NRA is deep in denial.

[Brett Bellmore]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 20, 1999
LAPIERRE, BAKER ISSUE NRA STATEMENT

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- The following statement was issued today by Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President, and James J. Baker, Executive Director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action:
“Once again, the Clinton-Gore Administration is pursuing a charade of law-making without law enforcement. The Clinton-Gore Administration is papering over a shameful record of not enforcing existing gun laws. Now they want more gun laws they won’t enforce. The federal courts won’t want to try these cases. It’s more made-for-television law-making.
NRA will continue to hold a mirror up to this dishonest process until the American people demand more meaningful and substantive action from government. Everyone knows this won’t stop the crisis in our schools. The American people want existing gun laws enforced and their Second Amendment freedoms protected.”

=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association’s Institute for Legislative Action—www.NRAILA.org

They just can't bring themselves to admit that it's the REPUBLICANS doing this to us now, not the Clinton-Gore administration. This is worse than in '96, when they wouldn't admit that Dole was anti-gun until he acknowleged it from his own lips on national TV.

How can the NRA-ILA effectively lead this fight, if they can't even face who we're now fighting?

 

[Rob Pincus]

The NRA can't effectively hold a convention, collect donations, or hold a rally in support of CCW.. how can anyone really expect them to fight effectively for our gun rights.

It takes more than sending off $35 a year to defend our guns. Send the money, by all means, wear the hat and enjoy the magazines.. But don't think you've really done much to protect our rights.

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-Essayons

 

[longhair]

i know i'm gonna catch some flak for this, but, what the hell. standing on the sidelines
reading about the merits? & demerits of the nra, it seem apparent to me that all the nra is good for is taking peoples money. i really wish they were as powerful as the socialist, i mean democrats, make them out to be. if that were so, then we wouldn't be having all this s**t going down w/ our rights. evidently
the nra has become a paper tiger, it has the appearance of being bad, but it's only an illusion. it would seem to me the time has come for other organizations to carry the torch in the fight for our rights, for it appears that the nra is now part of the problem and not the solution.JMO!!

ok, let'er rip!!


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fiat justitia



[This message has been edited by longhair (edited May 20, 1999).]

 

[DC]

No rip from this corner...
I'm GOA

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

 

[HankL]

Go Longhair, NRA Life here.
Also SAF etc.
Hank

 

[Jim March]

Well, guess what? At least in California, the NRA is by far the most effective organization.

Here's what's up: The NRA/ILA (National political lobbying wing) has a pair of *very* good lobbyists in Sacramento, full time when the legislature is in session. Now, it isn't really part of their job but they're in constant contact with the Member's Councils. They know exactly which arguments will sway exactly which swing votes, they pass that out to the Member's Council via a private invitation-only mailing list that goes out to about 100 "core people", mostly member's council officers. Each of them knows who's willing to do a flood of phone calls from their own group.

It's a masterful "orchestrated" grass-roots lobbying effort.

The best example of how it works came on the last day of the legislature in '97. There was a HUGE flood of anti-gun bills that hadn't yet been dealt with. By state law, at 5:00pm on the last day bills die if they haven't been finished out...well, they traditionally stop the clock at 4:59 and keep right on trucking. It's illegal, but who's gonna bust 'em?

The "member's council machine" knew this, so at 2:00am the next morning, that lobbyist could goto a key swing vote, get a sense that he's gonna screw us, make one phone call to a guy in LA ready to broadcast EMail to the core 100 and within 5 minutes of that lobbyist walking out the door, the phone lines and faxes in that legicritter's office would go bananas. Because the core people were all blitzed on coffee trying to stay awake.

The ability to harness that level of "grassroots power" at 2:00am was "beyond impressive". They killed off every serious threat that night, and there was a bunch.

In '98 they got caught out a bit, because the barsterds held session open long after midnight for the several days PRIOR to the last day, specifically to "dodge the machine". Pete Wilson saved our bacons by vetoing the worst, including an "affordable gun ban" and a "sport utility rifle ban".

This year "the machine" will be running late for up to a week prior to close.

Guys, it's an NRA machine. True, the link between the lobbyists and member's councils is NOT something created by the national org.

If you've got problems with the NRA leadership, fine, cool. But without question there are usable elements of this "800lbs Gorilla".

And THAT means that slamming it so hard it breaks is maybe a bad idea...

Jim March

 

[Brett Bellmore]

Don't get me wrong, Jim, but if the NRA's doing such a hot job in CA, why is my brother, who lives in Ventura, storing his guns with me in Michigan? While all the school shooting publicity has barely slowed concealed carry reform here?

I'd say you're going a really phenomenal job... of playing defense. But we'd better learn to play offense, too, or we are going to ultimately lose.

 

[Jim March]

We can't attack in the legislature, too many liberals. We can barely fight a holding action, no matter WHICH RKBA org we're talking about.

You heard it here first:

NRA will launch a CCW initiative in CA next year. Nobody in charge is gonna confirm that, but you can pretty much take it to the bank.

More attack, on a local level:
http://www.ninehundred.com/~equalccw

 

[DC]

Yeah Jim..
I agree with Brett.
We have SB23 voting next week. AB17 coming down the pike in a few months.

I don't give a rats @ss what NRA did in the past...this is definitely a what have you done for me lately game. You can stay with NRA, GOA/GOC is my organization

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes"

 

[bookkie]

Hey people... Like the joke says... hedge your bets, join all three...

Richard

 

[Ed Brunner]

Ive sais this before and Im not picking-Im serious.Fighting to get your state to issue CCW is to admit that they have the legal authority to restrict your right to keep and bear arms.
Do you wonder why they continue to do so???

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Better days to be,

Ed