rights supporters are beneath contempt. They believe unicorns will descend upon us when the last handgun is melted down (well maybe not unicorns).

These people vote, they influence politicians, they have shattered the plain meaning of the Second Amendment in city after city and in a few states. The NRA had consistently been the only thing that had slowed them down and sometimes stopped them. Other gun rights organizations have done excellent work. But, the NRA is the only one that the gun banners hate and fear.

I think that's worth my support.

Good Reason to Join the NRA

This morning, over my cup of coffee, I gave myself heart burn. I clicked on the New York Times. What did I see? Bob Herbert has an editorial that bashes the NRA and lays the responsibility for the recent "right-wing" shootings at their door. He believes that the shooters were afraid the government would take their guns and thus they went on a rampage.

Oh, he's careful to say the NRA isn't advocating violence, but he hits all the anti-NRA points. His screed is ahistorial (bashes the NRA over a statement that gun ownership is not about hunting, but to protect against tyranny). His screed has false statements (tying an NRA fundraising letter in with Tim McVeigh). His screed is just that, a screed.

He even makes the circular argument that gun-banners love to make; we do not want to take your guns, but we need more gun control. Hmm. What's wrong with that statement? He says the NRA is throwing gasoline on the fire. But, isn't it more true that the gun-banners are throwing the gasoline if anyone is doing so?

If you're not a member of the NRA (click to join) now, Herbert's editorial should convince you to join. If you don't wish to join, tell me why not.

Sad Panda in Boston

Boston Globe columnist Derrick Jackson is shedding tears over the NRA this morning. You see, the NRA is appealing a federal Appeals Court decision that supported Chicago's gun laws. A Supreme Count decision, based on the Heller precedent, could end up overturning Chicago's gun laws.

Jackson fears that "the NRA wants one single, applicable rule of guns anywhere, anytime." Well, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is the same anywhere, anytime in the United States. Sorry, Mr. Jackson but a right's a right. He cries about recent NRA victories (guns in National Parks, success on prevented a new Assault Weapons ban, etc.). Poor Mr. Jackson, poor tired, sad panda.

Go read the editorial and the comments. But, here's one thing for those gunnies that don't like the NRA for whatever reason: It is an excellent lightning rod for the Derrick Jacksons of the world.

Vacation in Phoenix

Well, Yosemite Sam and I are getting ready for our annual visit to the NRA Convention. This time it's in Phoenix, Arizona. Once again, we'll be blogging the convention and the Blog Bash. Through the Bash, we'll have media credentials which give us access we wouldn't have otherwise.

We are driving there this year. We're making a road trip of it and will visit many of the wonderful places in this country. We'll post along the way. See you later.

NRA Convention and Vacation

I haven’t posted in awhile. I’ve been too angry to do much more than useless rants. I’m angry that the new administration has suggested a renewed AWB, but glad that Pelosi (of all people) slapped it down. I’m angry that the economy is faltering, that Obama insults Special Olympians, and so much more.

Anger makes good rants, but ranting gets tiring after a while. I’ve ranted many times to Yosemite Sam and vice versa. I’m tired of politics, tired of fighting for gun rights—something which shouldn’t have to be fought for at all. So, I’m going to talk about an upcoming trip.

Yosemite Sam and I are going to the NRA Convention in Phoenix. It will be the fifth straight convention we’ve blogged about. We plan to make a road trip out of it. We’ll go to Amarillo, Texas and visit the Big Texan Steakhouse. I won’t attempt the 72-ounce steak. I love steak, especially Porterhouse, but I know my limits.

We’ll visit Tombstone, Arizona and NRA's Whittington Center and do some shooting. Then we will attend the NRA Conference and meet the rest of the bloggers. The way home will also be interesting.

We’re planning a long trip and it will be unbelievably good to leave everything behind us. I only hope that we’ll have no new politics or gun rights infringements to rant about with each other on this much anticipated vacation.

Fudds Redux

(NOTE: Yosemite Sam put up a post on this subject just as I was finishing this one. Rather than toss it in the bit bucket, here it is.)

