Posted by The National Rifle Association is failing its membership and so, it is also failing this nation. I’ve been a member of the NRA over a year now. I even renewed my membership. I get the emails, the solicitations. I get a complimentary subscription to American Rifleman.
The NRA has failed to advocate for its membership beyond cries of freedom and threatening to squash any political debate. In the wake of the Newtown school shootings, it shouldn’t have to be said that the vast, vast majority of America’s gun owners are responsible, law-abiding folks. They shouldn’t have to be tarred and feathered for the actions of a crazy. But by brooking no debate over any type of gun control, the NRA allows the polar opposite view to take root when horrific events happen.
I want a national debate. Not an hysterical debate. I want to know why semi-automatic guns should be legal. I want to know why people can stockpile enough weapons to build a small army. I want to know why people should be allowed more than a handgun for self-defense and a rifle for hunting. I want to know how we stem the tide of gun violence in the inner cities.
I want to know how to make our schools safer while still preserving the very real right of self-defense that has always been cherished here. I want the public to see more evidence of what responsible gun ownership looks like. I want to see studies showing how knife killings will magically fill in the gap of gun killings were guns to be outlawed.
