The NRA is fighting for your right to legally kill elephants and collect their ivory

[CreekDog]

In fact, they are so committed to your right to hunt elephants and collect their ivory that they're going to make sure everyone has the right to hunt these animals until there aren't any to hunt anymore.

http://www.hbo.com/real-sports-with-bryant-gumbel/episodes/0/224-episode/video/ep-224-trailer-elephant-poaching.html?autoplay=true

[MrScorpio]

1. That Darth Cheney lookalike guy was one creepy, animal murdering motherfucker

His home looked like death warmed over.

[pipoman]

18. I think a fair amount of trophy hunters

Are mentally damaged by it. I remember reading about people who are addicted to porn becoming desensitized to actual sex...I think these guys are desensitized to the majesty of life by killing. I think the evidence isn't in what the Cheney guy said, it is in the little snicker that came out right after describing the kill of his first elephant, it went something like, 'we were moving in on him....he looked at us for a minute, then he turned and ran away....I brained him, snicker snicker'

Now for full disclosure, I have hunted and killed many deer and small game. I can understand flying around the world to see the wildlife and visit Africa ...I can't imagine going there to kill something.

[GGJohn]

2. Huh?

Unless I'm missing something in that trailer, where is the NRA even mentioned?

[CreekDog]

4. Perhaps you're just attempting a low-effort distraction...

We can talk about more than what's in the trailer.

Playing dumb on the other hand, can lead to an exchange of dozens of messages here between you and me or you and others.

And since you can't stop the thread, you'll accept that outcome as distracting enough to make it worthwhile as an alternative.

[GGJohn]

7. All I watched was the trailer and the NRA wasn't even mentioned,

am I missing it?

Why would I want to stop the thread, I find these type of threads entertaining and fun.

On edit: I just read herding cats post and I agree with you, this is despicable.
The NRA should be ashamed of itself.

[Econs]

3. correct

YES, you are right. I am with you.

[herding cats]

10. With us in what, exactly?

Sorry to be dense, but I'm curious what you're specifically agreeing with here.

[herding cats]

5. A bit more on this horrific fact.

Last edited Wed Dec 2, 2015, 02:28 AM - Edit history (1)

The NRA Is Quietly Fighting For Your Right To Kill Elephants For Their Ivory

Last year, people around the world watched as a gun lobbyist with his own NRA-sponsored cable TV show stalked a large bull elephant in the African bush, raised his rifle and shot it two times in the face, killing it. The hunter, NRA strategist Tony Makris, and his guide later sipped champagne and relished the "special" act of bringing back the animal's ivory to camp.

The segment was filmed for part of an "Under Wild Skies" show that was later canceled by the NBC Sports Network after international outrage. It served as a graphic reminder that a number of African nations still allow hunters to purchase permits -- some 1,000 of which are issued to Americans every year -- to kill elephants from their ever-dwindling populations, even amid reports that illegal poaching already claims the lives of up to 35,000 African elephants a year. This is allowed for the stated purpose of conservation: The hefty fees paid by these tourists are supposed to go toward efforts to rehabilitate and protect wildlife on these reserves, though critics say the process is marred by corruption and ineffectiveness. More stringent bans were recently enacted in some nations following catastrophic declines of elephant populations.

<I'm forced to snip out more good stuff you should read from here due to copyright restrictions. So, click the link if want to know more.>

The NRA found their preferred solution in the form of a pair of Lawful Ivory Protection bills sponsored by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Rep. Steve Daines (R-Mont.). In a release decrying the administration's "overreach of authority," the group called for members to stand up for "honest, law-abiding Americans" wishing to sell their ivory-containing possessions by calling on their representatives to support these bills. Tucked away in the last sentence was a mention of the legislation's secondary purpose, to protect the right of Americans to legally kill elephants for their ivory.

"Your actions today may determine if the sale and trade of firearms that contain ivory, as well as the importation of sport-hunted elephants, will be banned," it read.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/12/nra-ivory-elephant-hunting_n_5671332.html

[pipoman]

8. The sale of historical ivory must be allowed

The killing of elephants (and other declining species) is overdue to end.

[herding cats]

9. What the NRA is supporting is the killing of more elephants.

Some of their biggest donors want to bag that big trophy. That's what this is about for the NRA exclusively.

[pipoman]

13. Yeah, but the ill conceived regulation has blurred the line

People have millions invested in historical ivory embellished items from pianos to jewelry...the antiquities world will force the distinction....until that distinction is made there will be a lot of people in opposition of the ivory ban who really make better partners than adversaries...

[951-Riverside]

6. I guess they fail to understand what the N in NRA means

...unless they think Africa is a US territory.

[akbacchus_BC]

11. Sorry, it is not the IRA, it is the rich people who are buying ivory and furs to the detriment

of animals. Those folks want their trinkets and furs and do not give a shit how many animals are slaughtered for their collection. Rich people do not give a shit about the environment, all they care about are the trinkets they can purchase with their money!

[pipoman]

14. As with almost every single endangered animal consumers

It is Asia that drives the elephant ivory market.

[akbacchus_BC]

15. And Hollywood. I just wish these people with money can at least

appreciate that animal parts are not for their adornment. Asia is no comparison to Hollywood for Ivory and Furs!

[pipoman]

16. Maybe 40 years ago

Furs have been verboten in Hollywood elite for a couple of decades at least. No, the market for nearly all of the poached ivory today is China and Japan...they talk about this briefly in the Real Sports episode in the OP.

[akbacchus_BC]

17. Ok, I was thinking about this just a few days ago. If the sale of Ivory

is prohibited, why don't governments after the shops that sell prohibited ivory trinkets. Then I thought, how on earth the government of a country can have the resources to monitor illegal sale of prohibited ivory. Guess greed and ethics is overpowering to the animal species you and I hold dear.

Honestly, I feel the world is going to pieces in a broken basket. Greed is now the overpowering element in our society.

[pipoman]

19. These same governments have been fighting the rest of the world

For decades over the slaughter of whales...it is the aristocratic government types profiting from the import and insuring their people continue coveting these animal parts.

[akbacchus_BC]

20. So it goes right back to my original opinion!

Rich people are the biggest enemies to the social well being of our planet, our animals and our eco system.

I cannot begin to even think why I would want to wear a coat with fake fur, it is not me. It is the rich who are destroying our animals, invading their sanctuary and feel good about their furs and ivory trinkets.

[Rex]

12. Just in time for Christmas! Boy don't they know how to celebrate the season of giving.

I sometimes wonder if the NRA is the elite milita of the GOP. They are beyond human understanding.