The National Rifle Association is suffering a sudden onset of amnesia this week, as the gun lobby cuts a deal to exempt itself from the latest Congressional attempt to repeal the First Amendment. NRA members may soon regret the organization’s bid to ingratiate itself with Democrats at the expense of its longtime free-speech allies.
URGENT ALERT: NRA cuts deals to limit free speech
Three prominent Washington D.C. websites are reporting what many capitol insiders warned of: the National Rifle Association has made a deal with the devil (i.e. anti-gun Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid) to limit the free speech of Americans in exchange for their carved-out exemption.
While some pro-gun rights advocates may think free speech does not matter or that nothing another gun advocacy group does should ever be questioned, the National Association for Gun Rights and I take a very different view.
Without the right to free speech, we are defenseless in the battle to save our Second Amendment rights.
Let me be clear: restricting our First Amendment rights is the first step to stripping us of our Second Amendment rights, and should be resisted at every turn.
We don’t care who you are or what an organization may have done in the past – we only care about whether your actions will promote or harm our rights.
And frankly, this craven deal by the NRA will damage our gun rights and our free speech rights. After you read up on the facts, I ask you to give the NRA an earful by calling 1-800-672-3888 and insist they renounce the deal with Pelosi and Reid. Believe me, it is not too late if you will get involved.
* http://www.redstate.com/erick/2010/06/14/yet-again-the-nra-sells-out-to-democrats/
* http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0610/38500.html
* http://www.campaignfreedom.org/newsroom/detail/shotgun-sellout-house-democrats-cut-special-deal-with-nra
Though at first objecting to the DISCLOSE Act, which would radically limit the free speech of organizations and thus, gun owners, the NRA has now agreed to an exemption for their organization (and other mammoth, mostly liberal, organizations like AARP and probably Moveon.org) in exchange for support of the Democrats’ bill.
This legislation would place draconian limitations on the ability of organizations to voice their opinions on politicians, and by extension, their legislation. The chilling effect on free speech would be difficult to overstate.
Along with their tacit endorsement of Senator Harry Reid, the NRA is signaling that they trust the Democrats will spare the Second Amendment from further assaults.
But that’s a strategy of appeasement, and to put it bluntly, it’s insane. It just delays the inevitable.
Winston Churchill addressed this strategy when he said “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
Background:
This is not the only time the NRA has cut a deal to harm gun owners and gun rights in the glare of an anti-gun media frenzy.
Just a three years ago, the NRA joined with arch gun-hater Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) to pass H.R. 2640, the Veteran’s Disarmament Act. When gun control advocates saw the Virginia Tech shootings as an opportunity to pass gun control, the NRA immediately signed the documents of surrender and actively lobbied Congress to pass legislation that will disarm tens of thousands of Americans, including veterans.
Why did they do that? Frankly, they were more concerned with what the media and Washington power-bosses were saying than their loyal-to-a-fault members.
Similarly in 2004 when, desperate to pass the Firearms Manufacturers’ Lawsuits Protection bill, the NRA dangled a re-authorization of the Clinton Assault Weapons ban in front of hungry politicians. The deal was going to be that if anti-gun politicians voted for the Lawsuit Protection bill, the NRA would not oppose re-authorization of the sun-setting Clinton Gun Ban.
Thankfully, a coalition of groups led by the National Association for Gun Rights joined together to kill that deal by exposing it to the light of honest gun owners across this nation… just like we are doing now. In that fight, after a few weeks of excuses and covering their tracks, the NRA backed off of the deal, the Lawsuit Protection Bill still passed and the Clinton Gun Ban ended.
What can you do?
Tell the NRA you’ve had enough, and urge them to kill the DISCLOSE Act, not cut a deal to pass it. Call them at 1-800-672-3888 today, as it may be too late tomorrow.
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NRA endorses Harry Reid
From Right to Left.
Sen Harry Reid, Wayne LaPierre (NRA), Chris Cox (NRA)
LaPierre goes out on Tea Party Rally Day in Searchlight, Nevada ( the same day ) to meet with Harry Reid instead of going to the Tea Party event. If he did not want to go to the Tea Party fine, but to go see Harry Reid????? sheesh!
