Another beef with the NRA - The Firearms Forum

RunningOnMT · 10-03-2009, 02:28 PM

I am an NRA member as well as a GOA member. I really want to continue supporting the NRA but they aren't making it easy.

You see earlier this year I was unsure about renewing my annual membership because of positions they had taken or I had HEARD they had taken on issues.

I finally decided I would renew. The problem is that while my membership had lapsed I had received two other cards from them that LOOKED like membership cards and one had a number on it but it was different from my original member number.

Then someone contacted me by phone and asked me to renew and I said ok and I made my payment via credit card. I don't believe I ever received another card from them after this conversation. To further complicate matters I had thought that I was making a down payment on a life membership, but I have received no further billing.

This confusion was all brought about by the NRA's aggressive solicitation of members for funds both for renewal and additional donations. They've managed to get me confused as to my member status...ok I'll admit, confusing me isn't that hard. Now I'm not sure if the card I currently carry which shows an expiration in 2010 is the correct one, and if the number on it is correct.

I wanted to contact them about verifying my current member status and converting to life member and making payments. They have a link to contact them but it gives specific categories about the nature of your message...I hate not having a none of the above options.

So they give a phone number. I called and got a recording that their offices were closed but would be open on Monday through Friday til (I forget what time) and Saturdays til 6:00 pm. But the call was made at about 1:00 pm on Saturday. According to their recording they should have been open.

Anyway I'm getting back to feeling like their main mission is to collect money to support their salaries rather than actually working to protect our second amendment rights and providing member services.

To contrast this, I received an email several days ago from the GOA president which contained some disturbing information. I then went to their web sit which I admit isn't as elaborate as the NRA's and used the contact them option and wrote comments and asked questions about my concerns. The next day I received a personal email reply addressing my issues, not some form letter. I was impressed.

Bobitis · 10-03-2009, 05:26 PM

I'm a current NRA member,but I will not renew.
Too much of my money has gone toward this:

http://www.graphicnet.net/photo/nra-headquarters

Too many suits.
Too many conventions.
Too much begging for suits and conventions.
Too much greed.

I know the game and how it's played.

Politics as usual.

Blackhawk Dave · 10-03-2009, 05:52 PM

Yes, you can gripe at them, but.......

We MUST speak with a big voice, and the NRA IS the big voice. The cost is a half-dozen Starbucks a year. Do I agree with everything, with how they spend their money? No. Am I a member? Yes. We'll NEVER all agree on everything, but we can agree on the BIG things, and that's the Feds have too much power and want us disarmed. They fight the government on these issues. Everything else is so far down the totem pole that I don't care.

Terry_P · 10-03-2009, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackhawk Dave

Yes, you can gripe at them, but.......

We MUST speak with a big voice, and the NRA IS the big voice. The cost is a half-dozen Starbucks a year. Do I agree with everything, with how they spend their money? No. Am I a member? Yes. We'll NEVER all agree on everything, but we can agree on the BIG things, and that's the Feds have too much power and want us disarmed. They fight the government on these issues. Everything else is so far down the totem pole that I don't care.

I agree. Became a life member in the 90's and sometime their vision seems lacking but the anti's are united in their hatred and now with an anti-gun executive branch it seems more important than ever to stay together.

Suwannee Tim · 10-03-2009, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobitis

I'm a current NRA member,but I will not renew.
Too much of my money has gone toward this:

http://www.graphicnet.net/photo/nra-headquarters

Too many suits.
Too many conventions.
Too much begging for suits and conventions.
Too much greed.

I know the game and how it's played.

Politics as usual.

Looks like a pretty standard medium sized office building to me. What's the gripe? Specifically, what's the gripe?

Go ahead, quit the NRA. But don't give me these vague accusations.

Bobitis · 10-03-2009, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Suwannee Tim

Looks like a pretty standard medium sized office building to me. What's the gripe? Specifically, what's the gripe?

Go ahead, quit the NRA. But don't give me these vague accusations.

