Longtime readers (all both us us) may find the title of this post somewhat surprising. No need to check the date; it's not the first day of the 4th month. I still have many problems with the NRA. Their goals don't seem to line up with mine (they act like possessing weapons is a privilege rather than a Right) and their strategy is way too conciliatory. They seem to be all Chamberlain and no Churchill. When they should be on offense they play defense and when they should play defense they preemptively surrender. The power structure within the administration is way too top down for my tastes and I think current management should've stepped down a while back. (Although I do admit they've done a decent job regarding training and organizing shooting competitions.) Because of those consideration I haven't been an NRA member since I was a teenager (which was about the same time that mastodons roamed the earth). When the NRA stops supporting gunowner control laws and starts promoting the Right to arms instead of trying to slowly turn it into a privilege I'd be happy to join them. Sadly that day isn't today.
However, the NRA has come under attack in recent weeks. Correction - not attack, but onslaught. Companies are disassociating themselves with the NRA, there's a hue and cry in the mainstream media attempting to pressure politicians to cut ties with the NRA, and celebrities both new and long standing have been doing their best to vilify the NRA. (Here's a good overview on the situation.)
Only when they say NRA they don't mean NRA - they mean me. They mean gun owners in general. They mean folks who have concluded the 2nd article in the bill of Rights means government shouldn't interfere with people possessing weapons. Just as the wrong people was often a euphemism for black folk, the NRA in this context doesn't just mean NRA members (as is "the gun lobby" and a few similar terms); it means anyone who doesn't support some degree of gunowner control laws.
