# Pitting the NRA
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [December 11, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881 "2009-12-11T17:48:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/1 "2009-12-11T17:48:43Z")
Is there an organization out there for people who are pro-gun, but who aren’t frothingly stupid Republican partisan shills?
I got a phonecall this week, from the NRA, doing a ‘poll’. They wanted me to listen to a short message from their executive Vice-President, Redneck McFucknut, and then answer a question.
Redneck McFucknut outlined the U.N.'s efforts at an international gun ban, which was painted as a plot to get guns away from Americans and to spread anti-American sentiment around the world. Why the U.N. would do the latter, I don’t know, but Redneck McFucknut was sure that was part of it.
So the call connects me to the question-asker, and I’m already pretty pissed, and he asks me their scientific single question :
“Do you support letting third-world dictators and Hillary Clinton taking away your right to own guns?”
I chewed on the poor pollster schmuck for propagating shameful divisive politics and told him it was an intentionally misleading question with built-in assumptions, like asking someone ‘Have you stopped beating your wife?’. Then he asked the question again. So I reiterated that it was a crap question and that he should be ashamed of himself for facilitating it - finally getting the message, he thanked me and ended the call.
I’m betting the poll results won’t show ‘NRA should be ashamed of themselves - 1%’.
---
### Author:  [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/2 "2009-12-11T17:52:39Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#):
>
> “Do you support letting third-world dictators and Hillary Clinton taking away your right to own guns?”
I have to ask…
How the hell would some piss ant third world dictator manage such a thing? Is North Korea gonna invade us? Is Hillary Clinton gonna be installed by Pres. Kim Chung Il as our military governor to run a North Korean puppet government?
What a stupid fucking poll question.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/3 "2009-12-11T18:02:58Z")
That stupid question goes back a ways. A friend got that as junk mail way back in maybe 2000 or so.
Actually, it was a multiple choice question. The other answer was b) Yes, I support freedom and democracy, and here is my donation of $\_\_\_\_\_\_.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/4 "2009-12-11T18:04:26Z")
I’m pretty pro-gun and I think it’s ridiculous how the NRA will often endorse a Republican candidate because they feel that their Democratic opponent is not pro-gun _enough_.
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### Author:  [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/5 "2009-12-11T18:09:00Z")
Classic push polling, along with a request for cash when you get to the end I am sure. Sadly, the NRA does quite well with demonizing Hillary, and pulls in far more than it would lost.
GOA is out there, but since they consider the NRA to be compromisers, I doubt that they are much better when it comes to partisanship.
Part of the problem is that the Democrats had a national reputation as being anti-gun for so long, the NRA naturally morphed into a predominantly Republican organization. There are some pro gun rights Democrats out there, but not nearly enough.
-Algher, Life Member of the NRA
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### Author:  [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/6 "2009-12-11T18:11:03Z")
[Tom Tancredo](http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_13882372) is trying to get something on the ballot in Colorado in regards to this. He has been massively ridiculed in the media for it.
Republicans just love to be scared, don’t they? You can pick out Republicans in a crowd because of the yellow puddle around their feet.
> [@](#):
>
> The treaty would regulate international trade — not domestic sales — but Tancredo argued Friday that gun owners had a right to be concerned.
>
> “It’s a pretty slippery step to gun confiscation,” he said.
>
> Tancredo conceded his measure is not binding, so even if it did pass, elected officials could vote their own way on gun issues.
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/7 "2009-12-11T20:03:40Z")
I’m curious where the conversation goes if the response is “yes.”
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### Author:  [@padabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/padabe)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/8 "2009-12-11T20:49:16Z")
“Been staying out of trouble, Bill?”
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### Author:  [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/9 "2009-12-11T20:51:24Z")
> [@Algher](#):
>
> Classic push polling, along with a request for cash when you get to the end I am sure. Sadly, the NRA does quite well with demonizing Hillary, and pulls in far more than it would lost.
>
> GOA is out there, but since they consider the NRA to be compromisers, I doubt that they are much better when it comes to partisanship.
>
> Part of the problem is that the Democrats had a national reputation as being anti-gun for so long, the NRA naturally morphed into a predominantly Republican organization. There are some pro gun rights Democrats out there, but not nearly enough.
>
> -Algher, Life Member of the NRA
And I’m not sure how they got that reputation. I realize that almost every anti-gun advocate is a Democrat, but most Democrats have never displayed any inclinations about banning guns.
I was, prior to this, sympathetic to the NRA, but they won’t get one iota of support from me after this - that kind of push-polling is part of the problem. Algher, maybe there’s something you can do from the inside, as a member - complain about that kind of partisan fearmongering.
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### Author:  [@villa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/villa)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/10 "2009-12-11T20:54:05Z")
Is there a gun rights organization out there I can join that doesn’t align itself so fundamentally with Republican candidates?
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/11 "2009-12-11T21:10:20Z")
Just keep the goddam things, if they mean that much to you. Fuck it, this fight just isn’t worth it!
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### Author:  [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/12 "2009-12-11T21:45:41Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#):
>
> And I’m not sure how they got that reputation. I realize that almost every anti-gun advocate is a Democrat, but most Democrats have never displayed any inclinations about banning guns.
