Many years later, after my military service, I again joined the NRA. After 3 of my friends were shot (2 killed) in 3 different robberies, I got a gun permit for concealed carry. The NRA sounded sane to me then and did make some points I consider valid even today.
I dropped my membership a few years later when it became apparent that the organization had morphed into a rabid, intractable, and fear mongering arm of the gun lobby. While I believe in the principals outlined in the second amendment whereby a responsible citizen can own a gun, I don't believe that right to be paramount over all else. The NRA of today believes that the right to own a gun supersedes all other rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
On 2/22/2018, I received the following email from the NRA.
 |
DATE:
|
February 22, 2018
|
TO:
|
USF & NRA Member and Friends
|
FROM:
|
Marion P. Hammer
|
USF Executive Director
| |
NRA Past President
|
In the wake of an atrocious act of premeditated murder, an organized effort to bully legislators into passing legislation to hijack your Second Amendment rights is underway.
The gun control faction is out in full force, determined to use the senseless murder of the students and adults at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School as an excuse to promote their gun ban agenda.
Numerous gun control proposals that have been mentioned include:
1.) Waiting periods on long guns
2.) Raising age limits on the purchase of long guns
3.) Age limits on possession of semi-automatic rifles
4.) Ban of so-called “assault weapons”
5.) Ban of “bump-stocks”
6.) Removing the exemption for concealed weapons license holders from the existing waiting period on handguns
Please email or call your legislators IMMEDIATELY and ask them to focus on fixing our broken mental health system and improving school security, not punishing law-abiding gun owners because of the act of a deranged criminal.
Please EMAIL the following members of the Legislature IMMEDIATELY and tell them NO GUN CONTROL. Urge them to provide armed security in schools and tighten mental health laws to keep guns out of the hands of those who are a danger to themselves or others.
IN THE SUBJECT LINE PUT: GUN CONTROL Won’t Protect our Children
----------------------------------
The email letter went on to list the email addresses of members of Congress that could be copied into an email protesting any changes to gun laws, excepting the few items mentioned above.
To further entice me back into the fold, they offered me some gifts if I would but send them $30.
 |
| Wow, a Tactical Backpack or Fleece Pullover, how tempting. |
Sorry, Wayne LaPierre and Marion Hammer, your rhetoric still sounds like the evangelical ramblings of the gun lobby without even a modicum of rational thought. Contact me again when you consider universal background checks against a national database for all gun sales both public and private.
For those of you in Florida who would like to contact the list of our Florida leaders, the NRA so graciously provided, you too can copy and paste their addresses into an email with your own opinion on gun control.
IN THE SUBJECT LINE YOU MIGHT PUT:
- SUPPORT UNIVERSAL BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR ALL GUN SALES
- ELIMINATE QUICK CHANGE HIGH CAPACITY MAGAZINES IN SEMI AUTOMATIC LONG GUNS
- SUPPORT ESTABLISHMENT OF DATABASE FOR HIGH RISK INDIVIDUALS WHO SHOULD NOT OWN WEAPONS
OR ANY TOPIC OF YOUR CHOOSING.
You might want to copy these addresses into the BCC (blind carbon copy) TO line of your email program if yours has that option. Put yourself or just one of the individuals below in the main TO line.
