I was a proud member of the NRA. These days, I think about the moment they lost me forever

[kpete]

What led to my final break with the organization was a chance encounter with an NRA event in Northern Virginia, probably in 2004. I had been attracted to a show of Civil War memorabilia near Dulles Airport and discovered that there was an NRA gun show at an adjacent venue.

As I wandered over to check out the NRA event, I was astonished by how many people were openly-brandishing guns even before they entered the hall. While I was taking in all of this, I was lured to an NRA enrollment table with the offer of a discounted ticket to the gun show. By re-joining the NRA after so many years, I would not only get a discount on the ticket but also an NRA ball cap.

Most of what I saw inside the gun show was a lot of trading and selling of guns and ammunition, but what grabbed my attention and appalled me were the number of vendors selling Nazi memorabilia or knock-offs. The best possible interpretation of these vendors was that they were selling the Nazi items to World War II re-enactors, but the more I observed, the more I became convinced that my initial understanding was naive. In some cases at least, these items were being purchased as objects of veneration.

That was the day the NRA lost me forever. Today, the organization has become nothing more than a front for firearms manufacturers and its leadership is corrupted by vanity and self-dealing.


MORE:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2019/08/09/nra-gun-shows-wayne-lapierre-mass-shootings-firearms-column/1955827001/
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/8/15/1879119/-Abbreviated-pundit-round-up-Tweaking-Social-Security-rationalizing-Biden-gaffes-reforming-gun-law

[rampartc]

1. if they were legit

they would support safety and the good image of their members.

[llmart]

2. You can see any of that stuff by just attending a gun show.

I've only been one time, back in the early to mid-90's and what I saw sickened me. I felt dirty. I feel dirty even telling people I've been to one.

Mass produced targets with pictures of Bill or Hillary on them, especially Hillary. At the time I couldn't understand why Hillary. As another post this morning states, these guys into this sort of stuff have serious issues with women.

[Act_of_Reparation]

3. I went to one once, too.

The guns were the least disturbing part of the experience.

[gibraltar72]

4. Their support of Cop killer bullets did it for me.

[MicaelS]

5. The NRA went sideways...

When the hardcore gun rights activists took over from the sportsmen in 1977 at Cincinnati.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cincinnati.com/amp/404628002

[Hoyt]

6. The NRA, similar gun organizations, and the vast majority of gunners have been dominated (98+%) by

white wing racists for decades.

Most of the these organizations promote the white wing agenda far beyond just gunz. That NRA sticker you see on the back of vehicles is kind of a confederate or Nazi symbol.