Feb 13, 2019

Issues With The NRA




I'm a supporter of the 2nd Amendment. Although that is a right which I defend, as an engaged citizen I appreciate living in a society of laws. There are rights and laws, and we can all live within them. I do not blindly consider every regulation as a curtailment of my rights, or as a slippery slope which will erode them, as does the NRA.  I can exercise my rights in a responsible manner, without purposefully provoking those who feel differently about this issue.

Each November the NRA sends its current and former members a card telling them whom they should vote for in their district, to protect their 2nd Amendment rights. Although their member magazine often features hunting rifles, the organization must also think of their members as sheep, who should only care about one issue. As Americans we should guard our right to own firearms,  but never tolerate being told how to vote.

I support Americans For Responsible Solutions, the group started by Mark Kelly and  Gabby Giffords.  They both value their right to own a fireman,  but appreciate the need for greater controls against irresponsible ownership.

Shown above is a 38 special, gifted upon Frank Sinatra by the Miami Beach Police & Firemen's Association.  

reprinted from February of 2018

UPDATE FEBRUARY 13, 2019: Former astronaut and fighter pilot Mark Kelly has announced his candidacy for Arizona's senate seat as a Democrat. Although I tend conservative, Kelly is a Democrat who has my support.

26 comments:

  1. Thank you for this blog post, Michael!

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  2. robert@5:32, to be more personally revealing than usual..... in 2014 I ran as an independent for state rep. the NRA sent a card recommending that voters in the district choose the republican incumbent. as a strong supporter of the 2nd, I know that their support of her was on autopilot... incumbent republican candidates covet those recommendations, and fill out applications accordingly. if a voter's agenda was solely the 2nd, their vote would have been as protected with me. I understand that my candidacy as an independent was under their radar, however, if they want to recommend, perhaps they should do more research.

    since then I find their rigid slippery slope attitude toward any reform tone deaf.

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  3. You don't live in Arizona. Are you planning to move there? By the way, Gifford was shot by a man everyone knew was insane if memory serves me correctly. Restricting the second amendment won't solve the problem of insane people shooting other people, fixing our nation's badly broken mental health protections and programs would be the proper vehicle for that.

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  4. The NRA represents firearms manufacturers. Firearms owners are nothing more than fuel for their fire. I dropped my membership over twenty years ago when it became clear that they didn’t really represent me.

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  5. With all the crazy crap --- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's pie-in-the-sky, unrealistic, economy destroying "Green New Deal", for example --- the extreme and completely unhinged Democrat Party has been putting forth lately, it is more important than ever to remember why the Founding Fathers thought it was imperative for the citizens to have the right to bear arms and defend themselves : so the citizenry would have the ability to deal with an overbearing, overreaching government which seeks to oppress the citizenry's precious freedoms and liberties, of course!

    Vegan Presidential candidate Corey Booker's stated desire to fundamentally transform American dietary habits, to speak nothing Booker's hidden desire to slaughter the United States' lucrative meat industry, certainly can not be doing very much to inspire much faith in Democrat Party politicians these days.

    The Open Borders Policy being pursued by Nancy Pelosi, Chucky Schumer and the rest of the Democrat Crime Family, um, er, ah, Party, also certainly can not being doing very much to motivate many people to want to repeal the Second Amendment, either.

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  6. Where do I start with this post? The whole premise of the post is built on the incorrect assumption that more gun regulations will make us safer. They don't.

    At best, the anti-gun laws offer a false sense of security. It's no coincidence that areas with the strictest gun control laws also have the highest murder rates. The law-abiding are stripped of their ability to defend themselves against criminals, making them easy prey.

    Most of the "common-sense gun control" proposals won't stop a single gun crime from occurring, and those who peddle such proposals know it. But it IS a slippery slope, since when that "solution" fails (as designed), the next (harsher) "solution" will then be proposed. The goal of these "gun safety" groups is the same - banning the legal ownership of firearms.

    There are already proposals in this country for such things as high taxes on ammunition, gun registration, and banning certain weapons based on the way they LOOK. Some of these radical proposals have already been implemented in certain areas of the country. So I find those who deny the slippery slope argument as somewhat detached from reality.


    Many mass shooters have posted on social media well before they commit their acts. Maybe we should require someone from the government to review all social media posts and mass e-mails before they are posted. Or maybe licenses for bloggers and newspapers, so the government can decide if they're a threat or not.

    Most Americans would rightly recoil at such proposals, since freedom of speech is a Constitutionally-protected right. Ironically, some of those same Americans are blind to the harm in restricting our Second Amendment rights.

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  7. scott@7:01, i'm not for restricting the 2nd amendment, I'm against the NRA telling members and former members how to vote.

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  8. Leave it to the left to slander people and organisations that hold political positions opposite their own.The NRA has been around since 1871. The NRA like any other organisation has a right to engage constitutional and legislative issues. This they do very effectively and that's why the left has put a huge target on their backs.