Vague accusations?
I don't think I was vague in any way.

The building houses thousands of people. Far too many to help me fight the good fight.

Bigger is better?

I first joined the NRA 30 years ago and gave it up. 5 years ago I thought I'd give them another chance. NO change.

IMHO, greed is greed. Doesn't matter what side of the street you stand on.
Sure, they spend a few bucks debating the merits of the 2nd. I expect a little more bang for my buck and less travel time with the apparel and cocktails.

Does the NRA stand up for me? Hell YES!

Does the NRA use my money wisely? I don't think so.

Too many egos at play here.
Too much Me and not enough We.

YMMV

woolleyworm · 10-03-2009, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blackhawk Dave

Yes, you can gripe at them, but.......

We MUST speak with a big voice, and the NRA IS the big voice. The cost is a half-dozen Starbucks a year. Do I agree with everything, with how they spend their money? No. Am I a member? Yes. We'll NEVER all agree on everything, but we can agree on the BIG things, and that's the Feds have too much power and want us disarmed. They fight the government on these issues. Everything else is so far down the totem pole that I don't care.

+1 BHD
I do agree Bob, there are alot of politics and suits, but that is the unfortunate world we live in and we need these "suits" on our side, IMO. I agree with the majority of what the NRA does; I believe 100% in what it stands for.

Suwannee Tim · 10-03-2009, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bobitis

Vague accusations?
I don't think I was vague in any way.................
Does the NRA use my money wisely? I don't think so...............

You were not specific in any way.

If you don't like the way the NRA operates, quit.

If you have an accusation to make, be specific.

If you can't be specific then be quiet.

Bobitis · 10-03-2009, 08:24 PM

I guess I'll just shut up then.

Kieran McCaig · 10-03-2009, 08:37 PM

The heat most be getting to Tim in Fla.

Suwannee Tim · 10-03-2009, 08:47 PM

Ain't no heat here. High of 86. I damned near froze to death today.

pickenup · 10-03-2009, 09:40 PM

Did someone want specifics?

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=46537

Doc1911 · 10-04-2009, 06:36 AM

Is there wasted money in the NRA? YES. Is there people who have taken advantage of the NRA system that is in place? YES. Is the NRA needed? YES

Good advertising costs a lot of money - so funds will be spent here. Since this is a political organization then the people representing us will spend a lot of money at places the normal citizen may think are wasteful, but in reality needful. At times if you are not wearing a $3000 suit, you do not get the 3 million $ donations.

I am a NRA Life Member. I DO NOT like everything they do, but still support them. I see them as a necessary evil for the present.

Call the NRA (1-800-672-3888). Most of them are not the smartest fries in the basket (a couple fries short of a Happy Meal), but they will get your membership situation straightened out. It took 4 months to get mine straightened out - that was still quicker than the US Army delivered a roll of toilet paper.

RunningOnMT · 10-04-2009, 08:23 AM

Here's another thing the NRA does that bothers me. We all know how they are always pushing for people to become life members, or want you to renew early. Why? Because their spending is greater than their income. That's not a very sound fiscal policy.

Ok, so if one year everbody renewed an annual membership a year early as they would have you do, what is going to happen to funding the next year? Potentially you could receive nothing because you had already received and spent the current years proceeds the previous year. So then you have to go out and dream up more ways to take in yet more money.

So lets say you got every current member of the NRA to convert to a life membership. Now lets assume they all paid cash up front. Let's also assume the average life expectancy of a current member was 25 years (just an arbitrary figure).

So all that money is taken in and spent in one year. What is going to happen in subsequent years when there are no member fees to collect? They would require member rolls to increase drastically. There is going to be a saturation point at which they would have reached the maximum number of people who would be willing to support them.

They will have to appeal to an even broader segmant of our society. Which means a wider range of opinions on firearms related issues. So you see eventually the NRA might have to appeal to the sentiments of Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid for example. Then where is our representation?

Do you see what could happen? In an effort to constantly reach and recruit more new members, positions and policies would have to change to have an ever increasing universal appeal. That means compromise.