Bill Schneider has gone and started the whole Fudd thing up again. We all know what a Fudd is. Well, don’t we? Just in case, “Fudd” is derived from Elmer Fudd the hapless hunter of Bugs Bunny. It often describes people who are lukewarm on at least some aspects of gun rights, but could mean more depending on the reader.

I think the name Fudd is too encompassing to be useful. Yosemite Sam said recently “Fuck the Fudds” a sentiment not well received by some. By Fudds, Yosemite didn't mean all hunters, bullseye shooters, silhouette shooters, or others who don’t do “tactical.” Instead he defined Fudds as those gun owners who actively work against gun rights—or at least rights to own some guns (see comment #14).

Schneider went ahead and proved Yosemite right. He said, “Losing some of my gun rights doesn’t make my top twenty concerns. If that makes me a ‘traitor,’ well, we have a pandemic of treason in this country.” He would gladly trade some of his gun rights in order to have Obama fight corporate greed, homelessness, and stop “unwinnable” wars. He even takes us to task for saying we would not buy from Cooper Firearms because company president Dan Cooper supported Obama.

Have you noticed that when union members or others on the left agree not to spend their hard-earned money for a cause it’s noble. When gun owners do it, it’s somehow “a mean-spirited attack” (yes Schneider said that).

I have no argument against Fudds if it means only hunters. Yosemite Sam and I hunt and often have as much luck in the field as good ole Elmer had against Bugs. But I do have plenty to say, none of it nice, about gun owners who would throw me and mine under the bus.

These gun owners aren’t Fudds, they’re turncoats who want to register/license guns, ban black rifles or handguns, and support “common-sense restrictions.” We have enough of these laws that don’t work.

Here’s a big difference between them and me. You see, I’ll gladly protect their rights to own an over/under shotgun and a scoped Cooper rifle. In fact, I own guns that the Fuddiest Fudd would love. But, they’re willing to ban other guns that I own and like to shoot.

Oh, Schneider also took the NRA to task and believes that 99% of us gun nuts belong to it. Let's prove him right. If you're not a member, clicky.

There’s a gun show coming up, I think I need more magazines, ammo, maybe another black rifle. Hmmm….

Bourbon and the Convention

Going to the NRA Convention isn’t just about hearing speakers, meeting fellow bloggers, seeing acres of guns. It’s also about going new places and enjoying seeing new things. Because this was the fourth convention in a row, we didn’t tour the exhibit floor until Sunday (hint, some of the exhibits don’t change too often).

There were other things we wanted to do and we took the opportunity to soak up culture. We toured a Bourbon maker and tasted some of their finer offerings (that’s enough culture for me).

We toured their warehouses and saw thousand of barrels of corn whiskey aging into true Bourbon. Later, an experienced Bourbon guide led us through telling the difference between a good Bourbon and a great one. We tasted a sample that had been aged for 18 years and a premium Bourbon aged the more usual 10 years. Damn that spoiled our palates, now we’ll end up buying their 18 year old stuff if we can find it locally.

They had a bottle of 23 year old Bourbon for sale—the only place in the United States you can find it. The price tag of $350.00 was just a little too painful for us.

If you find yourself near Louisville, drive out of town to Bardsville and hang a right to the Heaven Hill distillery. We’re glad we did.

Glenn Beck's Cummberbund at NRA

Yosemite Sam and I are back from the NRA Convention. We got in late last night and I am sneaking a little blog time in at work. We will have one or two more posts up a little later, but I was reading other's coverage of the Convention, and Ahab asked if anyone got a picture of Glenn Beck's cummerbund. Ask and ye shall receive:


We took this off the Jumbotron, but the quality is decent. He is receiving the customary musket the NRA gives to keynote speakers. Beck had a joke about it; something like, "I was wearing this cummerbund on my way here and someone asked if I were a pirate. No, I said, I'm a politician so I can do all that raping and looting." This is not an exact quote but close.

