Question Of The Month. (April 2019) (NRA Finances)

[Water Monkey]

Well that certainly stirred things up..!!

I'm well aware of your Constitution, and why it was written, (it was actually based on the British "Bill of Rights" written in 1689, which has conveniently been forgotten about by the British Government and Justice system over the years!), and I respect that, but over here its a numbers game...

In the US 43% of citizens own a gun... in the Uk its around 1% of the population so we have a much smaller voice.... Compare that with 30% of the UK population that think all guns should be banned, and another 30% that think we should have even stronger regulations....so we're under threat all the time.
We look to the national shooting bodies, mainly the UK NRA, to speak up for us, which they do.... in the typical British way of issuing a politely worded statment to the gov'ment asking nicely that they don't ban our guns...

If all the Uk owners gave the "you can take my guns from my cold dead fingers" bit, we'd simply get a knock on the door from the local heavily armed police unit... and yes, we do have some armed police...

What I'm trying to say here is support your NRA... they may not be perfect, but they're a lot better then nothing...

The NRA is dependent on our collective voice. If they are screwing the pooch then we vote with our dollars until they get the message. Blindly giving in to an organization that literally has had a hand in a lot of gun control movements during the 20th century isn't very smart.

Considering... the NRA isn't the only or most effective lobbying group for firearm rights. The major wins in the Supreme Court to affirm the personal ownership of firearms came by the way of the Second Amendment Foundation.

 

[Djcala]

We dont Fear the armed police..... We may be the armed police?
And we have multiple organizations actually doing much more than the NRA supporting us not selling us out, they are not the only option in the US.
Here it is not a "game" , i wish all the countries who laid down and politely rolled over well and that was Surely they're decision to make. Many do not have the stomach to stand against unlawful orders and tyranny, in our land many do. The government is our servant , we are not they're servant. Lines have been drawn and many have choices to,make.
Sorry if,pointed but we probably will not follow the advice from those who gave up what we shall not.

 

[meanstreak]

We are citizens, we are armed. We do not need an "organization" to protect our rights. We are able to do that ourself.

 

[Bobster]

Well that certainly stirred things up..!! ... What I'm trying to say here is support your NRA... they may not be perfect, but they're a lot better then nothing...

AGREED! And thank you Daryll, for your input and previous posts and links on UK gun law. You (and many other non-US members) are valued here at MO!

Before I go off on my rant , I should note the NRA is a major trainer of hunters in this country. This LINK will take you to a FREE Hunter Education course. While not a hunter, I grew up and am related to plenty of outdoorsman cousins in my birth state of Maine. I strongly believe in the right to harvest game responsibly. I took the course and just need to pony up the money to become certified. But the course was free to me here in Florida. I have the certificate and electronic documents to prove it. And I would encourage anyone to "lie" about their residence to take advantage of the free online course.

I've not "voted" in the above poll as I need to know more info on the subject and I pride myself in being an "informed" voter regardless of the people or issue being voted upon. Media dis-information may have a lot to do with it as well as gun-owners and 2nd Amendment proponents bad-mouthing the organization. That does NOT help!

As a NRA Life Member, I take pride in my relationship and membership in the organization. The NRA clearly does far more good than bad IMO, and like many organizations has to raise funds to keep afloat. But unlike many organizations, the media has created a stigma of the NRA being a "bad" organization and as a Life Member, I take offense. I also take offense when "never-NRA-ers" complain and bitch about what the NRA does and does not do. I will compare these folks to "never-Trumpers" that have not come on board yet and/or are too cheap to support the oldest civil rights organization in the country... Most "never-Trumpers" have put salve on their buttholes and moved into the correct position of supporting our President. Those that have not have faded into the sewers where they belong. Hopefully, the "never-NRA-ers" will realize they should be supporting the organization for the good that it does, and not chastise for the occasional "bad" issue they support.