And all because of fiscal irresponsibility.

Doc1911 · 10-04-2009, 10:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunningOnMT

Here's another thing the NRA does that bothers me. We all know how they are always pushing for people to become life members, or want you to renew early. Why? Because their spending is greater than their income. That's not a very sound fiscal policy.

Ok, so if one year everbody renewed an annual membership a year early as they would have you do, what is going to happen to funding the next year? Potentially you could receive nothing because you had already received and spent the current years proceeds the previous year. So then you have to go out and dream up more ways to take in yet more money.

So lets say you got every current member of the NRA to convert to a life membership. Now lets assume they all paid cash up front. Let's also assume the average life expectancy of a current member was 25 years (just an arbitrary figure).

So all that money is taken in and spent in one year. What is going to happen in subsequent years when there are no member fees to collect? They would require member rolls to increase drastically. There is going to be a saturation point at which they would have reached the maximum number of people who would be willing to support them.

They will have to appeal to an even broader segmant of our society. Which means a wider range of opinions on firearms related issues. So you see eventually the NRA might have to appeal to the sentiments of Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid for example. Then where is our representation?

Do you see what could happen? In an effort to constantly reach and recruit more new members, positions and policies would have to change to have an ever increasing universal appeal. That means compromise.

And all because of fiscal irresponsibility.

Yep, VERY true. From what I understand they have a deficit of over $100 Million. Even in 2000 expenses outstripped revenues by over $20 million... which shows a long term problem.

Artemus · 10-04-2009, 10:37 AM

The NRA is far from perfect.However,there is no doubt in my mind that it is easier for a state organization to hold things together than an orginization that deals with all 50 states.Good or bad,the NRA is the only reason we still own guns.If you can't understand that nothing I can say will help.I just know that if the NRA or any other gun orginization had 40 million members,the libs would back off this horse beaten issue of more gun control.
For the last time there libs......"IT'S THE CRIMINALS THAT WE NEED TO CONTROL."

rocklinskier · 10-04-2009, 11:35 AM

Since congress has cut of ACORN's money, maybe the NRA can get the 8.5 billion.....Yeah right

Tom Militano · 10-04-2009, 05:57 PM

I've been a NRA Life Member about forty years, back when it was $75.00. I've shot for a lot of military rifle and pistol teams and you had to be a member of the NRA to shoot. Uncle Sam didn't pick up the tab for membership either. As I said, I've been a member for about forty years and I still get calls and mail wanting me to join or renew my membership. My big problem with the NRA is ted nugent. Google him and see what the loudmouth phony did when he was drafted during Vietnam. He crapped and pi**ed in the same clothes for a week and showed up at the draft board like that. They didn't except him of course. He's a damn coward and an oxygen thief. He talks a good game, but doesn't have the guts to back it up.

Terry_P · 10-04-2009, 07:52 PM

I guess my question is if not the NRA then who has the clout with the politicans? When you have the likes of Schummer, Feinstein, Kerry and Boxer and many others ready to cosponsor any bill the anti's can dream up then the old saying about money talks and **** walks applies. Politicans respect only one thing and you'll find in in the upper case on the 4 keyboard key. There are other satellite and off shoot groups that are good at getting information out to the gun owning public but the politicans could give a big burly about them because they feel they don't have clout with the voters.

As far as directing funds to the NRA I realize you were offering in jest but Clinton is the one that took away the NRA's 501C status as a nonprofit however if you look you will see the Brady Campaign is a 501C(4) and are tax exempt. It $ucks being us.

308 at my gate · 10-04-2009, 09:23 PM

Have been an NRA member for about 30 years and will continue. It is the only organization with any kind of clout that represents gun owners period. The other organizations just do not have the resources to make a difference on the federal level. I also do not like everything they do, and I sure do not like the constant asking for money. But it is what it is.

