This is why I am not a member of organizations..

[Northern Sod Breaker]

First forgive me it's not gun related. However I feel the paralells are such that it bears posting here. Right now in Congress there is a proposal that would require all farms be liscensed by the federal govt. (and we all thought gun dealers had it bad) Rather then explain the details of this law I'll cut to the chase. There are all kinds of organizations who pledged to support the small farm. Where are they now? They are no where to be seen now that the going is not so easy. In good times they were everywhere. Here's my point when the rubber hits the road it truely is every man for himself. These organizations mysteriously vanish everytime the going gets rough only to surface when the waters calm down. This is my rebuttal for anyone who tells me why I should Join the NRA, GOA, or any organization related to any other industry. My advise is take that membership fee and buy ammo. That ammo will serve you much better then any plastic membership card could. Of course you could always wave it in front of the officer who is arresting you and plead with him but we all know how far that would go.

Shotgun,

[GeorgeF]

No one helping out the small farm owner cause: 1) they arent organized and easy to victimize; 2) there arent as many as there used to be so no reason to cater to them now.

GOA is very effective at getting their members to contact their govt officials. If you think stockpiling ammo is more effective, more power to you. But that also isnt going to prevent that officer from taking your 'stockpile' when the appropriate law is passed.

Lots of gun-grabbers who like to come up with ideas like 'maximum ammo of 1000 rounds or primers'. Those folks arent stupid any more. And its the constant work of people like GOA and even the NRA that stop most of these laws. Nothing is perfect but thats like saying no point in getting Anti Lock Brakes on any cars because one time out of 1000 it didnt work perfectly and you hit a tree.

If these farmers had a private organization that existed solely to look out for them, do you think this law would be an issue? It serves the GOA no good to see gun laws get stricter - its filled with people who KNOW that every gun law (or privacy laws like country-wide ID card), no matter how trivial, is a step towards disarmament. Some call it paranoid, I call it dedicated.

[rem33]

I belong to the NRA because as one person all I have is my one voice.
If myself and millions of others belong to a organization that fights for my rights together we have a much louder voice.
I do NOT agree with every thing the NRA says or does but I believe very strongly in my right to keep and bear arms. I want to keep that right so for this reason if no other I belong.

[mr00jimbo]

The NRA comes through. New Orleans?

[Northern Sod Breaker]

You all just keep wasting your money on memberships then. But when the gun grabbers come and no have no ammo to ward them off because yo put all you faith in a organization to protect you will I be sitting in my bunker laughing at you. But here's a honest question. If the NRA was founded in 1871. Where were they in 1934? Where were they in 1968? Where were they in 1989? Where were they 1994? They did not protect us then? What reason do I have to believe that the NRA (or any other organization) will protect us in the future? Inf act here's a rather interesting (to say the least) quote from the NRA

"The NRA supported The National Firearms Act of 1934 which taxes and requires registration of such firearms as machine guns, sawed-off rifles and sawed-off shotguns. ... NRA support of Federal gun legislation did not stop with the earlier Dodd bills. It currently backs several Senate and House bills which, through amendment, would put new teeth into the National and Federal Firearms Acts." —American Rifleman, March 1968, P. 22

Source for the above quote is here: http://www.keepandbeararms.com/infor...em.asp?ID=3247

I hold no special vengence angiats the NRA other then in the fact that they are an organization subject to corruption. As such I choose to spend my dallor in such a way that I know where it is headed. The claim that the NRA is against gun control is clearly false. What is true is that it is involved in selecting which laws it opposes in order to best piant it's self among gun owners (more specificly gun owner's money)

[marlboroman84]

I don't know alot about GOA, but I have only marginally supported the NRA. I am all for organizations that wanna help me keep my 2nd amendment rights, but if I'm gonna give money steadily to a group I want to make sure they have MY best interests at heart.

I'm still looking into the different groups and might end up with NRA, but most likely GOA, because I hear better things about them. I'm not opposed,just not exactly for. Kinda like my political views, very middle of the road. I try not to make rash judgements so I'll see which one I like better and go with that one.

If anyone belongs to GOA here please pm me and give me some info on dues and such?

