The NRA’s internal revolt over Philando Castile

[TomCADem]

Source: MSN/Washington Post

This time, however, the NRA faces an internal division as its members argue that the group did not do enough to defend gun owners’ rights by speaking out on behalf of Castile.

Castile had a valid permit to carry a gun. He also reportedly informed the officer who shot him that he was armed, in an attempt to head off a misunderstanding.

Still, Castile was killed by police — prompting outrage among some Americans that following the rules was not enough to save Castile from a violent death.

The delay in addressing Castile’s death, as well as the promptness with which the NRA spoke out after the Dallas shooting, has prompted complaints of a double standard in the way the organization defends gun owners.

Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/the-nra%E2%80%99s-internal-revolt-over-philando-castile/ar-BBu8a2T?li=AA54ur&ocid=spartandhp

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The fact of the matter is that the NRA is filled with right wing racists. When they talk about the right to bear arms in self-defense, they are not talking about people of color. They are not talking about the black open carry advocate in Dallas who identified as a person of interest. Thus, there should be no surprise that when confronted with what should be an ideal example of a law abiding citizen being executed merely because he was carrying a fire arm, the NRA says nothing, because he is a minority.

[morningfog]

1. The NRA, its members and beneficiaries are small paranoid bigots.

Their hate combined with obstruction and facilitation of mass kurder make the organization, its members and beneficiaries a terrorist organization.

[Jopin Klobe]

8. It's not necessarily good to blame an entire group on the actions of its leaders ...

... look at the Republicans and the Democrats ...

[jtuck004]

27. Well who the fuck else is responsible? There are far more of them than there are the leaders, and

if the path being taken is wrong, those who put and keep the "leaders" in their positions - the people who willingly provide the arms and legs for them - are responsible.

Don't give people excuses they don't need. It makes them look weak.

[Journeyman]

2. Wonder how "widespread" the dissatisfaction will prove to be. Two members are cited in the story...

not much to build a "revolt" upon. I suspect this narrative is driven more by the voices of outsiders than it is their members.

[melm00se]

3. these demographics

were posted months ago:

NRA demographics:

- 40% women
- 40% minority mostly Asian and Hispanic men and women.

Read more: http://www.ammoland.com/2016/01/the-demographics-of-the-nra/#ixzz4DyU2RXsu
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

[Chakab]

11. Are you fucking kidding me? That's some ammosexual blog with no actual

Last edited Sun Jul 10, 2016, 05:06 AM - Edit history (1)

source cited in the article to corroborate the statistics that were present by the author.

[melm00se]

21. i have provided a source

where's yours?

[paleotn]

28. We trust yours about as much as we trust Drudge.

....exactly zero.

[SCantiGOP]

30. If someone joined the NRA 20 years ago

They are still in their database even if they haven't renewed.
Their funding comes, directly and indirectly, from their owners, the gun and ammo industry.

[muriel_volestrangler]

16. On the face of it, that looks like bullshit

While 40% women is believable, 40% "minority mostly Asian and Hispanic men and women" flies in the face of Hispanic gun ownership and attitudes to guns:

http://www.people-press.org/files/legacy-pdf/03-12-13%20Gun%20Ownership%20Release.pdf

24% of Hispanics would feel comfortable having a gun in the house; 73% uncomfortable (white non-Hispanic: 47% to 50%)
82% of gun owners are white non-Hispanic; 6% are Hispanic.
(Also: 74% of gun owners are men, 26% women, so the '40% women' membership figure would be surprising, but easier to believe than the claimed ethnicity figures)

[paleotn]

29. Most excellent....

nice slap down of NRA lies.

[sarisataka]

4. This is the NRA members voicing

Their opposition to the NRA leadership. They are upset because the NRA, and their view, is not defending a gun owner because simply because he was black. Remember their words they see Mr. Castile as a fellow gun owner, not a gun owning black man.

As to how many members are speaking out and will it go anywhere is unknown. However it is enough members to catch the attention of the news. The only way the NRA can truly change is from within.

Now either you could choose to watch, and maybe even encourage, the members to speak out (or even revolt) against the leadership and force them to act or change. Or you can just broad-brush all members as a right-wing racists and help make sure what could become the greatest shift in the NRA structure in 40 years is stillborn.

[CreekDog]

19. Why wouldn't they see him as black?

[sarisataka]

23. I am not saying

That they have suddenly woken up and are colorblind.

I have checked on several gunboards, and this seems to be fairly widespread. Yes there are a noticeable amount of racists who are professing that he must have done something to cause the cop to fire. But there are more who see a companion, fellow licensed gun owner, who was shot for no reason. It is a significant plurality with the majority maintaining a no comment position. However it appears that the movement is from undecided to this is wrong and the NRA should be speaking out against it.

[AntiBank]

5. Gun ownership in America — down to the NRA’s messaging — is largely built on white identity.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027986975

http://www.vox.com/2016/7/7/12123040/philando-castile-nra-guns-police-shooting

On Wednesday night, police officers shot and killed reportedly legal gun owner Philando Castile — and although the details remain unclear, it seems the officers may have panicked and shot Castile to death when Castile reached for his driver’s license, after disclosing he had a gun. This would seem like a standard case for the National Rifle Association: A legal gun owner was shot for doing everything you’re supposed to do — reportedly getting his concealed carry permit and telling an officer during a traffic stop that a gun was present in the car. But the NRA’s position official position so far is “no comment.” Why?

