Fixing The NRA And Protecting Our Rights....Neal Knox And How The Past Repeats Itself

Gun rights in America are under attack right now at a level we haven't seen in years. But at this time when we need the NRA to speak with a strong and united voice, it is riven by controversy and almost Missing In Action. There are accusations of misuse of organizations funds (translation: member contributions meant to be used defending our rights) and accusations that the organization outsiders accuse of being uncompromising actually compromises with gun controllers TOO much.

What is the truth? How can we get back to having a strong, united NRA in time for the 2020 elections? People around the country are asking themselves these questions. This book (Amazon link) can help by shedding light on the NRA's past problems which still exist today. I have been devouring this book since yesterday and want to urge you to read it too.

"The Gun Rights War" was published in 2009 but I only heard about it recently. Though not new....Neal Knox unfortunately passed away in 2005...reading this book will give you the information you need about what ails the NRA...and some ideas for how to fix them.

What are the NRA's problems?

1) Lack of transparency and financial mismanagement

Neal Knox was a key player in the NRA's 1977 members revolt, which helped turn the organization from an educational marksmanship organization into more of a steadfast protector of a vital civil liberty. Following that crucial 1977 meeting, Knox took control of the NRA/ILA (Institute for Legislative Action), the lobbying arm of the NRA. They are a very effective part of the NRA.

Here is an interesting bit. In 1997, the NRA was deeply in the red. A big part of those financial problems resulted from Wayne LaPierre's failure to sever ties with PR firm Ackerman McQueen (a company you will hear being connected to NRA's problems today). LaPierre  previously claimed to have severed ties with Ackerman McQueen and then signed up with the Mercury Group....a wholly owned subsidiary of Ackerman McQueen...

Right now we've got NRA leaders hinting that anyone expressing concern about the NRA's financial policies is a Bloomberg stooge. At the same time, I received another mailing from the NRA yesterday saying that the organization might shut its doors if I don't send more money. So which is it?

2) Too much willingness to compromise on gun controls

For years, I've been apologetic about the NRA and pointed out how the organization often offers more palatable version of gun control proposals. For example, the Staggers Bill alternative to the Brady Bill. But was that really a good thing? This book is making me wonder.

It turns out that this is not a new phenomenon. I knew that the NRA supported the National Firearms Act of 1934: the reason you may spend a year waiting for government approval to buy a suppressor or short barreled rifle and then pay a $200 tax. But it turns out that the NRA in 1937 also supported banning a "freakish" class of firearm: the .357 magnum revolver. Elmer Keith was having none of that, though, and organized to fight to defeat that foolish idea.

The NRA also supported a proposal by Senator Ted Kennedy to ban armor piercing handgun ammunition. There are a couple problems with that. First, armor piercing handgun ammunition was always very rare. Second and worse, it alerted criminals to the fact that the police were wearing bulletproof vests....and more officers began to be shot in the head.

This was long before the NRA and the Trump administration encouraged the development of Red Flag laws and a bumpstock ban that is ridiculously wrong from a legality and technical perspective...

There you have it....these are my concerns with NRA leadership. We need the NRA to get its act together and stop being in denial and going halfway towards resolving financial concerns. We also need the NRA to stop compromising our rights away.

What can you do to help?

• Help make the NRA more solid by participating in Save Our Second (link)
• Be an NRA member with skin in the game and eventually a voting member but let them know you will not make additional contributions or upgrade until financial solvency and transparency to members are a priority. The NRA/ILA seems to be mostly avoiding this whole food fight and is ALWAYS in state capitols fighting bad laws and helping to organize grassroots efforts. Consider supporting them (link).
• Support other organizations like the Second Amendment Foundation (link) and Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (link), which punch WAY above their size.

This will sound corny but I *love* the NRA, its history and its mission. The organization has a history of positive work but you don't improve a group or yourself during troubled times by putting your head in the sand.

The Second Amendment protects a right that is vital to everyone. Neal Knox's book contains insights from a man who fought to protect it for decades. Let's extend his legacy by cleaning house and getting ready to fight harder than we ever did before.

A REAL American Progressive Reading List

Problems are solved with open discussion and brave exploration of all aspects of ideas, not by shutting down free speech and minimizing the Overton window. Or just shouting partisan sound bites at each other.

Towards the end of encouraging that, I have created a reading list of contemporary titles which I wish every American could read and discuss. It includes books that look at the roots of American society and other Western countries, books which look at what can be seen when we spend time trying to understand people unlike us and some of the best thinking and writing about civil liberties that I have read.

