NRA can now officially KMA!

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  • E.Shell

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 5, 2007
    10,242
    Mid-Merlind
    Got a nice letter in the mail today, envelope marked with a "Final Notice" and in red "PAST DUE" like I'm some deadbeat that doesn't pay his bills. . .
    There is no question that this is over the line. Some of us are friends with our mail carriers and this does look bad.
    Look this is ********, im sick and tired of people on this thread bashing the NRA.
    But you knew that was here when you read the thread title. Some of us are also tired of blind faith and that warm fuzzy feeling can fade with time.
    without them you would have lost your guns and your rights long ago. it seems to be trendy to pick on them right now
    The OP is reacting to a scam-type approach intended to embarrass him and really didn't go into the whole philosophy thing.
    BUT the second Rep McCarthy-D (NY) introduces the new AWB this session we will need them. they have real politcal power, the GOA is a joke no one takes seriously. without the NRA it would be like showing up to war with no gun. join, renew send money etc. i know they can be a pain in the ass but they are the 2nd amendment rights super power. these other organizations help to a point but they cant ever hope to have the influence the NRA does.
    This is true, but as a life member since 1985, and regular member since '67, it does bother me that they will likely compromise on anything that comes down the pike. They'll throw the black rifle crowd under the bus, tell us how much worse it could have been and how we won again, ask for more money, and build a new building. Then, we just wait for the next group to go under the bus, and the next. It IS the way things work "for" us.

    Support them? Yes, they are indeed our last, best hope, but let's be real and not try to polish a turd and make it look prettier than it really is.

    They were against Heller until the last minute, they jumped on the bandwagon and took credit for it's "success". They almost undermined the NC CCW legislation by offering more restrictive compromise as it was going through anyway. They LOUDLY supported the GCA'68. They have always ignored the NFA'34. They've acted the MG Ban of '86 was for our own good, to get the anti's off our backs. Their work to "soften" the AWB of '94 actually made it palatable to a lot of people who might have been galvanized into action had it been imposed upon the American people "as is". Can't wait to see how they help us next.
    You have to decide if you're getting your money's worth. The NRA is a for profit business, and when you "join" you're agreeing that they'll provide you with goods or services for the agreed upon price.
    They absolutely ARE a for-profit business, and if this second amendment "fight" thing ever went away, they would have worked themselves out *their half* of the biggest profit cow in history.
    I hate getting late notices for my BGE bill, credit card or mortgage, but I made an agreement with them and when I don't honor it they have a right to get pissy with me.
    That's completely different. With the services you mention, you have accepted goods & services that you now owe them for. They DO have a *right* to attempt collection of their property (the money). With the NRA thing above, the OP doesn't owe them anything yet, it is their attempt to solicit an agreement for future services. They have no right to send something intended to embarrass and/or intimidate in an attempt to collect something that is not theirs yet.
    . . . Where's those "Hurt Feelings" report forms?
    :D
    HurtFeelingsReport.jpg

    . . . Support whatever pro 2a group you want but show your support and send money.....and lots of it. . .
    Agreed, and I do send money to several. I'd hate to see Wayne Lapierre, or any of them, have to wear the same suit twice.

    Really, we do need to focus our efforts on supporting at least some pro-gun entities, and acknowledge that they **all** have their faults. The NRA is clearly "for profit" and the do milk this thing for all it's worth. As long as we have our duck guns, we always will have "won". GOA has "stretched the truth" enough that their credibility is seriously damaged, but they DO insist on "no compromise", which is where we should have been for YEARS. Compromise is to admit that somehow guns are part of the problem, when they are clearly not. The JFPO is a hard-core no compromise group as well, and almost over the top, but THEY remember their history.
     

    Spot77

    Ultimate Member
    May 8, 2005
    11,591
    Anne Arundel County
    They absolutely ARE a for-profit business, and if this second amendment "fight" thing ever went away, they would have worked themselves out *their half* of the biggest profit cow in history.That's completely different. With the services you mention, you have accepted goods & services that you now owe them for. They DO have a *right* to attempt collection of their property (the money). With the NRA thing above, the OP doesn't owe them anything yet, it is their attempt to solicit an agreement for future services. They have no right to send something intended to embarrass and/or intimidate in an attempt to collect something that is not theirs yet.

    Yeah, I did sorta' gloss over the "RENEW" aspect of it. I guess with the repetitive droning of NRA bashing for the amount of solicitations they send I assumed this situation was slightly different. My apologies to the OP if anybody thought I was inferring that he was some kind of deadbeat.