300 H&H · 10-04-2009, 09:45 PM

Agree totally with the last post.....

bcj1755 · 10-04-2009, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terry_P

As far as directing funds to the NRA I realize you were offering in jest but Clinton is the one that took away the NRA's 501C status as a nonprofit however if you look you will see the Brady Campaign is a 501C(4) and are tax exempt. It $ucks being us.

I bet if you look hard enough, you'll probably find out that the gov't is funding the Brady Bunch.

The Brady Bunch, I always HATED that show. Now I know why

Terry_P · 10-05-2009, 08:53 AM

With their tax exempt status we all certainly are and with the way this congress operates I suspect you are right.

ampaterry · 10-05-2009, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickenup

Did someone want specifics?

http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=46537

Outstanding first post on that thread - all the specifics anyone could ask for.

My membership in the NRA ended thirty years ago.
After constant begging and wheedling for more $$ to protect our second amendment rights, they announced the purchase of 37,000 acres of wilderness in New Mexico where they had great plans of all the fun stuff they would be doing there. Money was VERY tight for me at that time, as it was for many folks, and all I could see was the fact that I had poured some of my precious resources into a group that CLAIMED they needed it for a cause I agreed with, while in reality spending it on something that not 1% of the membership could ever afford to get an ounce of benefit from.

Many left the group at that time, and many of those that stayed had a virtual revolt - which in the end made no difference, as evidenced by the millions spent on their new headquarters and the multi-million dollar sallaries they pay.

The NRA can be compared to the Red Cross in this respect. Yes, they may be the only game in town in some areas, but their constant wasting of resources makes them largely ineffective for the purpose they were founded for.

If I were independantly rich, I would support the NRA as well as every other gun rights organization. But if I were rich enough to support them all but one, the one eliminated would be the NRA.

Hardballer · 10-05-2009, 01:56 PM

Anybody who wants to find a complaint about an org. can do so easily. The same can be said about a person, just ask my wife. (she's sleeping now)

Seriously though, If we don't all stand together, we will surely all fall together. Does the NRA fund raise, sure they do. they are not some local gun range with an annual budget of 20,000 dollars.

Want someone with a big voice to stand up for you? Support them.

The NRA, to me, appears to be an honest and forthright org. that has our best interests at heart. I find that an endearing quality this day and age. The same can be said of the GOA whom I also support wholeheartedly.

I can tell you that if half of the whiners, would just pony up, they would have much less to carp about as far as fund raising goes.

Think about this for a moment, this should give you some perspective. The NRA asks for a measly 25-35 bucks a year. You blow that much on dinner at a low end family restaurant or fast food place taking the kids and mom out to dinner.

Look at the "PAY THIS AMOUNT" line on your tax form and compare it to the NRA yearly payment.

The reason "bad" laws are passed, for the most part is because only 4 million or so gun owners join the NRA, If they had even 30 million, heck, 20 million of the 80 million plus gun owners on their roll call, there would be no problems with, Gun Control inc. I can promise you that.

We are cutting our own throats with infighting and whining.

Edit: I've read other posts about the NRA on this board and others and have come to the conclusion that if you want to change things, become an activist and change things. Get Wayne out of there.

10-03-2009, 02:28 PM	#1
RunningOnMT Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Akron, Ohio Contributor Posts: 4,720	Another beef with the NRA I am an NRA member as well as a GOA member. I really want to continue supporting the NRA but they aren't making it easy. You see earlier this year I was unsure about renewing my annual membership because of positions they had taken or I had HEARD they had taken on issues. I finally decided I would renew. The problem is that while my membership had lapsed I had received two other cards from them that LOOKED like membership cards and one had a number on it but it was different from my original member number. Then someone contacted me by phone and asked me to renew and I said ok and I made my payment via credit card. I don't believe I ever received another card from them after this conversation. To further complicate matters I had thought that I was making a down payment on a life membership, but I have received no further billing. This confusion was all brought about by the NRA's aggressive solicitation of members for funds both for renewal and additional donations. They've managed to get me confused as to my member status...ok I'll admit, confusing me isn't that hard. Now I'm not sure if the card I currently carry which shows an expiration in 2010 is the correct one, and if the number on it is correct. I wanted to contact them about verifying my current member status and converting to life member and making payments. They have a link to contact them but it gives specific categories about the nature of your message...I hate not having a none of the above options. So they give a phone number. I called and got a recording that their offices were closed but would be open on Monday through Friday til (I forget what time) and Saturdays til 6:00 pm. But the call was made at about 1:00 pm on Saturday. According to their recording they should have been open. Anyway I'm getting back to feeling like their main mission is to collect money to support their salaries rather than actually working to protect our second amendment rights and providing member services. To contrast this, I received an email several days ago from the GOA president which contained some disturbing information. I then went to their web sit which I admit isn't as elaborate as the NRA's and used the contact them option and wrote comments and asked questions about my concerns. The next day I received a personal email reply addressing my issues, not some form letter. I was impressed. -->