[rick_reno]

The NRA needs gun control efforts like a fish needs water. An example is look at how membership swelled to the highest numbers ever when Clinton was President. Without gun control efforts it would be difficult to play the fear card with gun owners. I do like their magazines and read them from cover to cover when I can find one.

[K80Geoff]

Yawn. Same tired arguments resurfacing.

[Mike Irwin]

Yep, that's a good reason for avoiding all membership organizations.

Sort of like avoiding carrots becuase you once got poked by a pencil.

After all, they LOOK similar, right?

So that means that they're the same, right?

I'm sorry, but your logic is.... tortured.

[Silver Bullet]

You all just keep wasting your money on memberships then.

Don't worry, the rest of us will continue to shoulder the load by compensating for those who want the benefits but make excuses to not contribute.

Are you on welfare, too ?

[Musketeer]

Right, do nothing, stand alone and get swept away. Far better to stick your head in the sand. Somehow it is the GOA and NRA's fault that the farmers are not organized. blah blah blah...

It all translates to one or several of the following:

1. I am too cheap to support any organizations liek the NRA or GOA

2. I like to feel superior by pointing out the flaws in those groups even though they do more good for the cause than "I" ever have done or ever will do alone.

3. I have no understanding of how a beaurocracy works.

4. It's all a plot by the man to control us!

[Eghad]

Join the pro-gun group of your choice stand up an be counted. If 50% of the people who were law abiding gun owners signed up with the pro gun organization of thier choice you wouldnt hear much in Congress about gun control. politicians may not be the brightest folks sometimes but they can count. I dont see eyeball to eyeball with the NRA. However, they are active on the state and federal levels. They promote the shooting sports with training and other programs.

Its easier to break an individual stick than it is a bundle of sticks. The anti-gun forces are hoping folks will not join pro gun rights groups. Its thier mission in life to dissaude people from doing that. So you can stand alone and be silent or stand up and be counted. Every member in a pro gun organization is a nail in the coffin of gun control.

[mtnbkr]

But when the gun grabbers come and no have no ammo to ward them off because yo put all you faith in a organization to protect you will I be sitting in my bunker laughing at you.

Excuse me while I ROTFLMAO.

Chris

[mvpel]

Quote:
"The NRA supported The National Firearms Act of 1934 which taxes and requires registration of such firearms as machine guns, sawed-off rifles and sawed-off shotguns. ... NRA support of Federal gun legislation did not stop with the earlier Dodd bills. It currently backs several Senate and House bills which, through amendment, would put new teeth into the National and Federal Firearms Acts." —American Rifleman, March 1968, P. 22

Yes, but do you know what the fallback position of the anti-gunners was in 1934? Are you certain that supporting the NFA wasn't the only way to block something far more onerous?

But then again, even today we have hunters who oppose handguns and AR-15s. So not everyone is a principled supporter of gun rights.

[rem33]

Shotgun I want ya to rethink your answer a little bit and look at it from another direction.

Where do you think gun laws would be if there was no NRA in 1934, 68, 94 etc.?

My guess is the laws would be far more restrictive.

[Huntergirl]

I dropped my NRA membership for awhile and then started thinking, what does one voice do, that many more can't do better? As one poster said, reaping the benefits without participating in the work. I rejoined. Without having organizations to help us in maintaining our rights, we may have been living out the most restrictive gun legislation ever. I don't want to find out what's possible without these organizations.

[Smokey Joe]

The NRA is flawed, no question. But, who is it that the antis spend energy heaping ridicule and venom on whenever they make a public statement about organized gun owners?? Right--The NRA.

That tells me that this is the one organization that the gun grabbers fear and hate. Reason enough to support the NRA.

BTW, we should support the other groups who work for our interests, too.

Farmers get dumped on specifically because they are too darned independent, as individuals, to organize, as a rule. There is a lesson there for us.

[cuate]

It is one of the only organizations we have to battle the anti gun crowd, We have lobbyists, we have an often unfriendly news media. we have our own magazine and we have hard working officers. Very often we have our setbacks We are in no way as powerful as the House and Senate and the ilk of Schumer, Kennedy, Biden, Clinton, Kerry, Pelosi and others in the House and Senate are formidable enemies of the 2nd Amendment. Come January 1, 2007 we face these evil anti-gunners in a battle that seems never ending.