    The only thing worse than a constitutional right to bear arms is a government that has the power to prevent private ownership of firearms. Don't doubt for a moment this is the goal of the anti gun left. As with their recently withdrawn GND they routinely reveal themselves as the radicals. The NRA and gun owners are not the problem. Those who wish to continually empower the government with new powers are the problem.

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  9. Mike,

    Does Planned Parenthood tell people how to vote? You bet they do! And they get tax dollars to do it. The NRA has every right to engage in speech and the political process. That's as American as apple pie.

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  10. unknown@8:25, having been a long time target shooter, I'm very familiar with the 2nd, and gun culture. As you know, there are already restrictions on the 2nd. Not to incite you, but I also believe that the carry laws could use some fine tuning.... in some places they're too tight, and others too loose.

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  11. michael molovinsky said...

    "i'm not for restricting the 2nd amendment, I'm against the NRA telling members and former members how to vote."


    That's interesting, since you're supporting Kelly. His organization (technically his wife's) does the same thing.

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  12. Plus Kelly IS for restricting the Second Amendment.


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  13. Wouldn't it be fun to see somebody research and post the total number of federal, state and local (not to mention 'private') gun restrictions we live under? I am not a gun owner (never even held one) but to suggest that a few more 'restrictions' is all we need ignores two words: 'slippery slope.'
    Also, advising members and readers of which candidates best represent their interest as gun owners is much less offensive than minority groups, lead in many cases by churches, hiring buses to literally take people to polling places. Not a peep from the left.

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  14. Off topic, but Schreiber's Bridge once again received a death sentence yesterday.

    (https://www.mcall.com/news/local/allentown/mc-nws-allentown-parkway-apartments-20190208-story.html)

    Allentown Planners approved two five-story apartment buildings just west of Regency Towers and just south of Schreiber's Bridge. 163 "Luxury" units and 243 parking spaces. Parking spaces equals cars, many of which will likely use Schreiber's Bridge to leave their area.

    You would think that City Planners would recognize that another multi-story building is inappropriate adjacent to the Parkway. Or that the traffic from the development would have an adverse effect on the Bridge. Or that approving such a development will likely lead to a traffic light on MLK at Schreiber's Bridge, further diminishing MLK Boulevard's design as an easy way into and out of the city. Or that the area near the bridge routinely floods during heavy rains, which will cause traffic to snarl along Jefferson Street as those living in the new units (and their visitors) will be forced to use alternate routes during significant rain events.

    But all that seems to be little concern to the Planners, and to our appointed, interim Mayor, his Administration. It also seems to escape our rubber-stamping City Council, none of whom appeared (individually) at the meeting to object to the proposal, or have done anything collectively to adjust the zoning in that area that allows this travesty.

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  15. Can someone explain why more gun laws are the answer.Current guns laws don't seem to be enforced.

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  16. William Sherman said...

    Can someone explain why more gun laws are the answer. Current guns laws don't seem to be enforced.


    Because people who commit gun crimes, who are currently ignoring laws against shooting people, WILL follow laws that prevent them from getting a gun in the first place.

    Yes, that's heavy on the sarcasm.

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  17. In the coming progressive liberal society only the police will be trusted with the right to bear arms.

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  18. Just to wrap up, judging by the insanity sweeping the Democratic Party I can't vote for anyone who would be a part of the lunacy. Yes, I am a single issue voter, the issue is the Democratic Party has become dangerously radicalized.

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  19. I have yet to hear any announced Democratic candidate for President announce their radical gun confiscation positions. I wonder why ?

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  20. There are an estimated twelve though gun laws in the United States.

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  21. Unknown 10:18 a.m.....I'm sure MM will handle this issue, but the Morning Call glowing said these two apartment buildings are geared to Millennials. What can that be: special ventilation for vaping, a first floor Starbucks, Planned Parenthood surgical room? Just wondering. I suppose these 'luxury apartments' (aren't they all these days?) will be filled with those young, bright Americans who still must say on mommy and daddy's medical program.

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  22. Correction: There are an estimated 20,000
    gun laws in the United States.

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  23. Michael, we don't always agree but you live your values. You are a true independent. Some people use sloganeering as a substitute for critical thinking, but I respect you because you don't.

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  24. Unwillingness to Enforce Borders / National Sovereignty = Lawlessness

    Lawlessness = Guns More Important Than Ever For What Should Be Clearly Obvious Reasons

    Have a pleasant night's sloganeering, um, er, ah, sleep.

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  25. It is a slippery slope, don't be fooled into thinking that compromising on gun ownership and registration will be the end of the matter, It is always more, until the day when they use a crisis to confiscate everyone's weapons, that is the end game don't doubt it. Their first goal is registration, to know who has what. Mandatory background checks on private sales will accomplish registration. The progressives goal is to eliminate the private ownership of guns. As for the NRA, as a civil rights organization their duty is to inform their members who supports their rights. They study politicians voting records and inform their members. Why else would anyone be a member. Kelley and his wife are good tools to be used by the anti-gun big government lobby.

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