10-03-2009, 05:26 PM	#2
Bobitis Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 6,612	Re: Another beef with the NRA I'm a current NRA member,but I will not renew. Too much of my money has gone toward this: http://www.graphicnet.net/photo/nra-headquarters Too many suits. Too many conventions. Too much begging for suits and conventions. Too much greed. I know the game and how it's played. Politics as usual. __________________ ^.^ A point in every direction is the same as having no point at all

10-03-2009, 05:52 PM	#3
Blackhawk Dave Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Denton, TX Posts: 593	Re: Another beef with the NRA Yes, you can gripe at them, but....... We MUST speak with a big voice, and the NRA IS the big voice. The cost is a half-dozen Starbucks a year. Do I agree with everything, with how they spend their money? No. Am I a member? Yes. We'll NEVER all agree on everything, but we can agree on the BIG things, and that's the Feds have too much power and want us disarmed. They fight the government on these issues. Everything else is so far down the totem pole that I don't care.

10-03-2009, 08:24 PM	#9
Bobitis Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 6,612	Re: Another beef with the NRA I guess I'll just shut up then. __________________ ^.^ A point in every direction is the same as having no point at all

10-03-2009, 08:37 PM	#10
Kieran McCaig Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: canada Posts: 1,469	Re: Another beef with the NRA The heat most be getting to Tim in Fla. __________________ My 2 cents worth is only.183 with exc hange.

10-03-2009, 08:47 PM	#11
Suwannee Tim Registered User Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 2,227	Re: Another beef with the NRA Ain't no heat here. High of 86. I damned near froze to death today.

10-03-2009, 09:40 PM	#12
pickenup Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains Posts: 6,837	Re: Another beef with the NRA Did someone want specifics? http://www.thefirearmsforum.com/showthread.php?t=46537 __________________ The gene pool needs chlorine

10-04-2009, 06:36 AM	#13
Doc1911 Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: USA Posts: 874	Re: Another beef with the NRA Is there wasted money in the NRA? YES. Is there people who have taken advantage of the NRA system that is in place? YES. Is the NRA needed? YES Good advertising costs a lot of money - so funds will be spent here. Since this is a political organization then the people representing us will spend a lot of money at places the normal citizen may think are wasteful, but in reality needful. At times if you are not wearing a $3000 suit, you do not get the 3 million $ donations. I am a NRA Life Member. I DO NOT like everything they do, but still support them. I see them as a necessary evil for the present. Call the NRA (1-800-672-3888). Most of them are not the smartest fries in the basket (a couple fries short of a Happy Meal), but they will get your membership situation straightened out. It took 4 months to get mine straightened out - that was still quicker than the US Army delivered a roll of toilet paper. __________________ _____ Sincerely, Doc NRA Life Member Last edited by Doc1911; 10-04-2009 at 06:37 AM..