Rather than nit picking, why not support the NRA and other notable pro-gun organizations with your membership, voice. and dollars to stave off the beast in Washington. Perhaps there will be future National elections where the anti
crowd may again be turned out to pasture and a free Republic can again prevail. Join the NRA today ! I am the NRA !

[buzz_knox]

The NRA didn't act in '34 because it was still a marksmanship organization. In 1968, it started getting involved and helped keep the politicos from banning handguns. It started its lobbying campaign and organization after that fiasco. In 1994, it held the line against the AWB until some Reps crossed over and betrayed the cause. It subsequently helped throw a lot of Dems out over that issue.

If you want to say the NRA isn't perfect, I'll agree with you. If you want to say it's worthless or betrays us regularly, you're being far less than honest.

We're going to lose this war as long as RKBA organizations keep trashing each other, often with utter BS.

[WSM MAGNUM]

Shotgun, you don`t have to join any organization if you don`t want to. But the reason most people join an organization is to know what is happening on local and federal levels in their state or Congress. Also another reason for joining orgs. is info on shooting activities, hunting, and numerous other things.
So, you say your money is better spent on ammo. Well, we would`nt be able to buy ammo if we did`nt know what bills in Congress we are fighting. The whole point of joining is to get a lot votes in that sends a message to our Congressmen.
You got it all wrong when you say these orgs. disappear when we need them the most. It`s the other way around, the members disappear when they are needed to call the Congressmen to vote against a bill we don`t want.

Of course you could always wave it in front of the officer who is arresting you and plead with him but we all know how far that would go.

I don`t know what you`re trying to say by that.

[Speer]

The NRA has issues, but it's hard to get past the fact that they're the most well organized, and best funded, defender of our gun rights in the country. And as hard as they lobby, it's still an up-hill fight for them.

If you don't like the NRA, there are options, but it's better to get involved and active on some level. The gun-grabbers are powerful, influential, and won't go away.

[Northern Sod Breaker]

First of all thanks MVPEL. You are the only one who actauly addressed my question. Unlike the rest who just repeated the old NRA Line. Before I do anything I will respond to your posts. No I do not know the stituation surrounding the 34 NFA. But I do know that any organization that comprimises once is likely to do it again. And agian.

Moving on I do not buy for one second the arguement that I am free loading for not being a member of the NRA. I prefer to take my $30 and take a few friends to the range. The NRA flyers are falling on deaf ears. Think of it it this way if say some car convention came up and you were completely uninvovled in cars. Would you go just because you got a flyer in the mail? Or would you be more inclined to go if a friend invited you?

Moving on further. The NRA is a poster child. The reason the anti-gunners fear it is because it is the most well known. How effective it is is not a factor. A rattle snake is not the most deadly snake in the world yet it is still the most feared.(in this country anyway) Same logic applies to the NRA.


In conclusion this responce best summarizes my feelings on the NRA.

The NRA needs gun control efforts like a fish needs water. An example is look at how membership swelled to the highest numbers ever when Clinton was President. Without gun control efforts it would be difficult to play the fear card with gun owners.

[bobhwry]

Shotgun,
Try a spell checker before you post!! It's torturing along with your logic!!

[wayneinFL]

Where do you think gun laws would be if there was no NRA in 1934, 68, 94 etc.?

Actually the proposals that were discussed in the 20's sounded a lot like the GCA of 1968. I think it's a good thing someone pulled in the reins on that one, to what we got in the NFA. Imagine how much more quikly it would have progressed.

[Speer]

I prefer to take my $30 and take a few friends to the range.

Sure, that'll stop the gun grabbers.

The reason the anti-gunners fear it is because it is the most well known.

No. They fear it because the NRA has its act together.

How effective it is is not a factor.

Oh, yes it is.

In conclusion this responce best summarizes my feelings on the NRA.

You don't believe the NRA is sincerely committed to defending the 2nd Amendment against those who wish to toss it in the trash can?