I originally posted this in the forums at Gun Nuts, but I figure I might as well open it up to people who aren’t likely to find it there.
The topic of conversation was whether or not the NRA, in the press conference today, made a good showing on the subject of a response to the Sandy Hook tragedy. My verdict: Absolutely not.
Full disclosure, I’ve been an NRA member for years; as was my father and his father before him. Today I have pledged to not renew my membership.
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I am one who thinks the NRA Press conference was a failure.
I agree that the School Shield was a well-conceived and reasonable solution to the primary problem we’re dealing with, when discussing mass shooting tragedies at schools. Something of that nature, if followed through, will do much more to deter future tragedies than banning specific types of weapons. So, yes, Bravo to NRA on that.
The major point of failure for me on the conference, however, was the absolute and total failure of the NRA to discuss guns. You know, those things we join the organization to hopefully protect our right to keep owning? The things in the NRA emblem? The things that *every single other organization and media outlet are discussing right now*? Where is the NRA on the subject of guns? Don’t know. They didn’t say.
While I applaud the initiative to protect schools through tighter security, the NRA is neither an acknowledged security nor education expert, and their members (myself formerly among them) do not contribute in order to specifically help influence debates in those two territories. The reason we are (or were) members of the NRA is to ensure that the conversation on gun rights in America is conducted along lines we can approve of.
Today, in breaking its week-long silence on Sandy Hook, the NRA spoke for almost an hour in a nationally televised press conference and they will be quoted and re-quoted endlessly in all of the major media outlets. Yet they did not say a single meaningful word about guns. They remained silent on the gun control measures proposed by President Obama. They neither opposed his plan nor approved of it and absolutely failed to present any meaningful alternatives.
I tuned in to the NRA conference to see the organization my family has supported for three generations take the lead on the issue that is at risk of dividing our nation. After a week-long period of “respectful silence,” their response was to essentially clap their hands over their ears and pretend the conversation isn’t happening. And then blame Hollywood and videogames.
In most states in this union, you must take an eye exam before getting a driver’s license. You must take a written test on traffic laws and pass an on-site driving test to ensure you can safely operate your vehicle. Then you must register your vehicle and pay a tax on the use of the roadways. I am a believer in the 2nd Amendment and the freedoms it grants us. I do not believe a ban on “assault weapons” will prevent future atrocities. But I find it patently absurd that we must jump through more administrative hoops in order to drive a car than to purchase a combat weapon. I have paid fees, taken training, submitted to investigation and passed certification in order to carry a concealed firearm in my state – and I did so willingly. I would happily jump through hoops before purchasing an assault rifle. But if we are not willing to even discuss that, then the subject of a ban is what will be on the table. The discussion will be bans, not controls. The “takers” will be leading the debate, as they are right now.
The President and his administration are proposing bans. They are saying “we want your ARs.” The NRA, by saying nothing, is essentially repeating the refrain of: “cold, dead hands.” Between the two extremes of “I want your ARs” and “cold, dead hands” there is a wide, wide margin for reasonable debate and consensus. Today I was hoping the NRA, as the nation’s foremost gun rights advocate, would take the lead on getting us there. Instead they pointed fingers and looked the other way and perpetuated the polarity that threatens to drive this nation apart.
As the saying goes, you can either lead, follow or get out of the way. This past presidential election was not a victory for Democrats, it was a defeat for right-wing polarity. The NRA needs to realize that the battle is lost and either lead in a new direction or get out of the way so that someone else can.
Gaming, internet, television. Repeat. It’s your life. We’re not judging.
The eight of us are sitting in what used to be the living room of a three story house in Dupont Circle, on the receiving end of what seems like an endless train of speeches and presentations. We hear about our insurance, we get the brief on how the company was founded and we get bludgeoned over the head with more detail than we need about how the technology works.
Now that 
The job, I can now tell you, is to be