America has traditionally held a creative tension between progress and conserving the past. I believe that in normal situations, real progress only comes from convincing others logically, not from the coercive use of government legislation to make others do what we want. These books are meant to give books which can be resources in charting the course for that REAL progress.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/5438598-don?shelf=real-american-progress-reading-list

1) The Right Side of History: How Reason and Moral Purpose Made the West Great
by Ben Shapiro
ASIN B07CLMXWT9

This book is a brilliant look at how Western civilization has arisen as a result of the tension between Athenian logic and Judeo-Christian values. Ironically, much of our civilization seems determined to undercut that strong foundation. Shapiro looks at other civilizations that have abandoned those values (Nazi Germany, the USSR) and the high price in pain and loss of life which followed. He offers suggestions for reversing course before it is too late.

2) Republican Like Me: A Lifelong Democrat's Journey Across the Aisle
by Ken Stern
ISBN 0062460781 (ISBN13: 9780062460783)

The former of NPR became concerned about the growing political polarization in our country and spent a year exploring Republican communities. E.g., having an 8 year old guide him on a pig hunt (adeptly correcting his gun safety shortcomings), visiting religious communities and so on.

This book parallels my experiences in life as a moderate/libertarian lefty who risked joining the NRA (and found it exemplary...and not at all like the caricature the media presents) and finally after 2016, the Republican party.

3) Free for All: Defending Liberty in America Today
by Wendy Kaminer
ISBN 0807044113 (ISBN13: 9780807044117)

Wendy Kaminer was on the ACLU board before she was ousted because she was unwilling to compromise on civil liberties. I see her as one of the most fiercely admirable people on the left because of her principled, unflinching stands in favor of individual rights.

4) The Gun Control Debate: You Decide
by Lee Nisbet (Editor)
ISBN 0879756187 (ISBN13: 9780879756185)

This book is the best example I have encountered of how contentious topics should be debated. The author solicited the best works recommended by the NRA *and* gun control organizations, with the goal being to present rational, objective facts people could use to make decisions for themselves, not sound bites and shabby emotional manipulation. This has been a favorite resource for the better part of 30 years.

Women in the NRA: it's not a new thing

In 1972, the federal law Title IX was passed with the intention of achieving gender equity in high school and collegiate sports. I find it disturbing that 40 years later, some still see this as a bad thing. For example, witness US Womens Soccer champion Brandi Chastain's experience at a Sacramento at an event honoring the 40th anniversary of Title IX.  (article)  Even today, media coverage of women in sports lags significantly behind the coverage of male sports.

If that grudging acceptance of women in sports is the status quo in other sports, you're probably thinking to yourself "I bet that barbaric NRA is even worse"! Let's take a look and see...

Here are a couple examples. On the left, is an article about Elizabeth Topperwein competing in the NRA's national matches in 1906. Wait, could that be right? Yes, it was in fact 1906 and this writeup notes that women had competed in other shooting matches for some time. In the picture on the right, Gertrude Beckstrom proudly celebrates WINNING the overall national pistol matches in 1957..

 

Yes but what about management roles? Surely the backward, benighted NRA wouldn't support women taking a leadership role in their organization. Well, except they did in 1949 when the Seattle area's late Alice Bull was elected to the NRA Board of Directors.  

The pictures above are from the book "NRA: An American Legend" (my review) and highlight the pride the organization has taken in supporting all those interested in shooting over the years, whether for sport or self defense. This has included a North Carolina NAACP chapter threatened by the KKK in the 1950s (link) and a Pink Pistols affiliate in Seattle in 2000 (link). In fact, I was a safety instructor for CeaseFear and a variety of gun rights organizations lent substantial support: the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Washington state's Gun Owners Action League, various shooting ranges.

Clearly, there's a lot more to the NRA's narrative and history that the simplistic media offer up to casual readers. I've included some further illustrations from the NRA's magazine American Rifleman below, in the hope that it will provide valuable information to some.Note that these photos were selected by opening a handful of issues over about a half hour...they are undoubtedly the tip of the iceberg.

This screen shot is from a December 1939 article by Dr. A. F. Bokman, describing the benefits his sons and daughter experienced as a a result of a rifle marksmanship program.

These photos are from the December 1951 editions Annual Meeting coverage

This photo from the November 1951 coverage of the national matches at Camp Perry illustrates that women competed very seriously decades ago.

As does this cover from September 1967.

Letter to Suzan DelBene (D-WA1) about gun control she is cosponsoring

Dear Representative DelBene,

I read with dismay, recently, that you have signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R.4269, legislation which bans the manufacture and possession of "assault weapons". Since I have voted for you in the past in the belief that you are a moderate Democrat and would *like* to do so again, I respectfully suggest that you reconsider your support and sponsorship of this legislation.

