# Having laid low, the N.R.A. is fully prepped and rehearsed to control legislation. As usual.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 20, 2012, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605 "2012-12-20T05:02:36Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/21 "2012-12-20T15:12:02Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> The NRA’s power does not come from money. There are plenty of lobbying groups that spend as much or more than they do. (Hollywood, Big Oil, etc.)
>
> The NRA’s power comes from the fact that they have dedicated members who are passionate about this issue and are members of both parties. They listen to the NRA and can and will swing an election based on this issue.
>
> I know. I’m one of them.
You and Grover Norquist. Some classy company you’re keeping, there.
---
### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/22 "2012-12-20T15:20:57Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#):
>
> The NRA seems to me one of the best examples of the “every movement eventually devolves into a racket” principle. Nowadays the NRA seems to exist primarily to financially enrich Wayne LaPierre and other such NRA bigwigs, and it does this by engendering (unwarranted, obviously) fear of Obama and the Democrats.
During the election cycle I would hear from some of my more excitable acquaintances or read on Facebook about how Obama was planning on taking their guns. I laughed it off and assured them there is no way that he was going to go after guns and the 2nd amendment. Now I look at the news and I think holy shit he is planning on taking their guns. It doesn’t look unwarranted now.
---
### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/23 "2012-12-20T15:21:12Z")
> [@Chefguy](#):
>
> You and Grover Norquist. Some classy company you’re keeping, there.
Don’t forget Tom Selleck!
* * *
Seriously, do you have a point?
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/24 "2012-12-20T15:21:42Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> The NRA’s power does not come from money. There are plenty of lobbying groups that spend as much or more than they do. (Hollywood, Big Oil, etc.)
>
> The NRA’s power comes from the fact that they have dedicated members who are passionate about this issue and are members of both parties. They listen to the NRA and can and will swing an election based on this issue.
>
> I know. I’m one of them.
Again, bullshit. [From CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/18/politics/nra-silence-regrouping/index.html?hpt=hp_c3)
> [@](#):
>
> According to the Sunlight Foundation, a government watchdog group, the NRA spends 66 times more on lobbying than what the Brady Campaign to End Gun violence, the country’s top gun control advocacy organization, spends. And the NRA spends 4,143 times what the Brady Campaign spends on campaign contributions, the Sunlight Foundation found.
You aren’t the NRA-you are the customer and the shield. You’ve got so much emotional investment in the cause that you can’t even denounce a nutcase like Wayne LaPierre for fear that other NRA members might turn on you.
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/25 "2012-12-20T15:24:01Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> During the election cycle I would hear from some of my more excitable acquaintances or read on Facebook about how Obama was planning on taking their guns. I laughed it off and assured them there is no way that he was going to go after guns and the 2nd amendment. Now I look at the news and I think holy shit he is planning on taking their guns. It doesn’t look unwarranted now.
What the fuck is in the news that could possibly make you think the nutcases might be right?
---
### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/26 "2012-12-20T15:30:59Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#):
>
> So a lot of Dems have begun to believe that the NRA is now another adjunct of the Republican Party, or maybe vice versa. And they are not feeling as beholden as they were before.
>
> So we’ll see how it all plays out.
You are correct in your overall point. The NRA has been heavy handed with Obama to the point where they risk becoming viewed as a partisan group that Democrats can safely ignore.
However, your examples are all wrong. Of course the NRA has been fighting Holder on Fast and Furious. That was a back door attempt to get gun control back on the radar. It’s a huge scandal and very much the sort of red meat that you’d expect the NRA to go after.
Similarly, the Heller decision was only decided by one vote. Of course the NRA is going to oppose anti-gun justices to SCOTUS. That’s exactly where they should be focusing their efforts.
I personally think they are right about Obama and that he’s very anti-gun but just has been biding his time until he politically is able to take on gun control. However, they shouldn’t have gone after him as aggressively as they have given that up until now (with the exception of Fast and Furious) the administration hasn’t taken up gun control. They would have been wise to wait for Obama to make the first move.
If the NRA is hostile to Democrats like Obama no matter what they do, they might as well go ahead and just consider the NRA their enemy and propose gun legislation. It’s not like it matters if the NRA is seen as opposing them regardless.
Also, now that the shooting in CT has given Obama enough political cover to attempt gun control efforts, the NRA doesn’t have much more they can do to oppose him. What are they going to do? Send letters to their members saying how awful Obama is? They’ve been doing that for six years already.
They should have waited.
