War In The National Rifle Association
BY Herschel Smith
6 years, 10 months ago
David Codrea links this Ammoland piece by Jeff Knox. Boy is this some disturbing reading. I cannot possibly rehearse all of the dirty laundry there, but there is this titillating little fact that may catch your interest.
Heston won that election by four votes, and immediately left the meeting to jet back to LA and appear on a radio talk show, during which he repeatedly stated that it was inappropriate or civilians to own AK47 type rifles. He eventually learned his script better, and the following year stepped up to become President of the NRA.
Embarrassingly, I didn’t know that. Well then, Charlton Heston was a traitor, clear and simple. I need no other evidence. Jeff also discusses Adam Kraut, whom he supports for the board, and after reading his response to Marrion Hammer, I do too.
As for me, you could easily guess my own position. Marrion Hammer can go traffic in her lies and misdirection somewhere else. I’m not impressed in the least.
There is a deep, dark problem within the NRA. Their history is a divided one, and their traitorous actions (e.g., the Hughes amendment) have harmed the firearms community, and I might also point out something I have before. By outlawing the manufacture of machineguns after 1968, which the NRA didn’t fight, and also by the existence of the National Firearms Act, the engineering and design of open bolt firearms essentially ceased within the United States. This has weakened the U.S. military and possibly lead to deaths of service members on the field of battle.
I cannot cipher the NRA willingness to hop in bed with traitors unless they are in fact traitorous themselves. Let’s assume for a moment that the NRA actually chose to wield their power on Capital Hill. Let’s assume for a moment that the this forthcoming bump stock ban wasn’t the NRA’s idea. Let’s assume for a moment that they informed every Congressman and Senator that they expected a vote on this, and that the vote would be tallied and scored, with NRA money behind their efforts to primary enemies of the second amendment.
In other words, let’s assume that the NRA was doing its job. Wayne Lapierre could be literally one of the most powerful men in Washington. The red carpet would be rolled out for him everywhere he goes. Who wouldn’t want that? But instead of this, we see that the board is so discombobulated that it cannot accomplish anything of value or worth, and Wayne and Chris continue their deconstruction of the second amendment unabated. Note this comment on Adam’s piece by Rob Pincus.
The Board of Directors is far too large and almost completely powerless, but voting out the Status Quo Old and voting in the new is what it needs.
Creating a large board and hamstringing their efforts with rules is the surest way to render them powerless. What happens if the NRA sells us out over bump stock bans and other future gun control laws (I also suspect Marrion Hammer is the reason we don’t have open carry in Florida)? Well, the gist of various comments from TTAG sums it up nicely for me. If the NRA doesn’t do an about-face, and that, very soon and very quickly, and without any more of our money, they need to be destroyed.
They need to be finished as an organization. They can turn their board over to the Fudds for gun control, or some other such nonsense group, and go broke for all I care. But if they don’t do a U-turn, they will have no more of my money or attention. This war needs to get ugly, and fast. I realize that many of my readers have already come to the same conclusion long ago.
On January 22, 2018 at 3:12 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
Re: “I cannot cipher the NRA willingness to hop in bed with traitors unless they are in fact traitorous themselves.”
The National Rifle Association is no different than any other advocacy organization or governmental agency in that it must walk a tightrope between not being successful enough – and being too successful.
If the NRA isn’t successful at all in protecting the rights of firearms owners and manufacturers, then word will get around and people will reject the organization as ineffective and not worth a donation or membership fees.
So, clearly, the organization must have at least some “successes” upon which to hang its hat. Moreover, these must be recent-enough to be meaningful. “What have you done for me lately?” and all of that.
However, the opposite clearly applies. If the NAR were to begin a concerted effort to roll back the eight-five year’s worth of unconstitutional infringements of our Second Amendment liberties and inherent rights to keep and bear arms – beginning with the National Firearms Act of 1934 and working up to the present – they would jeopardize their future. After all, if they were successful in rolling back all of the infringements, then they would lose their reason for existing and no one would have much of an incentive to donate to them or become an NRA member.
Logically, one would conclude that even in a world without infringements of our rights to keep and bear arms, there would be plenty of work for an organization like the NRA – for the battle to protect our rights demands eternal vigilance. However, that is not the way the NRA Board sees it. Business is far-better when our rights are in jeopardy – and not when they are safe and secure.
On January 22, 2018 at 3:13 am, Georgiaboy61 said:
Re: “If the NAR were to begin a concerted effort to roll back the eight-five year’s worth of unconstitutional infringements…”
Typo corrections department: “NAR” should read “NRA” – my apologies for the error.
On January 22, 2018 at 7:44 am, Frank Clarke said:
“I realize that many of my readers have already come to the same conclusion long ago.”
LONG ago…
NRA delenda est.
http://tinyurl.com/TipgPt2
On January 22, 2018 at 9:09 am, Fred said:
If the NRA was successful, as GB61 points out, then we wouldn’t need the NRA HOWEVER, if the NRA is unsuccessful or even traitorous, as I believe it to be, then we don’t need the NRA. But GB61 said something that is even more important; If the NRA were successful, it and it’s leaders and board would never want for work again.