SENATE
baxley.dennis@flsenate.gov,
bean.aaron@flsenate.gov,
benacquisto.lizbeth@flsenate.gov,
bradley.rob@flsenate.gov,
brandes.jeff@flsenate.gov,
broxson.doug@flsenate.gov,
flores.anitere@flsenate.gov,
gainer.george@flsenate.gov,
galvano.bill@flsenate.gov,
garcia.rene@flsenate.gov,
grimsley.denise@flsenategov,
hukill.dorothy@flsenate.gov,
hutson.travis@flsenate.gov,
lee.tom@flsenate.gov,
mayfield.debbie@flsenategov,
negron.joe@flsenate.gov,
passidomo.kathleen@flsenate.gov,
perry.keith@flsenate.gov,
simmons.david@flsenate.gov,
simpson.wilton@flsenate.gov,
stargel.kelli@flsenate.gov,
steube.greg@flsenate.gov,
young.dana@flsenate.gov,
HOUSE
larry.ahern@myfloridahouse.gov,
ben.albritton@myfloridahouse.gov,
Thad.Altman@myfloridahouse.gov
Bryan.Avila@myfloridahouse.gov,
Halsey.Beshears@myfloridahouse.gov,
michael.bileca@myfloridahouse.gov,
jim.boyd@myfloridahouse.gov,
jason.brodeur@myfloridahouse.gov,
danny.burgess@myfloridahouse.gov,
Colleen.Burton@myfloridahouse.gov,
cord.byrd@myfloridahousegov,
matt.caldwell@myfloridahouse.gov,
Chuck.Clemons@myfloridahouse.gov,
neil.combee@myfloridahouse.gov,
richard.corcoran@myfloridahouse.gov,
Bob.Cortes@myfloridahouse.gov,
travis.cummings@myfloridahouse.gov,
jose.diaz@myfloridahousegov,
Manny.Diaz@myfloridahouse.gov,
Byron.Donalds@myfloridahouse.gov,
brad.drake@myfloridahouse.gov,
Dane.Eagle@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jay.Fant@myfloridahouse.gov,
Randy.Fine@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jason.Fischer@myfloridahouse.gov,
Heather.Fitzenhagen@myfloridahouse.gov,
Julio.Gonzalez@myfloridahouse.gov,
tom.goodson@myfloridahouse.gov,
Erin.Grall@myfloridahouse.gov,
james.grant@myfloridahouse.gov,
Michael.Grant@myfloridahouse.gov,
Joe.Gruters@myfloridahouse.gov,
bill.hager@myfloridahouse.gov,
Don.Hahnfeldt@myfloridahouse.gov,
gayle.harrell@myfloridahouse.gov,
shawn.harrison@myfloridahouse.gov,
Blaise.Ingoglia@myfloridahouse.gov,
clay.ingram@myfloridahouse.gov,
Sam.Killebrew@myfloridahouse.gov,
Mike.LaRosa@myfloridahouse.gov,
Chris.Latvala@myfloridahouse.gov,
Tom.Leek@myfloridahouse.gov,
MaryLynn.Magar@myfloridahouse.gov,
Amber.Mariano@myfloridahouse.gov,
Ralph.Massullo@myfloridahouse.gov,
Stan.McClain@myfloridahouse.gov,
Lawrence.McClure@myfloridahouse.gov,
larry.metz@myfloridahouse.gov,
Alex.Miller@myfloridahouse.gov,
Mike.Miller@myfloridahouse.gov,
george.moraitis@myfloridahouse.gov,
jeanette.nunez@myfloridahouse.gov,
jose.oliva@myfloridahouse.gov,
Bobby.Olszewski@myfloridahouse.gov,
Daniel.Perez@myfloridahouse.gov,
bobby.payne@myfloridahouse.gov,
Kathleen.Peters@myfloridahouse.gov,
Cary.Pigman@myfloridahouse.gov,
Scott.Plakon@myfloridahouse.gov,
Rene.Plasencia@myfloridahouse.gov,
mel.ponder@myfloridahouse.gov,
elizabeth.porter@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jake.Raburn@myfloridahouse.gov,
Holly.Raschein@myfloridahouse.gov,
Paul.Renner@myfloridahouse.gov,
Ray.Rodrigues@myfloridahouse.gov,
Bob.Rommel@myfloridahouse.gov,
Rick.Roth@myfloridahousegov,
david.santiago@myfloridahouse.gov,
ross.spano@myfloridahouse.gov,
Chris.Sprowls@myfloridahouse.gov,
cyndi.stevenson@myfloridahouse.gov,
Charlie.Stone@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jennifer.Sullivan@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jackie.Toledo@myfloridahouse.gov,
carlos.trujillo@myfloridahouse.gov,
Jay.Trumbull@myfloridahouse.gov,
frank.white@myfloridahouse.gov,
jayer.williamson@myfloridahouse.gov,
clay.yarborough@myfloridahouse.gov,
No comments:
Post a Comment