---
### Author:  [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/27 "2012-12-20T15:35:09Z")
Yes, I made exactly the same point in another thread. In the month leading up to the shooting, the NRA-ILA website was chock full of “Obama’s taking guns” rubbish. They’re Chicken Little, only they were telling members the sky had _already_ fallen.
> [@Loach](#):
>
> Now I look at the news and I think holy shit he is planning on taking their guns. It doesn’t look unwarranted now.
Perhaps you can point to Obama’s plan to “take their guns”, then?
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### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/28 "2012-12-20T15:35:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> What the fuck is in the news that could possibly make you think the nutcases might be right?
First hit for “Biden” on Google news:
[Biden launches post-Newtown push on guns](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/biden-launches-post-newtown-push-guns-143333502--politics.html)
You seriously hadn’t heard of this?
Really?
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/29 "2012-12-20T15:40:57Z")
[From _The Atlantic_](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/12/whom-does-the-nra-really-speak-for/266373/)
> [@](#):
>
> In recent years, the group has become more aggressive about seeking donations, both from individuals and corporations, and that in turn has led it to become more deeply entwined with the gun industry. In 2010, it received $71 million in contributions, up from $46.3 million in 2004. Some of that money came from small-time donors, who’ve received a barrage of fundraising appeals warning of President Obama’s imminent plot to gut the Second Amendment and confiscate Americans’ firearms. But around 2005, the group began systematically reaching out to its richest members for bigger checks through its “Ring of Freedom” program, which also sought to corral corporate donors. Between then and 2011, the Violence Policy Center estimates that the firearms industry donated as much as $38.9 million to the NRA’s coffers. The givers include 22 different gun makers, including famous names like Smith & Wesson, Beretta USA, SIGARMS, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. that also manufacture so-called assault weapons.
> [@](#):
>
> These connections have fueled the theory among some gun-control advocates that the NRA is just another corporate front. That might theoretically explain why the group has opposed politically popular measures such as requiring background checks at gun shows and banning sales to people on the terrorist watch list, proposals that even its own members have been found to support. For gun makers, the fewer rules, the better.
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/30 "2012-12-20T15:43:27Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> First hit for “Biden” on Google news:
>
> [Biden launches post-Newtown push on guns](http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/biden-launches-post-newtown-push-guns-143333502--politics.html)
>
> You seriously hadn’t heard of this?
>
> Really?
And what is so damn nafarious about looking for ways to lessen gun violence?
---
### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/31 "2012-12-20T15:43:54Z")
> [@Loach](#):
>
> During the election cycle I would hear from some of my more excitable acquaintances or read on Facebook about how Obama was planning on taking their guns. I laughed it off and assured them there is no way that he was going to go after guns and the 2nd amendment. Now I look at the news and I think holy shit he is planning on taking their guns. It doesn’t look unwarranted now.
I don’t see how you can say that by tinkering with some gun laws (and that’s the most that will be considered) he’s “taking their guns” or “going after the 2nd amendment”.
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/32 "2012-12-20T15:46:03Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> I don’t see how you can say that by tinkering with some gun laws (and that’s the most that will be considered) he’s “taking their guns” or “going after the 2nd amendment”.
Makes you think he didn’t really think his friends were all that crazy in the first place if this is all it takes to change his mind.
---
### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/33 "2012-12-20T15:46:50Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Again, bullshit. [From CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/18/politics/nra-silence-regrouping/index.html?hpt=hp_c3)
What’s “bullshit”? I didn’t say anything about the NRA raising money in relation to anti-gun groups. Of course they raise more than them. They have lots more members and popular support.
I said that the NRA doesn’t have more money than other lobbying groups such as big oil.
[Here are the top ten lobbying groups](http://www.businesspundit.com/10-of-the-biggest-lobbies-in-washington/).
The NRA spent 7.2 million in the 2010 elections.
Big oil spent $150 million.
The tech industry spent $120 million. Microsoft alone spent about the same as the entire NRA with 6.9 million. Just one company!
No one would argue that Microsoft’s political power rivals that of the NRA. That would be absurd, despite the fact that they have the same lobbying budget.
My original point stands. The NRA’s power comes not primarily from money, but from its influence because of its voting members and supporters.
> [@](#):
>
> You aren’t the NRA-you are the customer and the shield. You’ve got so much emotional investment in the cause that you can’t even denounce a nutcase like Wayne LaPierre for fear that other NRA members might turn on you.
