Opinion
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- The anti-NRA firestorm escalated particularly quickly following the Valentine’s Day massacre at Morjory Stonemason Douglas High School. Unlike the aftermath of the horror that was Sandy Hook, the Douglas High School survivors provided the media with plenty of telegenic mouthpieces with endless, unassailable “moral credibility” who were able and all too willing to parrot an anti-gun rights message to the world.
Never mind that many of these same teens were happily gobbling down Tide Pods two weeks ago. Now, after four local cops stood by, listening to the sound of gunfire and screams while remaining safely outside the school, the surviving students are given a national platform to attack the big bad NRA, its five million members and anyone who dares to disagree with them. Why? Because there’s a narrative that must be advanced, funds to be raised and eyeballs to attract. No matter how inane or incoherent the students’ opinions may be.
But despite the deluge of attacks on Dana Loesch, Wayne LaPierre and the NRA as a whole, the last thing that anti-gun organizations and the media — yes, that’s redundant — want is for the nation’s oldest civil rights organization to go away. Why?
Because the NRA is the best target any Second Amendment-opposing operation could hope for.
If Chris Murphy, Ladd Everitt or Shannon Watts were handed a magic wand that could make the NRA disappear today, they’d drop it like it’s hot. If they made the NRA go away in a cloud of dust, they’d be taking away their biggest, easiest, juiciest target. If the NRA didn’t exist, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly would have to invent it.
That’s because without their NRA whipping boy, all they’d have to rail against are smaller, less well-known organizations like the Second Amendment Foundation and Gun Owners of America to beat up on. Not to mention the firearms industry’s actual lobbying group, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF). But nothing those operations do is nearly as sexy or inflammatory as a quote from Wayne or the latest Dana video.
- Without the NRA, they’ve have no one to blame for dangerous individuals remaining in our schools and walking free.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to blame for local and federal law enforcement’s failures.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to blame for all school shootings committed by the organization’s members.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to blame for the lack of “smart guns” for sale.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to blame for keeping women defenseless against violence.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to blame for the expansion of campus carry laws.
- Without the NRA, they’d have no one to promote as plucky, common-sense moms standing up to gun bullies.
- Without the NRA, they couldn’t claim the failure of gun control laws on the bought-and-paid-for politicians.
And without the NRA, they wouldn’t have a convenient boogeyman to hold up to motivate contributors.
What civilian disarmament advocates know is that even without the NRA, there would still be the same number of committed, gun-owning, Second Amendment-supporting voters and politicians. The org’s five million members are, on the whole, very politically engaged. They’d still be out there contributing to 2A-supporting candidates and — most important — voting in elections.
So no matter how many big companies signal their woke-ness by distancing themselves from the NRA and its members, America’s favorite gun rights organization isn’t going anywhere. In fact, we’d be surprised if loads of new money and members aren’t flowing into Fairfax as we speak.
It’s possible that, with a little help of 156 Democrats in Congress, “Coward” County’s Sheriff Scott Israel, through his department’s efficiency and professionalism, may have inherited the title of America’s biggest gun salesman.
About Dan Zimmerman :
Dan Zimmerman has been shooting all kinds of guns for 25 years and writing about them for the last eight. He’s particularly into the shotgun sports, including trap, sporting clays, duck, and pheasant hunting.
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