The topic of gun control is one which is rife with misinformation and misunderstanding. As you are the representative for a district which is VERY gun friendly, I sincerely hope that you will take the time and trouble to inform yourself of the actual technical details relevant to legislation that you take up. Ours is a moderate district (my car has NRA *and* PFLAG stickers and I have seen others similarly configured) but, again, it is very gun-friendly. There are numerous shooting ranges and gun shops. Most people that I know either own guns or are moderate on the topic. I recently checked out at the local grocery store and the cashier asked about a gun magazine that I was buying because she is a local shooting instructor.

Perhaps no firearms topic is more misunderstood than the topic of "assault weapons" and the bill you are sponsoring is no exception. Thousands of these guns are undoubtedly owned in your district and you are essentially saying that we cannot be trusted with them. That is a mistake.

Please stop to consider the history and effects of the 1994 ban:

First, it cost Democrats their control of Congress in 1994. (article)

Then, the ban itself did not accomplish anything, as the New York Times (article) and the US National Institute of Justice (article) have said, outright. This is not too surprising, since rifles of all types are used to commit murders very infrequently, much less than knives and only half as much as fists and feet (FBI statistics).

The threat of the ban inspired many people who would not otherwise have been interested in such a rifle to buy one while they could. I wouldn't be surprised if all the artificial fuss about "assault weapons" has made the number in circulation twice what it would be otherwise. I know I bought one originally because I wanted to see what the fuss was about and tried a friend's. Now I occasionally use mine for competition.

And finally, to anybody with any technical knowledge of firearms the ban is rife with arbitrary and even ludicrous internal contradictions. Consider the two rifles in this picture. The top rifle is a Ruger Mini-14: it fires the .223 cartridge loaded from a detachable magazine and its action is semi-automatic. The bottom rifle is some sort of AR15 variant: it also fires the .223 cartridge from a detachable magazine and its action is semi-automatic. The Mini-14 is specifically exempted from the ban and AR15 variants specifically banned.

These guns are functionally equivalent. Their only differences are in appearance.

Is this a distinction sharp enough that you are willing to turn your constituents into criminals over it? Is this a distinction you are willing to cheer lead in a district that will think you are crazy for doing so?

People talk constantly about modern high-powered weapons. But AR15s have been sold to the public since the 1960s. The AR15 .223 cartridge, on the left below, is dwarfed by the .30-06, the cartridge fired in the M1 Garand rifle...another semi-automatic exempted by the ban.

I hope that you will reconsider your support for H.R. 4269 and start discussing matters related to firearms with your constituents in the future. I don't wish to be hyperbolic but your job is at stake here...along with our civil liberties.

Sexism in the NRA

In 1972, the federal law Title IX was passed with the intention of achieving gender equity in high school and collegiate sports. I find it disturbing that 40 years later, some still see this as a bad thing. For example, witness US Womens Soccer champion Brandi Chastain's experience at a Sacramento at an event honoring the 40th anniversary of Title IX.  (article)  Even today, media coverage of women in sports lags significantly behind the coverage of male sports.

If that grudging acceptance of women in sports is the status quo in other sports, you're probably thinking to yourself "I bet that barbaric NRA is even worse"! Let's take a look and see...

Here are a couple examples. On the left, is an article about Elizabeth Topperwein competing in the NRA's national matches in 1906. Wait, could that be right? Yes, it was in fact 1906 and this writeup notes that women had competed in other shooting matches for some time. In the picture on the right, Gertrude Beckstrom proudly celebrates WINNING the overall national pistol matches in 1957..

Yes but what about management roles? Surely the backward, benighted NRA wouldn't support women taking a leadership role in their organization. Well, except they did in 1949 when the Seattle area's late Alice Bull was elected to the NRA Board of Directors. 

The pictures above are from the book "NRA: An American Legend" (my review) and highlight the pride the organization has taken in supporting all those interested in shooting over the years, whether for sport or self defense. This has included a North Carolina NAACP chapter threatened by the KKK in the 1950s (link) and a Pink Pistols affiliate in Seattle in 2000 (link). In fact, I was a safety instructor for CeaseFear and a variety of gun rights organizations lent substantial support: the Second Amendment Foundation, Citizen's Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, Washington state's Gun Owners Action League, various shooting ranges.

Clearly, there's a lot more to the NRA's narrative and history that the simplistic media offer up to casual readers. I've included some further illustrations from the NRA's magazine American Rifleman below, in the hope that it will provide valuable information to some.Note that these photos were selected by opening a handful of issues over about a half hour...they are undoubtedly the tip of the iceberg.

This screen shot is from a December 1939 article by Dr. A. F. Bokman, describing the benefits his sons and daughter experienced as a a result of a rifle marksmanship program.

These photos are from the December 1951 editions Annual Meeting coverage

This photo from the November 1951 coverage of the national matches at Camp Perry illustrates that women competed very seriously decades ago.

As does this cover from September 1967.

So before you allow the news media to shape your opinion about an organization, please take the time to think about whether their agenda might shape what they tell you about it.