    Regardless, I'm finding K31 to be especially sharp on this one, and I'll continue reading this thread only to give him more opportunities to make me piss myself laughing. :D
     
    Last edited:

    trickg

    Guns 'n Drums
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 22, 2008
    14,584
    Glen Burnie
    Look - love them or hate them, the NRA serves a good cause and purpose, and with who is moving into the White house today, there are worse things you could do with a $20-$25 ANNUAL membership fee - it's a paltry cost considering what they do, and they do far more for us than we would do on our own - of that you can be sure.

    If you want a good alternative, join Gun Owners of America. I'm a member of both, because at this stage of the game, we need all the help we can get to keep our rights from being taken from us.

    Hate the NRA and their junk mail if you want, but I'm a member, and I'll continue to be a member. I renew my membership when it's time, I send money from time to time, and for the most part, I just ignore the junk mail. I think that it's time that some of the whiners man-up and do likewise.
     

    Cochise

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 5, 2008
    1,383
    Rockville
    Ive been a member since 1984 (the year I bought my first gun and got a job and a haircut) If you have a gun and arent a member you are a #@&%ing parasite.
    The trashcan works for junk mail just like the delete button works for spam, WTF.
    Why dont you send a letter to MOM supporting the new ammo ID bill too.
     

    Huckleberry

    No One of Consequence
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 19, 2007
    23,306
    Severn & Lewes
    How about getting involved with the NRA? Just don't send money and expect somebody else to fight for you.

    Don't like the NRA's current marketing scheme? Contact your board members, contact Wayne LaPierre or Siegler. NRA Board members give you the old "FOSH" then run for the board. Any 5 yr member is eligible to vote or run.

    As for NRA compromises, if they don't have the votes to defeat a bill than then try to get the best compromise so we're not totally screwed. Clinton AWB in 94 was going to pass regardless of NRA's best, all out effort. So they got somethings changed or waterdowned and they got the "SUNSET" provision amendent into the bill, didn't notice that until 2004, did ya? NRA knew that sunset provision was necessary since the Republicans would never repeal the AWB on their on legislative initiative. GOP doesn't have the intregity to fight any battle though they are morally and constitutionally right but maybe deemed unpopular by the Sheeple of our great nation. You can't get elected by just being right or honoring the spirit of the law.

    You think the GOA does anything productive except make their money off their misled and misguiled members? GOA can't even get their lobbyist into or testifying before most committee meetings.
     

    Half-cocked

    Senior Meatbag
    Mar 14, 2006
    23,937
    Got a nice letter in the mail today, envelope marked with a "Final Notice" and in red "PAST DUE" like I'm some deadbeat

    Disregarding the whole "NRA/not NRA" issue, and getting back to the original topic...

    This is a cheap, underhanded solicitation tactic, and whoever at the NRA is responsible for this campaign is harming the organization, not helping it - and should be fired.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    Other Choices?

    The NRA is the biggest with the most influence in DC, however, the NRA is a shooting sports and instruction sanctioning body first and foremost, always has been since they were first formed, that is where your membership goes for the most part. The ILA(institute for legislative action) and PVF(political victory fund) are the NRA's lobbying efforts, and mostly separate from the NRA, they are funded almost entirely by donations, and asking for those donations results in what most consider the "junk mail". I mostly renew my NRA membership for $25 or give a membership to someone at most every gun show, and get into the show for free, but also hold a 2A tash force membership that is a little more involed, and give to the ILA/PVF regularly. With about 4 million members, the NRA is fairly conservative, they try to stay away from big gambles, that can turn out bad like an unmodified AWB, or even the Heller case, where a loss would set us back years, they do not hold the hard "no comromise" line that most of us would like, but they are effective in watering down bad gun bills that may have passed anyway at full strength if they simply opposed it completely. If they had a membership more than just 4% of the gun owning public things would be quite different, if it was more along the lines of 50%, around 50 million members, each donating the value of a box of ammo every month, we would likely have overturned something big like the NFA or GCA , or passed something like national CC reciprocity by now, and signing onto most any ban would be politcal suicide.

    That being said, I agree the "past due" letter recieved by the OP is not a positive way to build support, I have sent an e-mail to the NRA asking that they stop it, they tend to listen to members, and like Huck said, you can alays run for the board or make suggestions any time you want.

    http://www.marylandshallissue.org/ is the 800lb gorilla in MD, and does a lot of work on the national scale too, in many ways you will see more benefit for your dollar with MSI than the NRA. If MD does pass "shall issue" legislation, or we defeat the inevitable gun and ammo bans that come through every year or two, they will have much of the credit, the organization is growing fast, and relies on members and volunteers to be "boots on the ground". MSI is the very definition of grass roots activism, and needs all the help we can give them, there are local meetings posted here where you can meet a lot of other MD shooters, make suggestions, and be a central part of the pro rights movement in MD.


    http://www.jpfo.org/ is my choice as a supplement to the NRA and their work on the national level, I am not jewish, and it is not a requirement. They are small, and are a "no compromise" organization, they oppose any gun control law, and support most pro RKBA law that does not trade some aspects of the right for others. They also are respected amongst the jewish community, and by their nature tend to be harder for liberals to badmouth, some of the members are holocaust survivors, and know first hand the absolute life and death meaning of the Right of the people to defend themselves, and what can happen when that right is banned. They also generally support NRA efforts, but when the NRA compromises too much for their tastes, they tend to run a parrallel effort to completely oppose a law that the NRA may be trying to water down instead of attacking the NRA for their efforts like the GOA.