That said, I do NOT agree with the "bump-stock" ban nor Red Flag laws proposed for reasons outlined by "never-NRA-ers" above. I agree that not even a millimeter should be conceded to the antis, let alone 25.4mm... And I let the NRA know my views. And also my elected Reps and Senators, one whom is actually a sponsor of said legislation. And the bump-stocks were previously "approved" by the ATF and I've posted videos of the ATF guy who approved them initially. UPDATE: here is the LINK to the video...

I'm not a "conspiracy theorist" but the events those laws are meant to prevent (ie: the LV, NV and Parkland, FL shootings) are very much open to speculation. The fact the LV shooter is dead and not able to explain motive and the fact that "red flags" were ignored in the FL shooting show there may be more to this than meets the critical eye. I call it "grey ops" and whether or not I am on to something doesn't mean I agree with new laws produced by knee-jerking! Perhaps that is the intent of grey-ops...

Again, thanks Dar, and if you are ever in the Orlando area, feel free to look me up via private message as I would be honored to take you to the range to burn up some non-inventoried ammo!

PS: and as long as Wayne LaPierre makes less than Al Sharpton and other miscreants, I don't think he is making ENOUGH!

 

[Djcala]

Note thats the April, 2019 Nra magazine delivered here. I cant stop it they will,always be a reminder in my mailbox. So yeah like I said long time life member cant,change that now. But I can and,have stopped new donations. If,ya say ya wanna be informed then actually get informed. Florida ALREADY has,red flag @Bobster , your state nra chairwoman is,mrs hammer the crazy cat lady from Tallahasse, shes so deep in democrats her momma can taste em. Get real. I cant bash any nra minions I was myself up until this very year when I wstched in mybstate ga they HELP the Dems draft sb150 gun control (verified in pics in writing by not 1 2 or 3 but 6 ! Senators, yes NRA chair Art THom sat with them mlbehind closed doors and capitulated what whod work. Never once did NRA ILA ALERT anyone, until after georgia gun owners found out and went on rampage writing senators to strike it or get voted,out. See, the NRA LIED TO,MY FACE, a long time life member and supporter from a long history family of,the same. As for Florida wanna know about an actual disabled war veteran , fed LEO AND NRA MEMBER who just lost all to red flag and literally moved out of,Fla. Message IL tell the story. I as late as January still made excuses, still pushed all the training given all,the eddie eagle done, all the education all the GOOD !!! BUT DADDY THE GOOD PROVIDER BEAT MOMMA ONE TO MANY TIMES, YES THE BAD OUTWEIGHS THE GOOD NOW. for me but each should do,theyre own research, real research. I got names and numbers anytime. I was blind as heck for,years until only 3 months ago, the info is,out there find it.

Ps, hunter safety is a good,thing. But it dont teach hunters to hunt, it simply complies with state law requiring a "class" .

 

[Djcala]

https://www.americanfirearmscoaliti...zDdmrjj9ila4ecN1vLbhjpVtqpEphQDY17FjsTI6WT1a8

 

[meanstreak]

If this passes .... Well, who knows what might happen. We are entering a dark era in this country. We already have the thought police and speech police.

 

[carbinemike]

Well that certainly stirred things up..!!

I'm well aware of your Constitution, and why it was written, (it was actually based on the British "Bill of Rights" written in 1689, which has conveniently been forgotten about by the British Government and Justice system over the years!), and I respect that, but over here its a numbers game...

In the US 43% of citizens own a gun... in the Uk its around 1% of the population so we have a much smaller voice.... Compare that with 30% of the UK population that think all guns should be banned, and another 30% that think we should have even stronger regulations....so we're under threat all the time.
We look to the national shooting bodies, mainly the UK NRA, to speak up for us, which they do.... in the typical British way of issuing a politely worded statment to the gov'ment asking nicely that they don't ban our guns...

If all the Uk owners gave the "you can take my guns from my cold dead fingers" bit, we'd simply get a knock on the door from the local heavily armed police unit... and yes, we do have some armed police...