As Ahab said, Beck gave a very good speech. It was funny, sad, uplifting, depressing all at the same time.

A Professional at Work

This will be a snark-free post about Mainstream Media reporters. As mentioned, we have media passes to the NRA convention here in Louisville. We set in one of the press areas and a professional reporter came in about the middle of the program and plugged in his laptop, got his digital recorder ready, checked e-mail, and a few other quotidian things.

I am going to confess now that was I totally and unabashedly rude. In fact, if Mr. Rick Pearson of the Chicago Tribune reads this, I apologize now. I looked over his shoulder and watched how a professional crafts a news story. It was fascinating.

He had an advance copy of McCain's speech and he copied that to Word. He wrote in his byline and a tentative title and began pulling quotes from the speech. He started framing his story even while other politicians were talking. He wrote about McCain's admitted differences with the NRA and mentioned "polite applause."

When McCain started speaking, Pearson followed the prepared text and used all caps to enter any deviations as well as recording the speech digitally. He bolded a few deviations particularly when McCain discussed Barack Obama's challenge to debate McCain on foreign policy.

I read the story in today's Chicago Tribune and was amazed to see how he and two other journalists had crafted the final version. It started with Obama's challenge and then discussed McCain's appearance at the NRA.

We sometimes criticize reporters, but they do work hard. The man I watched probably travels almost as much as the candidates, lives out of a suitcase, all to record his observations. If print newspapers are dying, we will still need professional reporters to collect and analyze what they see and hear. It is a skill they gain through practice. It was a privilege to see how a professional observes and reports.

Hello Louisville

Since Denise just did a quick post, I thought that I would do a quick one as well. We're having a great time here so far. Most of the day (Friday) was spent at the Celebration of American Values Leadership Forum. Having media credentials and sitting in the press area was an interesting experience. In some ways I felt that we had more access and in others, I felt that we were separated and isolated from everyone else. Of course we were physically separated, but it seemed we were separated emotionally as well. It was very strange seeing things on that side of the fence.

Most of the speeches were the typical political stem winders. Rah Rah Republicans. Rah Rah McCain. I liked Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson's speech a lot and she seemed the most dedicated of the politicians to 2nd Amendment rights. McCain's speech was typical McCain. He just sucks less than the rest of them. The whole thing was basically a Republican campaign rally. The NRA really needs to get more Democrats to speak at these events. I think Rep. David Boren was the only self identified Democrat on the stage.

After the McCain campaign rally, err Leadership forum, we headed over to the Bass Pro Shop for a get together with A LOT of bloggers. It was great to finally put faces to all the names and get to meet people whose blogs I have been reading for many years. Thanks to Bitter and Michael Bane for putting this together and I'm looking forward to the banquet tomorrow night.

Also, when we were in Louisville, 3 years ago, we toured the excellent Frazier Firearms Museum. It now has a politically correct name, but I suspect that it still has a lot of gunny goodness. If anyone has an extra 4 hours(we took the good part of a day), they should really visit this museum. It is, in my opinion, one of the best gun museums in the world. They have an entire floor of arms from the English Royal Armouries, which is worth the price of admission alone. This place is a do not miss for gunnies.

Good Time Had By All

Yosemite Sam and I are in Louisville attending the NRA Convention--the fourth convention in a row that we blogged. There are a few differences this year. Thanks to the hard work of Bitter, many bloggers were given media credentials including Sam and me. This is allowing us access to meetings and resources we did not have before. We set in a press area and heard John McCain and a number of other politicians speak at the "Celebration of American Values: Leadership Forum" (more on this tomorrow--it is late for us right now).


Another great thing that Bitter and others did was to arrange a blogger mixer. Michael Bane was our host. We met many bloggers who are on our blog roll and a few that will be on it soon. We swapped stories over beer, ice tea, soda, or spirits. We met Todd Jarrett, one of America's best practical pistol shooters.


We will be writing some essays on what we observed at the forum. We have pictures. We have stories. But for now, we're heading to bed with our alarm clock set for o'dark thirty. We want to thank Bitter, Michael, and Todd for the great time that was had by all.

