NRA vs. Hunters This struck me as I too am a hunter, I love the outdoors, and have a family member in the NRA- so am very familiar with their letters telling us that [insert politician name here] is trying to take away your guns.
mcrett: I agree with your points, and it is curous to me that the NRA does not necessarily even support traditional conservative principles. An example is the law in Florida which substantially lilmits a physician from inquiring about whether a patient (or in the case of children, the parents) have guns in the home. The theory offered by legislators was that certain liberal physicians were using this to harass patients in pursuit of an anti-gun agenda. Let’s forget whether that argument has merit for a moment and focus on the proposed solution: a government regulation dictating the terms of a verbal exchange during a commercial transaction. One would assume that the conservative response to this alleged problem would be to let the market solve this "problem;" (i.e. patients can go to other physicians). But since the NRA was behind it, the perhaps most important core principle of conservatism -- free market exchanges – gets cast aside in favor of a pro-gun more-government regulation. Another example is the “stand your ground” laws, which from what I can tell are not particularly popular with law enforcement. The Republican stable of being pro law enforcement (or at least local law enforcement) becomes subordinate to NRA-favored laws. Personally, I have no problem with individual gun ownership but I am both amused and a little disturbed that the NRA has decided to go beyond that meritorious issue into ones that are, in some cases, directly at odds with Republican/conservative values.
BBB- Could not have said it better myself. It is not consistent with Conservative values, but pretends to be.
McBrett and BBB -- You guys substantially underestimate the good that honorable armed people can do confronting villany wherever they come across it. Perhaps you should spend a few hours with the crack NRA research team -- watching reruns of Bonanza and the Rifleman. You guys also may know little about the good that the NRA does with hunter and firearms safety. They are a tremendous resource for folks teaching hunter and gun safety education. I think the NRA gets greedy seeking to remove barriers to gun ownership and usage in the street, but the organization has to be responsive to the sources that really benefit from gun sales. If you made you money on fear, whether it's of losing the right to bear arms or from the bad guys out there ready to do you, it would change the way you communicate and look at things. The sad thing is that nobody has the courage and smarts to confront the NRA when they go wacko..
The NRA is concerned with protecting gun ownership rights. The Safari Club International (SCI) is the dominant organization concerned with hunting rights.
Not a member of the NRA, but glad they are out using all means possible to fight gun control. I am a hunter and also carry a concealed permit. I understand and respect the opposition McBrett places against the NRA. I am just a slippery slope kind of thinker. I hate the civil liberties union, but in a way, glad they are out there doing the crazy stuff they do. However, not sure I understand the logic of having my pediatrician ask my daughter about guns. Has nothing to do with her health and is none of their business. If they did ask, I would change physicians to your point of the free market. Would you support the physician asking simply any question related to the parent's personal life? is there wine in your house, what do your parents talk about, is your parent gay, do your parents have money, who did they vote for?