What I'm trying to say here is support your NRA... they may not be perfect, but they're a lot better then nothing...

Thanks for chiming in. You are correct that much of our bill of rights came from Britain itself. Many US politicians are trying their best to forget about our Constitution too. I think we (M.O. Board Members) know it is about disarmament and control of the populace. Even with your gun laws London has passed New York City for murder rate. It's not the guns, it's a people problem. It's a shame about the situation there and it's a shame your NRA has no fangs. Our NRA has fangs but only sometimes. I have switched over to the Gun Owners Of America. They are not as large as the NRA but still boast several million members.

 

[carbinemike]

I came across this just now. It seems to explain a lot if it is accurate.

In the last couple of days since the lawsuit against Ackerman McQueen I've spoken to a former lobbyist for the NRA and two serving NRA Board Members. The conversations were off the record and not for attribution. Then I read this article in The New Yorker thanks to a link to it posted on Facebook by Prof. David Yamane.

The article is entitled "Secrecy, Self-Dealing, and Greed at the N.R.A." Mike Spies article has a subhead saying "The organization’s leadership is focussed on external threats, but the real crisis may be internal." I hate to say this given all the attacks on the NRA from every Democrat running for President, the State of New York, and the media but from what I've gathered Spies is correct. Just because we don't like the source doesn't mean they are wrong.
Last August, the N.R.A., in desperate need of funds, raised its dues for the second time in two years. To cut costs, it has eliminated free coffee and water coolers at its headquarters and has frozen its employees’ pension plan. Carry Guard, which was meant to save the organization, has proved disastrous. According to the memos, in 2017, the year that Carry Guard was introduced, Ackerman McQueen received some six million dollars for its work on the product, which included the creation of a Web site and media productions featuring celebrity firearms trainers. The lawsuit against New York State has created an additional burden. Sources familiar with the N.R.A.’s financial commitments say that it is paying Brewer’s firm an average of a million and a half dollars a month.
An official assessment performed by Cummins last summer dryly describes the N.R.A.’s decision-making during the previous year as “management’s shift in risk appetite.” The document analyzes the organization’s executive-liability exposures and discusses insurance policies that “protect NRA directors and officers from claims by third parties that they have breached their duties, such as by mismanagement of association assets.” From 2018 to 2019, it says, insurance costs increased by three hundred and forty-one per cent. “To say this is a major increase would be an understatement,” Peter Kochenburger, the deputy director of the Insurance Law Center at the University of Connecticut, told me. “This seems to be pretty direct evidence that the N.R.A.’s problems are not due to New York but rather to how the organization conducts itself.”
The memos urged the audit committee to “step up + fulfill its duties!,” but it’s not clear what the board has done to root out malfeasance. James Fishman, a co-author of “New York Nonprofit Law and Practice: With Tax Analysis,” a leading text on nonprofit law, told me, “There is no such thing as a director who doesn’t direct. You’re responsible to make yourself aware of what’s going on. If the board doesn’t know, they’ve breached their duty of care, which is against the law in New York,” where the N.R.A. is chartered. According to Owens, the former I.R.S. official, New York State “could sanction board members, remove board members, disband the board, or close down the organization entirely.”Read that last line again. New York State could close down the NRA entirely by moving for dissolution. You have a governor and attorney general in New York that hate the National Rifle Association. You have a Board of Directors which is too large to be effective. You have Ackerman McQueen trying to preserve its position and an outside counsel trying to take their position for himself. And then you have internal civil war going on within the organization between loyalists to one executive and friends of another leader.

The bottom line is that there are tremendous troubles within the NRA just when you need it to be steadfast in the face of outside attacks.

How bad are these troubles? A reliable source told me that Marion Hammer who hasn't attended a Board of Directors meeting since hell froze over the last time will be in Indianapolis to attend the Board meeting. It's that bad.