NRA Convention Bound

Yosemite Sam and I are off to Louisville, Kentucky today. We're attending the NRA convention and most (if not all) of the blogger bash activities. Because of new jobs, Sam doesn't have enough leave to take a lot of time off. Because of that, we're flying down instead of driving as we planned originally.

I'm not a big fan of flying. There's the whole security theater thing. There's walking around in stocking feet with everyone else. Then there's the actual flying. You pay to sit in narrow aluminum tubes smelling of the last 500 flyers, their babies, burbs, and farts. Seats are made to fit something other than people. Then there's the seeming interminable wait at the luggage carousel, which is one reason I always try to avoid checking luggage. One other fun thing, the cost of airport parking. I've flown too much to like even the thought of it.

Oops, deep breath, let's go to my happy place. We o
UPDATE: Some how Blogger cut off the bottom of this post and I'm pretty sure this happened after it had been posted awhile. Sigh. Anyway, I was saying we are heading off and we're sure we will have a good time meeting new people, seeing new things. Thanks
Denise

Proud NRA Apologist

Sebastian has a post up that addresses a critic that thinks he is an apologist for the NRA. As both Denise and I have frequently stated, we are proud members of the NRA and think that the NRA is the most effective gun rights organization that we have.

Anyway, I left a comment at Snowflakes and thought that it may be of interest here as well.

Quoted from Sebastian's post:

"If you’ve ever spent any time talking to real people about the gun issue, you know that most people believe that some level of gun control is necessary."

My comment:

Here Here. I think we in the gun rights community often forget this fact. We have gun control in this country because the citizens of this country wanted it. We fool ourselves when we get the idea, amplified by our group think, that the general public is interested in removing the gun control laws. They aren't. Particularly law regulating fully automatic firearms.

For example, I was talking to my aunt about 4 years ago, who is not really anti-gun, and mentioned that machine guns ought to be fully legalized. She said, No Way.
If you talk to most Americans, they will tell you the same thing.

We have nearly 50 years of lies and propaganda to overcome and it will only be defeated by hard work and persistence. In particular, work needs to be done to bring women into the gun rights fold. We are having some success. What we don't need is members of our own community calling the most effective gun rights organization we have, the NRA, a gun control organization. It is silly and destructive.

I will readily admit that the NRA isn't perfect and has made mistakes. But it is the most effective gun rights organization we have. I urge anyone reading this to become a member. Add your voice to the membership.

The NRA Thing Again

You know, I really hate going over old ground. The third post I ever made to this blog, back in December 2004, was why I support the National Rifle Association even though it is not the strongest Second Amendment champion out there. I'll rephrase now for clarity. It is the only pro-Second Amendment organization that the gun banners fear and loathe and that's enough for me.

This week, Kim DuToit mentioned again why he doesn't join the NRA. His commenters chimed in. A few even said they would not join or they would quit because one of the NRA's board members disparaged civilian ownership of "assault weapons."

Since then, Sebastian and Ahab both have vocally supported the NRA. Sebastian later asked for ideas to improve the NRA. Their posts are worth your time.

I really hate this internal sniping at each other. The NRA is and should be a "big tent" organization. It should include hunters, Cowboy Action Shooters, bullseye shooters, and black rifle aficionados. By providing a home for all of these types of shooters, it provides them a voice that is much stronger than it would be otherwise.

Look at Gunowners of America. They are a "no compromise" group and that's great. We need them. But, they have no political clout. The NRA and the AARP have the loudest voices in American politics today. Do gunnies who decry the NRA want to give up that clout and that voice?

Being a "big tent" organization means that the NRA cannot please everyone all the time. NRA leaders also know that politics is the art of compromise. Thus, they may make a political decisions to support something or not support something for political reasons.

Let's take a look at the Gun Control Act of 1968. It was going to pass no matter what. The political assassinations of the 1960s, the arming up of radical groups (Weathermen Underground, Black Panthers, etc.) scared liberals and conservatives alike. The NRA helped protect gun owners rights by being at the table to help craft compromises. I believe that we would have lost a lot more in 1968 if the NRA had simply yelled "no compromise" and refused to take a seat at the table.

