doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com " United We Stand"

Originally Posted By: Jim Legg
The NRA is the only game in town.(with the organization and political muscle). The wannabes don't even come close. They serve mainly to divide gun owners who do care enough to dig into their pockets to support the fight, while accomplishing little, if anything for our cause...

I'll stand on that statement. The various Johnny-come-lately gun owners' organizations do not now, nor will they ever, have the political muscle the NRA does. What is the total membership of
all of them added together? It is my belief that many, if not all of them, were started by ex-NRA members who figure to cash in the money being spent to fight the anti-gun crowd. That money would be better spent supporting the one organization that is able to get something done.

I expect my words to speak for themselves. I'm sorry you have trouble reading them.

BTW, I looked at the IWL website. Not a word was mentioned about gun owners' rights, anywhere.

Please join any organization you like, after you join the NRA. We need your help.

Hey, folks! Ask yourself one question and then try to answer it honestly. Where do you think our gun rights would stand today if the NRA did not exist? Yes, I get tired of the constant requests for money. Do you think those requests would slow down if 20% of gun owners were members instead of 5%? I tell my non member friends that I have been supporting their lobbying group financially for about 50 years, and it's time for them to step up to the plate because I won't be alive to take care of them when they're my age, and I won't care about gun rights when I'm dead! I don't agree with everything the NRA says and does any more than I agree with everything done and said by my chosen political party. That's not the point. Although I belong to and financially support several pro gun organizations, I believe the NRA is, overall, in a position to, and has done more to fight for my second amendment rights than any other. Someone summed it well above calling the NRA "The gun owners Union".

One way to increase the membership of the NRA is to give a membership to a friend or relative, once they have it, you have a better than 50% chance that they may renew anually. I have given at least a dozen memberships in the past few years and so far, only one was not renewed....... High shcool skeet shooter that discovered girls! Oh Well! can't win em all!

Again, you can't resist pi$$ing on anyone who isn't in your club. Do you really think that helps unify gun owners? Sometimes a little less "muscle" and a lot more brain is useful. Belligerent chest-thumping has already hurt the NRA in the public's mind - why keep doing it?



From the IWLA website, their official policy statement on firearms:

Firearms Rights

1) The League supports the constitutional right of law-abiding citizens to own and use firearms.

2) The League opposes legislation or other action that would require the general registration of firearms.

3) The League objects to gun control proposals that do not address the problems of violent crime or safety; rather we support vigorous enforcement of existing firearms-related laws.

4) The League supports efforts to prevent firearms sales to or possession by felons, people found by a court of law to be mentally incompetent or insane, and people under the age of 18.

5) The League supports laws establishing severe and mandatory penalties for the use of firearms in the commission of any crime and severe penalties for flagrant misuse of firearms in any way. We oppose attempts to classify criminal activities as health care issues.

6) The League opposes federal controls on commerce in firearms and related equipment that restrict the lawful activities of private gun collectors, part-time dealers, gunsmiths, hobbyists, or black-powder users. The League opposes taxing firearms to pay for any problems other than sound conservation programs and related research.

7) Although millions of semiautomatic firearms are used legally and routinely for recreation, some legislative proposals fail to distinguish “assault weapons” from other semiautomatic firearms and would ban or restrict the legitimate use of semiautomatic sporting arms. The League calls on Congress and other legislatures to reject such proposals restricting the possession and use of semiautomatic firearms.

And this is policy from one of America's oldest and most respected outdoor organizations - policy that is consistently represented by IWLA lobbyists who work regularly with legislators on both sides of the aisle.

Legislation is not created by show-trial committee hearings where everyone poses, nor by blustering threats or press releases. It is shaped off-camera in quiet dialogue with members and their legislative aides. The Ikes are able to reach minds that are closed to the NRA.

"ban or restrict the use of semi-automatic sporting arms"?
There's no way I would support ANY organization with that as part of their platform. You're playing right into the hands of the gun-grabbers. Jim Legg got it right in his above post.
The 2nd Ammendment is NOT about hunting or sport shooting. It's about having the RIGHT to defend yourself and your family with what's best that's currently available. That "no legitimate sporting use" B.S, is what got us the last assault rifle ban,high capacity magazine ban etc.
REMEMBER: Controlling firearms is the first step to registration and ultimately confiscation. This is the goal of the gun grabbers.
Jim

Italiansxs,

I believe you misread item 7 above. They are not advocating the banning or resrticting, they are rejecting that language. The weakness in the above statement is that they seem to only acknowledge the protection of semi-autos with sporting purposes.

David:
Please note I was changing that quote at the time of your post. This organization whose platform this came from has fallen into the "good guns bad guns" syndrome. The gun grabbers don't believe there are good guns but they'll go along with it for now as they chip away at our rights. This is precisely what happened in Great Britian. Now they're trying to ban swords there!
Jim

Italiansxs,

Agreed. The Second Amendment is not about hunting or target shooting. Furthermore, the Bill of Rights is indivisable. There's a columnist at the LA Times who wants us to believe it is.

When dealing with investments,life and right to bear arms I prefer to use the "best in class" rule.Join any group you want but hands down no one has stood up for gun owners better than the NRA. Thats where more gun owners have joined than any other group.Numbers make a big differnce when it comes to votes.

I was just reading the information above about the IWLA. Now, I ahve been around guns all my life and while I may not be the brightest bulb on the tree, I have never heard of the IWLA before. Not to mention that I have never, ever heard that organization mentioned when it comes to gun rights, legislation, lobbyists, etc. Name and brand recognition is a hallmark of the NRA and that carries alot of weight.

Now I am sure that the IWLA is a noble and jsut organization that wants to help preserve the 2nd ammendment and if that is your cup of tea, then so be it. There is still no reason you cannot be a member af the IWLA and the NRA.