It’s a false, loser, and niggardly doctrine, that says work just hard enough to keep your job. I once told a boss of mine that I would work so hard and do such a thorough job that the position woild no longer be needed. He asked what I would do then, I said; “anything I want.”
On January 22, 2018 at 10:52 am, LiberTarHeel said:
Long ago I educated myself to the duplicity of the PTB at the NRA. I’m curious to know how you feel about a statement made to me face-to-face years ago by an NRA board member for whom I had at the time the highest respect, which I paraphrase here: ‘Sometimes with legislation you have to set your principles aside and accept what you can get’. That bothered me then and it bothers me still. How say you?
On January 22, 2018 at 10:59 am, Randolph Scott said:
The NRA has only one interest. Your money, they want it. The people that run this fleecing operation are the very same overpaid lying thieving bureaucrats we detest. They use your money to pad the pockets of politicians, they themselves enjoy the perks of travel and entertainment that only the ‘Just Us’ group enjoys.
The NRA is raping every contributor, gun enthusiast and armed patriot in the U.S.A.
The only thing we should be giving to the NRA is the middle finger and saying to them… BFYTW!
On January 22, 2018 at 12:09 pm, Pat Hines said:
I’ve known about most of the NRA’s traitorous behavior for many years.
Their representative was at a hearing on campus carry at the South Carolina state house, I was there too. The “dickhead” threw his weight around like the wealthy NRA he was. The NRA had a different agenda than the South Carolina Grassroots organization and was completely unwilling to combine efforts. They’re the bull moose, and they know it.
The NRA supported the brick and mortar gun stores who wanted mail order gun sales stopped, thus the GCA 1968 which did just that.
L. Neil Smith called them the oldest gun control organization in the US, he’s correct.
On January 22, 2018 at 12:29 pm, moe mensale said:
“By outlawing the manufacture of machineguns after 1968…”
@Herschel, I believe you’re referring to the ban on manufacture of new machine guns for civilian sales? That was 1986. FOPA Hughes Amendment.
On January 22, 2018 at 12:39 pm, moe mensale said:
“(I also suspect Marrion Hammer is the reason we don’t have open carry in Florida)?”
@Herschel, you are absolutely correct on that although Marion will argue just the opposite and condemn you for confronting her. How do I know? Because that is exactly what she did when I called her out in 2011. I’m the “rude OC blogger” she’s referring to in this Ammoland article.
https://www.ammoland.com/2011/05/response-to-rude-open-carry-blogger/#axzz4mXFBqtuJ
And here she is on NRATV publicly calling for FL open carry which she then turned around and said she never did. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzVJn3JkXOQ
On January 22, 2018 at 3:28 pm, Henry said:
The NRA board is kept large and stuffed with docile celebrities on purpose.
“A board whose size is too large may dilute the decision-making power of each of the directors, reducing their involvement and therefore the overall effectiveness of the board to govern the company.”
http://gouvernanceexpert.com/en/governance/size-of-the-board-of-directors/
Make your board large and unwieldy, and the executives can do whatever they damn well please. That’s how they have arranged to pull down seven-figure salaries for selling out your rights.
On January 22, 2018 at 7:19 pm, Gryphon said:
Captain -Surely you’ve heard of the Term “Controlled Opposition”?
Soon after I first joined this organization (mid 70’s, when in High School) I began to see that they were mostly a Hunting/Sporting Arms organization, and that it was supportive of the 2nd only for Lip Service. I stopped supporting them once I figured out they had No Intention of dealing with the “Full Auto” community in a manner consistent with the 2A.
They exist, like the “Anti-Abortion” Lobby, to perpetuate Divisions, not “Win” the Issue. Otherwise, they would be Out of those Cushy, 6-Figure Jobs….
IMO, after Extensively Reading what was written by the Nation’s Founders, None of them would have supported ANY of the Extant “Infringements” on our God-Given Rights, in particular the “Stamp Act” of the NFA. It’s a Tax on a Right, something that the Courts have always Dismissed in the Context of All other Rights.
Tench Coxe said it Right- “The Militia should Posses Every Terrible Instrument of the Soldier” and when He wrote that, Field Artillery and Battleships (o.k.sailing ones) were in Common Ownership by the Citizens. In current Terms, this means that everything an Infantry Company carries (up to A.T. Rockets) is Fair Game.
On January 22, 2018 at 9:26 pm, Lt Greyman, NVA said:
The NRA is a controlled opposition. Like the Republicans, the NRA erodes our rights SLOWER than the anti-gunners, but the final tally is the same.
Why has legislation not been introduced every session to repeal the Hugh’s Amendment, the National Firearms Act and the 1968 GCA? Why are Ranges not increasing in number instead of being under constant attack?
Why ask Why, Goy.
On January 23, 2018 at 3:44 pm, ExpatNJ said:
Similar failures in character of leadership are currently occurring in ARR (American Radio Relay League), another lobbying/so-called-“rights” organization that many Amateur/Ham radio operators would never belong to.
On January 23, 2018 at 10:40 pm, Bill Robbins said:
While we are on the subject, I object to NRA’s selling of “imported” (euphemism for “Made in China”) products via the NRA Store Catalogue and online. For crying out loud, it’s called the NRA, not the NRC.