This argument does not do much for the blood pressure of those gunnies who quote "...shall not be infringed." They argue that every gun law, or at least most of them, are unconstitutional. You know something, they're probably right. Many gun laws have no basis in the Constitution or the Second Amendment.

No matter how true this is, the United States has always had some sort of gun laws. In the 18th Century, slaves could not own guns. Most white landowners were required to own a non-rifled musket (useless for hunting) and show up at militia practice. In the 19th Century there were laws against concealed carry, and even possessing a gun in some Western towns if you were a stranger.

We have gun laws now. Way too many of them. Many are unconstitutional, but asserting that loudly gets you no where except maybe jail (depending on your actions). The laws must be repealed and new laws must be stopped in their tracks. The only way to do that is through politics. The NRA is the best positioned lobby we have to fight for gun rights. Also, don't forget that anti-gunnies have a voice and they use it.

The courts do not offer us much either. They are the ones who basically decide what is Consitutional. We all know that courts are not really on our side. Even if we win a sweeping Supreme Court victory we will still have some gun laws. Any decision they hand down will include words like, "subject to reasonable regulation." Congress and state lawmakers will decide what is reasonable.

I am as strong a believer in the Second Amendment as anyone out there. I give money to pro-gun groups every two-weeks in payroll deductions. I buy a lot of guns and a lot of ammo. I run this blog. I vote and I write letters and make calls to Congresscritters. I know the NRA has done stupid things in the past and will do so in the future. I know they're not perfect, but their collective voice has helped be retain my gun rights through too many attempts at stripping them from me.

I urge people to join the NRA and vote in board members that support your idea of the Second Amendment or your favorite shooting sport. If you don't, then you have no voice in the one pro-rights organization that Congress and state legislatures actually hear.

NRA Banquet and More

Sorry to not update our NRA experiences until now. We had to get on the road. We’re still in Missouri, but exploring now. We’re going to take the road east tomorrow.

As usual, the NRA banquet ran smoothly. Even the food was halfway decent for convention food. They served a chicken breast cutlet with a small filet mignon. The chicken was about what you’d expect on a convention floor. A little rubbery, some flavor, but nothing to write home about. The filet though was much better. Mine anyway was tender, flavorful, and gone all too fast.

Former UN ambassador John Bolton gave the keynote speech. He talked about international threats to our gun rights. He said the people that oppose civilian, or "non-state actors," are persistent and dedicated to their goals. They believe taking away guns from you and me while allowing certain elite groups and "trusted" groups like soldiers and police retain theirs will somehow lead to utopia. He warns us to keep fighting.

John Bolton

Of course, he received the customary gift flintlock handcrafted rifle. Nice gift and because he’s no longer a government employee he will probably be able to keep his.

Uncentered Jumbotron shot of Bolton (It was hard to take the photo with all the people cheering)

Comedian T. Bubba Bechtel entertained us with his stirring support of the "bubba" lifestyle. Further entertainment was available. Budweiser sponsored a party off site with music, dancing, beer and the works. I hate to say this, but we passed it up. We’re getting too old for partying especially after walking around the exhibit floor all day.

Champion of bubbas, T. Bubba

Speaking of exhibit floors, we finished touring the floor and schmoozing this morning. I’ve mentioned here that my "Holy Grail" dream gun, the one I doubt I will ever achieve, is a transferable Thompson sub-machine gun. Well, the Thompson Collector’s Society was out in force with an amazing display of these guns. They had models I’ve never even read about. The photo doesn’t come near to doing justice to their display. I talked to the collectors even while I tried mightily to control the drool reflex.

Many More Were Here

Well that’s it for now. Tomorrow we’re on the road so posting may be spotty depending on where we stay. Hard to believe another year is in the bag.