One possible explanation is the NRA has an uneasy alliance with police. Both police unions and the NRA are conservative groups, and many police officers are also gun owners and NRA members. The NRA, then, has an interest in not upsetting police — especially since the facts of the shooting remain unclear due to the lack of video of the shooting itself. (Still, the NRA has consistently decried the heightened scrutiny of police officers following the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.)

But there’s another, more obvious explanation: Castile was black, and gun ownership in America — down to the NRA’s messaging — is largely built on white identity.

The connection between white identity and guns

The link between white identity and gun ownership has been shown by researchers: A 2015 study, published in the journal Political Behavior, looked at survey data going back to the 1990s, finding a strong correlation between opposition to gun control and levels of racial resentment.

But the results only found a correlation, so the researchers dug deeper. They asked nearly 1,200 white participants a series of questions online about gun laws. But one half of the group first looked at pictures of white and black people from an implicit association test — to make them think about race — while the other half did not.


snip

-----------------------
lots of hyperlinks in the article

[Midnight Writer]

6. Exactly right. NRA (and conservative) messaging is that Blacks are threatening "Our America"

A simple test:

Just present this modest proposal to your Second Amendment Absolutist friends.

If more people with more firepower means less crime and violence, then why don't we have a government program to distribute weapons and ammunition into our highest crime neighborhoods? We could go door to door handing out guns (including so-called assault rifles) and ammo. We could provide street corner kiosks where guns and ammo are handed out free of charge, no questions asked. Cheaper than paying a professional police force, right?

According to NRA ideology, this is the common sense solution to crime. After all, if every citizen is potentially armed, the bad guys will be afraid to commit crimes, less they are confronted by a "good guy with a gun".

Yet every conservative, NRA member, gun enthusiast person I present this proposal to reacts in horror.

It is only in "their neighborhood", among "their people", that the more guns equals less violence equation works.

[forjusticethunders]

10. In short, the concept of a "good black" does not compute to them.

[skepticscott]

17. Or, alternatively

Propose a "guns for Muslims" program, and watch little heads explode.

[mr_liberal]

7. Its not about race, at least not for the NRA,

its that they depend on the Republican party to defend 2A rights and the Rep party will side with the cop.

The NRA has to support the GOP nominee (Trump) especially since its an election year.

[Barack_America]

9. So, racist NRA members are fighting non-racist members?

Good.

[spud_demon]

12. Follow the money. NRA does not represent gun owners;

It represents gun dealers.

The threat of a race war is good for their business.

[Cosmocat]

25. See - the stock market

http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-07-08/gun-stocks-reach-record-highs-after-dallas-police-shooting

Same thing we see after EVERY fricken major gun incident, Newtown, ect.

God this country is full on fucking stupid.

[Ford_Prefect]

13. NRA represents GUN manufacturers, Ammunition makers and the Gun Lifestyle vendors.

It was taken over by a small group of very well funded conservatives in the 70's and became a prominent funnel for political spending and lobbying by conservative interests under the rubric of patriotic gun ownership. It was shaped to be a counter to the Peace and Civil Rights movements as a pressure group in Congress. Much of its funding comes from conservative sources like the Kochs and others along with the weapons industry. The vast majority of NRA members do not know this history and are unaware of being steered by organized RW influences. They generally believe the lie that NRA represents individual gun owners and their POV.

Like a number of other so-called "Patriotic" groups owned and manipulated by RW interests they have little idea of their origins, their financing, or the behind the scenes connections to RW organizations, or to business interests like the Tobacco industry, the Oil and Gas lobby, and others.

[dembotoz]

14. the nra should be having a wet dream...dallas shows the desire for an arsenal crosses color lines

[Judi Lynn]

15. Ammosexuals seem to overly stimulate themselves with fantasies of "race wars." n/t

[Vinca]

18. The NRA needs to clarify what it means: WHITE guys have 2nd amendment rights.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

20. Has anyone seen or heard that "Castile was a suspect in an armed robbery"?

http://bluelivesmatter.blue/philando-castile-robbery-suspect/

In my white burb filled with gun lovers, this is believed as gospel.

[Lisa0825]

22. Snopes disproved it.

http://www.snopes.com/philando-castile-was-not-wanted-for-armed-robbery/

[Cosmocat]

26. The trope is that is why he was pulled over

that this idiot cop thought he looked like a suspect for an armed robbery.

That is all these people need to justify it in their mind.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

31. Conservatives in my neck of the woods need to believe Castile was suspect.

They speak of justice. I said "You mean like George Zimmerman type justice"? Some of these people are good and reasonable. But the racism is inescapable.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

32. Thanks. I saw that. But the story is pervasive.

[alcibiades_mystery]

24. The NRA is a white supremacist organization

[Jitter65]

33. ALL POC members should cancel their memberships...start a new sane gun organization. nt