mdewitt71 Wrote:You realize the NRA quit being a Gun Owner focused entity decades ago????????????????


Each and every dollar that goes to the NRA is a dollar wasted for a Gun owning rights; FACT.
It needs burnt to the ground....... they wont get one cent from me anymore.

wags68 Wrote:Truth, Donate to the GOA instead.

mdewitt71 Wrote:the problem is, it is not your Grandfather's NRA anymore..... this coming from a lifetime member son or another lifetime member son of another.
The truth is out there if you are willing to listen and really look, the NRA is a farce now days.

LRRPF52 Wrote:The NRA has come a long way more towards supporting any firearms, as opposed to the days when I grew up when FUDDs ruled the NRA roost, "I'm a hunter but..." types, and, "There's no need for those types of weapons of war on our streets."

You don't hear that other than a few Fudd hold-outs and poseurs presenting to be gun-owners now. SHOT Show is a big reflection of this. You used to not see many black rifle booths, everything was Fuddville and Real Tree camo, jerkey, knives, custom wood stocks, blue steel and walnut.

Now those booths are looked at strangely as people walk by.

I remember the American Riflemen cover from one of the issues in 1989, with all the AR15s, AKs, HKs, etc. on the front as examples of what had been banned by CA legislature, with a warning that this could happen to the Nation now. They were right.

I did my NRA certs much later, nowhere near when my grandfather was alive.

Klem Wrote:In Australia there are 760,000 registered gun owners in a population of 24 million. All guns must be registered so that is an accurate snapshot of gun ownership. That's only 3% of the population compared to the USA. Unsure what the USA percentage of ownership would be but obviously a lot more, does 25% sound reasonable? Gun ownership is perceived in not only Australian legislation but also daily life as a privilege, not a right. I cannot speak for the UK but it is likely to be similar. The Sporting Shooters Association of Australia (SSAA) is the largest lobby group and general organisational hub for many shooters. There is an active anti-gun movement in Australia and the mainstream media tend to be anti-gun in their coverage (they are certainly not pro-gun). The majority of the rest of the population is ambivalent to ownership. Frankly, most Australian shooters believe in the concept of privilege and that common sense restrictions are in the Community's interests. I certainly do, because I don't want school shootings to occur and believe more guns is a less efficient way of keeping society safe than less guns. We don't want guns in the hands of fruit cakes and are prepared to forgo ownership to live peacefully. As you know I love my guns and am in an privileged position with certain types however for the rest of the community it's bolt guns only and relatively few have access to semi-auto's.

The main events that have led to changes in this privilege have been the 1996 mass murder at port Arthur in Tasmania (35 killed by an intellectually disabled guy wielding an unlicensed AR15) and the 2000 Monash University shooting (Chinese student on a student visa shot 2 and wounded 2 in the classroom with a licensed handgun). On both occasions the then Prime Minister John Howard, who is a staunch anti-gunner used the situation as a catalyst for the tightening of gun ownership. No more high-power semi-auto's unless carefully vetted in a couple of States only. Handguns were always heavily restricted but 10rd limited mags, calibre limited to 9mm and min barrel length introduced. Both situations were 'managed' by a mandatory gun buy-back of guns that were no longer permitted. Most shooters surrendered their banned guns and used the money to buy bolt and level actions. The total number of guns in Australia actually increased, just the type that are most efficient to commit mass murder have been culled.

I see something similar on the horizon in the USA. It will be the type of guns that will be restricted, not ownership per-se. And given they are entrenched in your culture there will be much resistance and might never happen. But, if all the planets align; a President's like Hillary in charge and a more than usual number of mass murders and it might just happen. More likely incrementally and on a state level. Death of a thousand cuts.