NRA Annual Meeting and Exhibits

It’s been a busy day here at the NRA Convention. We’re decompressing in our hotel room before we go to the Members Banquet and talking about the day. We talked about our in-room breakfast, how my feet hurt (the are barking), and NRA stuff.

First thing, we attended the Annual Members Meeting. We’re both voting members so we had our credentials ready. Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of substance to vote for or against. The officers make most of the real decisions. Members have less say than I would prefer in a perfect world. On the other hand, with about four million members, no business would get done if everyone chimed in once a year. What can you do?

Chris Cox, Director of NRA-ILA

As usual, the oldest and younger life members were identified for special recognition.
Here’s Taylor, the youngest member this year.

The election coordinator announced the results of the latest Board of Directors meeting. He mentioned the number of ballots that were sent out and then returned. Over 1.5 million ballots went to voting members and about 99,000 were returned and some of those were spoiled. Folks, that ain’t good. If you’re a voting member, get those ballots mailed back in, m’kay. Just saying.

We then hit the exhibit floor and roamed around most of the day. I believe there were more people than we saw in earlier conventions. An exhibitor we know told us that attendance might be about 62,000. I wouldn’t be surprised.

A Very Crowded Aisle-They all Were

We met Michael Bane of television's Shooting Gallery. We also met Bitter, Bitter Mom, and Sebastian who were also waiting to say hello to Michael. We enjoyed meeting all of them. In fact, Michael quipped that we had a gun blogger quorum.

We’re getting ready for the banquet. We’ll let you know how that goes. Bye for now.

NRA Opening Ceremony and More

I finally got to St. Louis. I couldn't get out of work and Yosemite Sam drove here without me. I flew here this morning and we managed to locate each other in all the craziness of the convention center (what did we do before cell phones). I got here just barely in time for the opening ceremony.

This year's opening ceremony was marked by a political event. Chris Cox directs the lobbying arm of the NRA. He introduced a number of Missouri state legislators, then the state's Lieutenant Governor, and finally Governor Matt Blunt. The legislators had just passed a law that forbids any state or local police department from confiscating guns or ammo in an emergency. Blunt affirmed his support for the Second Amendment. He then set at a desk and signed the bill into law.

Governor Matt Blunt Addressing the NRA Convention

Now to the festivities. Ty England provided the entertainment at one time crooning to Sandra Froman (NRA President) on stage. He's an ardent gun supporter who gave up a recording contract when he refused to go on the Rosie O'Donnell show some years ago. He now has his own label.

Hamming it up on stage

Finally, we see that Sebastian mentioned that the American Hunters and Shooters Association paid people to hand around with signs. Here's a picture if Sebastian can't find one.

"Protestors" for AHSA

We explored the exhibit hall for awhile and then I crashed in the hotel. I'm not the world's best flyer.

We're staying about a block from the convention center and enjoyed a soul food buffet spread. I even stayed awake.

Hello St. Louis

After a long day of driving through rain, gale force winds and sleet, I have arrived at the NRA convention in St. Louis. With some snow forecast for tomorrow, it seems more like December than April. Despite the unseasonable weather, it is nice to be here and it is actually sunny right now. After checking into my hotel, a historic hotel called the Roberts Mayfair, I went out and looked around the convention center.

The center is really nice and looks to be a good place to hold the convention, and unlike last year, everything is in one area, so we won’t have to walk across the street.


Here is a picture of the entry to America’s Center with its NRA bunting:



Unfortunately, even though this is a NRA convention, concealed carry is verboten inside:





Here are the registration booths:




After my walk around the convention center, I walked around the downtown area and there seems to be plenty of bars and restaurants. I had dinner at a place called the Downtown Cantina and had a huge plate of Mexican food and a glass of Schlafly (a local microbrew) Hefeweizen. Excellent. The staff was friendly and the beer was cold and the service was fast. What more could you want.
I’m taking one of the NRA tours of St. Louis tomorrow with stops at the Gateway Arch and the Budweiser Plant. I’ll meet up with Denise afterwards and then we will go to the welcoming ceremony.

More then.