This is particularly obnoxious with regard to Obama. Though he included the basic Democratic language on his website about gun control, it was basically a non-issue in his campaign and hasn’t been glanced at since the election. But we still get this fearmongering about Obama taking people’s guns away. It’s obnoxious, and I’m sure it’s even more so when it’s an organization that purports to represent you.
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### Author:  [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/13 "2009-12-11T21:52:25Z")
> [@appleciders](#):
>
> This is particularly obnoxious with regard to Obama. Though **he included the basic Democratic language on his website about gun control** , it was basically a non-issue in his campaign and hasn’t been glanced at since the election. But we still get this fearmongering about Obama taking people’s guns away. It’s obnoxious, and I’m sure it’s even more so when it’s an organization that purports to represent you.
Bolding and underlining is mine.
Do you see the problem the Democrats have here? If the basic Democrat language is for more gun control, you simply push any gun rights group into the Republican camp. The danger to gun rights is that you can then been taken for granted by the Republicans.
The NRA did not endorse Bush Sr. for his second term. That was one (just one) of the factors in Clinton’s victory.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/14 "2009-12-11T23:06:07Z")
I hate the rhetoric as well, but it apparently works. I can’t see how, but since 1994 it’s been an almost uninterrupted string of victories. I often find myself wondering how acting like an extremist jerk actually convinces people to like you and support your cause, and then I realize that it is virtually a defining characteristic of our political system, so it’s probably not too far out of context, if at all.
Anyway, if you want the cause without the over-the-top pro-Republican rhetoric, I have a very unusual suggestion for you: join the [Pink Pistols](http://www.pinkpistols.org/).
From their [FAQ](http://www.pinkpistols.org/faq.html):
> [@](#):
>
> Are you associated with a political party?
>
> No. We are strictly non-partisan. If the responses to our questionnaires looks slanted, it is because only some people who receive the questionnaire respond. For example, each time when copies were emailed to everyone elected to the Massachusetts State House and Senate, only 1 politician responded.
> [@elucidator](#):
>
> Just keep the goddam things, if they mean that much to you. Fuck it, this fight just isn’t worth it!
You say that same thing every time, in the same condescending manner, in every gun thread. You then proceed to return to the thread and drop endless snarky comments that go a long way to demonstrating that your disclaimer is disingenuous. We simply don’t believe you.
For my part, this always sets me off. Over the last year or so you seem to think that I have a problem with you. I do. You troll gun threads. It’s not malicious, mind you, but it is incredibly annoying. Extremely annoying. Nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying. And I wish you would stop it.
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### Author:  [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/15 "2009-12-11T23:12:09Z")
> [@appleciders](#):
>
> This is particularly obnoxious with regard to Obama. Though he included the basic Democratic language on his website about gun control, it was basically a non-issue in his campaign and hasn’t been glanced at since the election. But we still get this fearmongering about Obama taking people’s guns away. It’s obnoxious, and I’m sure it’s even more so when it’s an organization that purports to represent you.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it hasn’t been glanced at since the election.
[Holder Revives Talk Of An Assault Weapons Ban](http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/26/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry4831751.shtml)
It’s true that Obama has more important things on his plate right now. It’s also true that this has not been a pressing issue for the administration as yet. But if you don’t think that this will come around eventually, you’re dreaming. And I say this as an Obama voter who generally backs what he has done thus far. That was quite clearly a trial balloon, and it indicated that while the concerns may be overblown, they are not entirely misplaced.
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### Author:  [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)
#### Post date: [December 11, 2009, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/16 "2009-12-11T23:24:37Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#):
>
> …You say that same thing every time, in the same condescending manner, in every gun thread. You then proceed to return to the thread and drop endless snarky comments that go a long way to demonstrating that your disclaimer is disingenuous. We simply don’t believe you.
>
> For my part, this always sets me off. Over the last year or so you seem to think that I have a problem with you. I do. You troll gun threads. It’s not malicious, mind you, but it is incredibly annoying. Extremely annoying. Nails-on-a-chalkboard annoying. And I wish you would stop it.
Well, _somebody_ sure needs a hug…
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### Author:  [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/17 "2009-12-12T00:14:43Z")
GOA - The “NRA are liberal collaborationists” group.
JPFO - Doesn’t seem as liberal as you might expect from Jewish people based on some language, but I’m not too sure how monolithic they are. I’m not sure what percentage of members are even Jewish.
Pink Pistols - Gay group. Not very partisan as noted above.
SAF - Legal challenge group, it seems they tackle specific laws only. Although I should note that the founder is a “conservative activist.”
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### Author:  [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2009, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/18 "2009-12-12T01:23:45Z")
> [@SteveG1](#):
>
> I have to ask…
>
> How the hell would some piss ant third world dictator manage such a thing?
Kenya is third world, isn’t it?
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### Author:  [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2009, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/19 "2009-12-12T01:48:39Z")
> [@Hal\_Briston](#):
>
> Kenya is third world, isn’t it?
Silence!!!
I keel you!
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### Author:  [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)
#### Post date: [December 12, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/pitting-the-nra/520881/20 "2009-12-12T13:53:16Z")
> [@villa](#):
>
> Is there a gun rights organization out there I can join that doesn’t align itself so fundamentally with Republican candidates?
Possibly. How do you feel about flowers in your gun barrels?
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