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Wild Thing’s comment……..
This is shocking, I never knew the NRA was like this.
I never joined any of the gun groups before. Then last year the NRA had a special price running for their membership so I joined the NRA. This latest news shows me not to renew or stay a member any longer. That is why I hate to join things too easily, a person never knows what turns they will take later on.
I went to google and there is another group Gun Owners of America, so far I don’t think they have ever compromised our rights.
From Gun Owners of America website:
House Democrats Close to Reinstituting Penalties for Criticizing Congress
Obama Moves to Silence Gun Groups and Other Political Opponents — Bill clears committee hurdle, going to the House floor soon
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….Thank you Mark for sending this to me.
Mark
3rd Mar.Div. 1st Battalion 9th Marine Regiment
1/9 Marines aka The Walking Dead
VN 66-67
Something is happening in the NRA that is just not consistent with their message. They just endorsed the current OH Gov.-D because he has always supported them. They always seem to support the Repub. However, challenger Kasich had one F due to support of a measure in a bill that was anti-gun years ago. Sounds like money is talking to someone somewhere…
As a voting member I can’t stop infiltration of subversives to the organization. I take my NRA voting privilege extremely seriously. Remember when GHW Bush threw the NRA under the bus, he was a member of the NRA to get their endorsement and ratings, then for political convenience he turned and shit on all of us. I see some real dandies on the ballot when it comes around and it takes days of digging and research to finally decide on my choice. It gets harder every year and you don’t get to be a voting member by being a part time member.
If you believe in freedom and the Constitution you have to protect the bill of rights and there is one amendment that protects all the rest, the second amendment!!!
Jan I hope Ken Blackwell is running again he is a good man and would do well by Ohians. I voted for him last time but we moved since then, hopefully a Republican will win. It was the current Governors administration who dug out the dirt on Joe the Plumber, A Private citizen who disagreed with obama and this guy is endorsed by the NRA, they are playing the ends against the middle and all that can happen is they get burnt, they are the AARP of Gun Rights only when it suits their purpose.
As far as I’m concerned if Bush threw the NRA under the bus that’s where they can stay. A few years ago there was a Bill in congress, I don’t think it went anywhere but the NRA was supporting it. The part that rubbed me the wrong way was the part that Veterans(The implied point was that we are crazy, may well be true but you can’t have a LIMITEED Second Amendment either.) would not be allowed to have guns and the NRA supported it. I wrote and asked them about it and they didn’t deny it nor confirm it. I then told them ‘don’t piss down my back and tell me its raining’. After that I never renewed my membership.
When I vote for NRA board members, I always look at the ones not recommended by the nominating committee and usually vote for them. I figure they’re not locked in step with the powers that be in the NRA and that’s why they’re not supporting them.
My NRA membership is up for renewal soon. If they threw the rest of American under the bus to get themselves a sweet deal, than I’m through with them. This stinks of the deal the unions got concerning Obamacare. I’m not going to sacrifice one right to keep another.
I just saw this congress to institute penalties for critisizing congress. When have they ever been beyond reproach, these dumb bastards can’t even read, if they could they would have read all this lousy legislation and not passed it, and they are above criticisism. What a bunch of candy assed yellow striped pansys.
“John from here I can see November”, Rodent Extermination month.
Things are going to get mor complex from here toNov. Hopefully something will happen to keep the BP money tied up. There is enough bailout money going into the DNC already. r
Mark – Ken Blackwell is not running right now.Would love to see him again though… But we have some great people on the ballot representing the good guys – Kasich (gov), Josh Mandel (St. Treas & 2-time Iraqi vet), Rob Portman (Sen). Rob is running against Lee Fisher whom the dems dug out of the attic, dusted him off and put him on the ballot. Something is amiss in his campaign as managers are dropping out like flies. Denny K. is running again and seems to have that locked up no matter who runs against him. He is blessed with a dependant and uninformed constituency in a depressed market. Perfect storm for a dem…. I can’t wait till we can get rid of Brown!