NRA Convention and Buy A Gun Day

Once again, Yosemite Sam and I will attend the NRA convention in St. Louis. My work has been an omnipresent, calculating, and time-gulping bitch lately. So much so, that I can’t get enough time off for travel. Yosemite Sam will drive out there and visit his family along the way. I’ll fly out on Friday and meet him at the convention and then we’ll drive back together.

On our way back, we plan to Support Buy A Gun Day. Yosemite Sam chose a few stores in Ohio to visit and we intend to add to our collection if the right gun at the right price presents itself--sometimes that C&R license really comes in handy. If you have any favorite gun stores in the Eastern Midwest (if there’s such a thing) just let us know.

We’ll blog about the convention (complete with pictures), Buy A Gun Day, any notable events or visits, so keep watching this space.

(Oh and just an event of note: This is my 500th post. I tend to write essays rather than make small news-oriented posts, so it took me awhile to get there.)

L. Neil Smith and the NRA

Say Uncle has a link to an article by L. Neil Smith about the NRA and its policies. He is critical of what he perceives to be the compromises that the NRA has taken in its defense of the 2nd Amendment. He thinks the NRA should adopt a no compromise strategy and that the compromises of the past have severely harmed the cause of freedom.

I understand the appeal of adopting a no compromise strategy. It seems that we freedom advocates are suffering the death of a thousand cuts. We seem to be endlessly compromising while the forces of gun bigotry chisel away our freedoms until we are left with empty words and promises and then have to beg for rights that are supposed to be guaranteed.

It is certainly well past time to start pushing back.

I think the NRA recognizes this and that is part of its preemptive strike against any possible Democratic Party inspired gun control laws.

But, I also recognize that there are times when we have no choice but to compromise. In the 60’s and 70’s, gun control was in the air and it was going to pass. If the NRA had adopted a no compromise strategy, gun control still would have passed. The NRA would have been sidelined and the laws would have been much more restrictive.

Whether you are an incrementalist or someone who brooks no compromise, I think it is a mistake to quit the NRA in a huff over their policies. At the annual meeting in 2005, only a small perecentage of the total membership was present. If more no compromise members were active and voted in NRA elections, the organization would move more towards that attitude.

The NRA is the largest and most influential gun rights organization in the United States. But their membership is a fraction of that of the AARP. Congress doesn’t dare push any laws that might alienate the AARP or their members. They are deathly afraid of a voting block that huge. If every active gun owner was a member of the NRA, Congress would take notice and I think that we would have a much better chance of rolling back these noisome gun control laws.

Most anti-gun types have never heard of JPFO or GOA, but they know and hate the NRA. The NRA with its multi-million dollar headquarters in suburban Virginia projects power and the Washington establishment may hate them, but they do respect that power.

L. Neil Smith also has 12 points that he thinks the NRA should adopt in order to best defend the 2^nd Amendment.

I think point 4 is particularly important.

“FOURTH, in the same context, I'd want the NRA to disconnect all future discussion of the Second Amendment from the totally unrelated topic of crime. My rights have nothing whatever to do with anything anybody else does, right or wrong. If the crime rate were only 1/10 that of today, my rights would be unaffected. Likewise, if the rate were TEN TIMES what it is, it would have nothing whatever to do with my individual right to own and carry weapons.”

I think gun rights advocates have made a big mistake in trying to tie crime to the Right to Bear Arms. We often argue that after passage of a concealed carry law that crime goes down or doesn’t change. I feel that this line of reasoning is a trap. What will happen if crime goes up if we get rid of a bit of gun control? Then the anti-gun zealots can yell, ah ha, you argued that guns lower crime, now we have a situation where crime is going up because of the repeal of a gun control law.

Let’s not argue from the gun banners paradigm. We have a Human Right to defend ourselves and to own and bear arms to best protect our persons and property. It could easily be argued that crime could be reduced if we had more restrictions on speech and the press. This should not be tolerated and our disarmament should not be tolerated, regardless of the crime rate.

As they say, RTWT.