N.R.A. (…or...the far Right to Bear Arms)
The National Rifle Association was first
chartered after the Civil War in New York State, as a result of the previous
war’s length, possibly owing to the inability of the Northern soldiers to shoot
accurately. It was estimated that the greater
number of shots fired by Northern troops during the war and the lesser amount
by Southern forces indicated an inability of the former to hit anything. Of course, in extended retrospect, it may
have been the result of an economic necessity.
Subsequent emphases by the newly organized not-for-profit N.R.A. organization
included marksmanship, hunting, and target shooting for the years leading up to
World War II. Even after World War II,
the N.R.A. was an organization promoting the appropriate use of firearms for
hunting and shooting
Sounds
almost rational. That was then…this is
now.
Recent History - During the late 1960’s, the more
pastoral and idyllic pursuits of the earlier organization to pursue hunting
rights and sport shooting had led the N.R.A.
to consider moving from Washington DC to Colorado. Not so.
Other reactive leadership planned a coup, and a new leader Neal Knox emerged
in the late 1970’s confronting a befuddled and diverse membership with the
opportunities and challenges to become truly a “gun lobby.”
After that, the
paranoiac 1970’s were punctuated by fears of revolution (SDS, Black Panthers),
social unrest (Vietnam), federal intervention (Pine Ridge), etc. In fact, the evolution of the N.R.A. to a
politically powerful enterprise proved so successful that Mr. Knox remained at
the helm for nearly two decades in a stormy relationship, which included his
leaving and returning to the N.R.A. on several occasions. In 1997, the election committee dethroned Knox
and his associate Harlon Carter to provide ultimate leadership for then executive
vice president Wayne La Pierre. From the
beginning, LaPierre was clamorous about the N.R.A.’s real power, “the greatest
fund raising engine this country has ever seen” (Knox, Neal. Neal Knox – The
Gun Rights War: Dispatches from the Front Lines 1966 - 2000. MacFarlane Press. 2009). The N.R.A. we have all come to know was born.
Big Money Talks - If anyone understood the significance
of money and its influence, it was Wayne LaPierre, who himself later underwent
audits for his questionable fiscal relationships with business groups connected
to the N.R.A. Even today, LaPierre is careful to maintain
his over $1 million salary (Charity Watch).
In 1995, LaPierre, historically infamous for throwing verbal accelerant
on fires (see his latest ludicrous speech regarding the appalling tragedy in
Newtown), also publicly described the federal agents who went into the Waco,
Texas, Branch Davidian camp as “jack-booted government thugs.” The negative reaction
was swift. Even the former N.R.A.
President Bush I resigned his membership.
In order to
avoid the pressures of scrutiny or (worse) investigation on front pages, the
organization was quick to appoint a new vice-president and spokesman in the
character of one Charlton Heston. They
needed a front man. You might remember Heston’s
famous speech at the 2000 NRA convention, the former Planet of the Apes star
attacking Al Gore and, while brandishing an old flintlock, announcing “From my
cold, dead hands.” Enough of the
ludicrous, but it worked.
And now. While
Wayne LaPierre, especially in his latest incoherent diatribe this last week against
every possible influence but the N.R.A., wants us all to believe that he and
his organization are not a party to, not responsible for, not complicit in, nor
even capable of ameliorating our nation’s recurrent bloodletting in any way, a clear
memory proves differently. Quite the
opposite, the ground underneath us falls away at even a short-lived list of the
events that took the lives of so many innocents in Newtown, Ct; the Sikh Temple
members in Oak Creek, WI; the movie-goers in Aurora, CO; the coffee shop in
Seattle, WA; the five African Americans in Tulsa, OK; the seven at Oikos
College in Oakland, CA; and those killed and injured in Chardon, Ohio; twelve
in Carson City, NV; a congresswoman and others in Tucson, AZ; - - - - Northern Illinois University,
Virginia Tech., Omaha Mall, Littleton, Colorado, etc. and etc. and etc.
Complicit? Here is a short but sobering collection of what
Wayne LaPierre and his N.R.A. have been responsible for doing in just the last
twenty years:
Opposing
an attempt to prevent those on the “no fly” list (possible terrorists) from
gaining possession of guns
(http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x8343417).
Opposing
any gun dealers from reporting to the ATF multiple sales of shotguns or rifles
of any type including those who sell to criminals( http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406045.html).
Spending
over $2 million last year on political activity – nearly $30 million since 1998, including
significant sums last year to prevent the election of Barack Obama
Blocking
the selection of a director to the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms regulatory commission
of the Federal Government for more than half a decade. Their paid puppets in the Senate use the
filibuster rule to prevent any discussion of an appointment, leaving the bureau
without any teeth to enforce rules
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406045.html
).
Killing
any attempt by the ATF to keep, maintain and report gun dealer records from a
centralized computerized data- base, to analyze gun sales for trafficking
patterns
Reducing
the inspections of gun dealers by the ATF to no more than once per year
Exempting
ATF’s gun-trace database from the Freedom of Information Act through the
Tiahart Amendment. [See Todd Tiahart –
Republican Rep. from Kansas] The bill
makes the search, pursuit and arrest of individuals involved in purchasing and
selling of illegal guns almost impossibly difficult ( http://protectpolice.org/facts ).
Maintaining
a bizarre and inappropriate anti-Obama website which demonstrates a paranoia even
Karl Rove would avoid. Get there fast,
because they are about to dismantle this insane artifact. (http://www.gunbanobama.com/ ) .
Pushing
the House Democrats as well as others to “actively avoid” any effort to restore
the assault weapons ban for fear of their own re-elections. 65 Democrats indicated to Attorney General
Holder they wanted no changes to the Assault Weapon Ban (
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406045.html).
Finally,
I remained unsurprised that the latest executive board member – of all people –
Grover Norquist on Sunday, December 23,
2012, ABC’s This Week, attempted to defend LaPierre’s latest invective : “We
ought to calm down and not take tragedies like this, crimes like this, and use
them for political purposes. President
Obama has been president for four years. If he thought some gun control could
solve this problem, he should have been pushing it years ago” ( http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/12/grover-norquist-obama-and-democrats-using-newtown-for-political-purposes/
). Grover and Wayne’s similar urgings
that more guns for protection against a tide of evil doers was the best answer
had all the theater of a Dr. Strangelove moment – except for the dead-on
seriousness and tragedy we all face.
Tired of it all
yet? Had enough of this cyclical self-destruction? Why not call your senator or representative
to tell them “I have had enough. Do
something. And, by the way, expose those
who would undermine the ATF!”
Contact your Federal
Legislator!
Disclosure: I hold an F.O.I.D. card. I have hunted in my past. I was a rifle-trained Boy Scout. I believe in the Second Amendment, but that
we must limit access to weapons of mass murder, allow for the open research of
misuse of weaponry in our country, and create appropriate and careful oversight
for access to any weapons.
No comments:
Post a Comment