    The GOA is another "no compromise" organization that I used to be a member of, and will not join again. They are relatively small, and very idelistic, and go over the top on occasion. At one time, they were relatively pragmatic, and performed similarly to the JPFO, they pushed their agenda, but avoided infighting amongst the pro RKBA crowd. They pushed for grass roots activism, and pointed out real risks to our rights in a somewhat theatrical way, but a few years ago they have shifted further and further into lala land. Many of their mailings from a couple years ago started to take on a desparate and shrill message, some having racist undertones, and some trying to use far fetched scenarios to fight real gun laws going through congress like "sudden jihad syndrome" as a reason for concealed carry. They also took up more and more attacks on the NRA and even the JPFO until it became the undelying theme of their mailings that they were actively trying to pull people away from other gun rights groups and into their own, instead of promoting their own agenda and building support of people like me that belong to a few diverse RKBA groups. They are a good group for those who want no compromise, and think the NRA is a bunch of sissies that have done more harm than good, and want a good deal of their donations and dues spent fighting the NRA along with the gun banners. They are the rabbid squirrel to the NRA's 800lb gorilla, and are amongst the very fringe of RKBA suporters, however they do make a good opponent to the Brady bunch, they are both what I would consider fringe organizations, and deal mostly in half truths, outright lies, and emotional response to push their agenda, and are somewhat effective in cancelling them out and showing the NRA as the "voice of reason".

    Another interesting group is the Black gun owners, they are up and coming, but presently very small, among them are "black man with a gun" who runs an excellent podcast and blog, and occasionall appears on various TV and radio programs, and other civil rights activists that understand the racist roots of gun control, and the need for honest people in the black community to protect themselves from crime. Most are active in larger gun rights groups, and are instrumental in turning the tide of support for gun control in the Black community propogated by many prominent "civil rights" activists like Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton. They are a small, but powerful ally, and at present are mostly a way to organize individual efforts.

    There are also a number of stealth gun control groups to watch out for, the most prominent is the hunters and shooters association, they were formed, and run by Brady campaign members masquerading as pro-gun advocates, mostly to attempt to build a wedge in the gun owning community. They try to market themselves as a gun owners group that is for "sensible gun control", but march in lock step with some of the most radical gun banning groups and politicians in America, a membership, or doantion to them is no different than if it was made directly to the Brady campaign.
     

    aquaman

    Ultimate Member
    Sep 21, 2008
    7,499
    Belcamp, MD
    ive had time to write up some long post today and read all the insightful replies. for all the bullshiting im doing on here i also spent some time composing three emails to elected officials (and i change small details & send them from two different email addresses for more bang for my buck)
     

    Dans390

    Active Member
    Apr 14, 2007
    155
    York Pa
    Most of the complainers aren't veterans
    The leigon,VFV,DAV etc pull some of the same tactics
    Most Vets paid their dues a while ago in full w/o money
    All these organizations need more than dues will bring,
    I believe the little junk/threat mail is a small additional
    price to pay for services they & only THEY PROVIDE
    LIFE MEMBER NRA & Instructor
     

    K31

    "Part of that Ultra MAGA Crowd"
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 15, 2006
    35,632
    AA county
    The trashcan works for junk mail just like the delete button works for spam

    Putting unwanted mail from the NRA in the trash instead of canceling your membership?

    Now you're just talking crazy talk.
     

    2ndMDRebel

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 13, 2008
    2,466
    Wow, looks like I really smacked the hornet's nest with this one...

    Look, it wasn't what they were asking me to do, it was the manner in which they asked it that hit a raw nerve with me. I personally found this tactic insulting and made the decision to not give them any more of my money, that's that. Instead, I'm committing my 2nd Ammendment protection resources to the JPFO and Maryland Shall Issue.

    I forgot the first rule of the internet, don't post angry. Two wrongs don't make a right, just as they could have used a little more tact so could I in my posting. If I have offended anyone then I apologize to the community.
     
    Life member!

    If you own a gun and are not a member - you should get off the backs of those of us that are supporting the only organization that will fight for you federally.

    I am not excited about some of the things they do and don't agree with them even 80% - but they really are the best game in town.
     

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