I’m proud of the good work that LaPierre does. I’m glad he’s fighting every day for my freedom to own guns. I have no idea why you think I’m fearful of other NRA members, as I’ve said nothing that would indicate this. Why do you feel the need to make this up and attribute this emotion to me?
---
### Author:  [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/34 "2012-12-20T15:48:37Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> What the fuck is in the news that could possibly make you think the nutcases might be right?
The news talking about bringing back the assault weapon ban. In the office yesterday, there was a catalogue being passed around and several people were planning purchases before the year ends.
Yes, the NRA gets a lot of money from firearms manufacturers. Their real power is still the ability to rally the Troops (and I am another one of them). One of the strongest single-issue-voter groups out there is those who believe in gun rights.
Do they use hyperbole? Of course they do - it sadly works with the modern electorate (you know - those people calling NASA about the end of the world tomorrow). I get emails from the NRA, from the Sierra Club, from the Nature Conservancy and a few others. They are regularly full of “If you don’t act NOW - it will all be over!” messages.
---
### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/35 "2012-12-20T15:51:03Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> I’m proud of the good work that LaPierre does. I’m glad he’s fighting every day for my freedom to own guns. I have no idea why you think I’m fearful of other NRA members, as I’ve said nothing that would indicate this. Why do you feel the need to make this up and attribute this emotion to me?
I posted that before I realized that you actually bought into is fear-based propaganda/rantings.
---
### Author:  [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/36 "2012-12-20T15:51:38Z")
> [@](#):
>
> While new legislation likely won’t be introduced until after Jan. 3, statements from top Senators such as Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) suggest that new proposals could be similar to the Federal Assault Weapons Ban that was in in place from 1994 to 2004.
>
> “I can tell you that he is going to have a bill to lead on because as a first-day bill I’m going to introduce in the Senate and the same bill will be introduced in the House – a bill to ban assault weapons,” Feinstein said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
> **[The Assault Weapons Ban: What Was It and Did It Work?](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/newtown-connecticut-shootings-assault-weapons-ban-work/story?id=18000724)**
>
> The Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 could provide framework for new gun control legislation.
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### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/37 "2012-12-20T15:52:26Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#):
>
> I don’t see how you can say that by tinkering with some gun laws (and that’s the most that will be considered)
What makes you say this? There’s no evidence this is true.
> [@](#):
>
> he’s “taking their guns” or “going after the 2nd amendment”.
I think it’s quite likely that Biden’s efforts will come back with a recommendation to take away some guns, such as “assault weapons” or rifles and pistols with high capacity magazines. If you own one of these, or were planning to you’d absolutely be correct to say that they are “taking away your guns”, and indeed “going after the 2nd amendment”.
If you don’t think that there will be any such recommendations you have far more faith in Obama and Biden’s loyalty to the constitution then I do.
---
### Author:  [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/38 "2012-12-20T15:57:34Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> I posted that before I realized that you actually bought into is fear-based propaganda/rantings.
**Algher** beat me to the punch on this, but of course I don’t buy into all the hyperbole that the NRA puts out there. I already posted in this thread that I think they have been to aggressive in attacking Obama without merit.
But that type of language in mailings is effective, apparently. As **Algher** points out, there is a reason that basically every advocacy group uses it.
But even if I don’t agree with every single thing the NRA does I’m certainly glad they exist and I think gun owners are undoubtedly better off because of the work they do to protect our rights.
---
### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/39 "2012-12-20T15:59:24Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> Don’t forget Tom Selleck! …
Who?
---
### Author:  [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2012, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/having-laid-low-the-n-r-a-is-fully-prepped-and-rehearsed-to-control-legislation-as-usual/644605/40 "2012-12-20T16:00:06Z")
> [@Debaser](#):
>
> What makes you say this? There’s no evidence this is true.
Common sense, but we’ll see.
> [@](#):
>
> I think it’s quite likely that Biden’s efforts will come back with a recommendation to take away some guns, such as “assault weapons” or rifles and pistols with high capacity magazines. If you own one of these, or were planning to you’d absolutely be correct to say that they are “taking away your guns”, and indeed “going after the 2nd amendment”.
>
> If you don’t think that there will be any such recommendations you have far more faith in Obama and Biden’s loyalty to the constitution then I do.
When someone says “taking your guns”, I think most people are hearing “taking all your guns”. And I’m comfortable that the SCOTUS would uphold an “assault weapon ban”, so I don’t see an assault on the 2nd amendment.
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