10-04-2009, 08:23 AM	#14
RunningOnMT Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Akron, Ohio Contributor Posts: 4,720	Re: Another beef with the NRA Here's another thing the NRA does that bothers me. We all know how they are always pushing for people to become life members, or want you to renew early. Why? Because their spending is greater than their income. That's not a very sound fiscal policy. Ok, so if one year everbody renewed an annual membership a year early as they would have you do, what is going to happen to funding the next year? Potentially you could receive nothing because you had already received and spent the current years proceeds the previous year. So then you have to go out and dream up more ways to take in yet more money. So lets say you got every current member of the NRA to convert to a life membership. Now lets assume they all paid cash up front. Let's also assume the average life expectancy of a current member was 25 years (just an arbitrary figure). So all that money is taken in and spent in one year. What is going to happen in subsequent years when there are no member fees to collect? They would require member rolls to increase drastically. There is going to be a saturation point at which they would have reached the maximum number of people who would be willing to support them. They will have to appeal to an even broader segmant of our society. Which means a wider range of opinions on firearms related issues. So you see eventually the NRA might have to appeal to the sentiments of Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid for example. Then where is our representation? Do you see what could happen? In an effort to constantly reach and recruit more new members, positions and policies would have to change to have an ever increasing universal appeal. That means compromise. And all because of fiscal irresponsibility.

10-04-2009, 10:37 AM	#16
Artemus V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Mass. Posts: 358	Re: Another beef with the NRA The NRA is far from perfect.However,there is no doubt in my mind that it is easier for a state organization to hold things together than an orginization that deals with all 50 states.Good or bad,the NRA is the only reason we still own guns.If you can't understand that nothing I can say will help.I just know that if the NRA or any other gun orginization had 40 million members,the libs would back off this horse beaten issue of more gun control. For the last time there libs......"IT'S THE CRIMINALS THAT WE NEED TO CONTROL."

10-04-2009, 11:35 AM	#17
rocklinskier V.I.P. Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 295	Re: Another beef with the NRA Since congress has cut of ACORN's money, maybe the NRA can get the 8.5 billion.....Yeah right

10-04-2009, 05:57 PM	#18
Tom Militano Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Jacksonville, AL Posts: 1,255	Re: Another beef with the NRA I've been a NRA Life Member about forty years, back when it was $75.00. I've shot for a lot of military rifle and pistol teams and you had to be a member of the NRA to shoot. Uncle Sam didn't pick up the tab for membership either. As I said, I've been a member for about forty years and I still get calls and mail wanting me to join or renew my membership. My big problem with the NRA is ted nugent. Google him and see what the loudmouth phony did when he was drafted during Vietnam. He crapped and pi**ed in the same clothes for a week and showed up at the draft board like that. They didn't except him of course. He's a damn coward and an oxygen thief. He talks a good game, but doesn't have the guts to back it up.

10-04-2009, 07:52 PM	#19
Terry_P Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NH Posts: 2,513	Re: Another beef with the NRA I guess my question is if not the NRA then who has the clout with the politicans? When you have the likes of Schummer, Feinstein, Kerry and Boxer and many others ready to cosponsor any bill the anti's can dream up then the old saying about money talks and **** walks applies. Politicans respect only one thing and you'll find in in the upper case on the 4 keyboard key. There are other satellite and off shoot groups that are good at getting information out to the gun owning public but the politicans could give a big burly about them because they feel they don't have clout with the voters. As far as directing funds to the NRA I realize you were offering in jest but Clinton is the one that took away the NRA's 501C status as a nonprofit however if you look you will see the Brady Campaign is a 501C(4) and are tax exempt. It $ucks being us. __________________ NRA and NAHC Life "Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." -Aristotle

10-04-2009, 09:23 PM	#20
308 at my gate Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Lost in SW USA. Posts: 847	Re: Another beef with the NRA Have been an NRA member for about 30 years and will continue. It is the only organization with any kind of clout that represents gun owners period. The other organizations just do not have the resources to make a difference on the federal level. I also do not like everything they do, and I sure do not like the constant asking for money. But it is what it is. __________________ You got to love it.

10-04-2009, 09:45 PM	#21
300 H&H Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Iowa Posts: 1,796	Re: Another beef with the NRA Agree totally with the last post.....

10-05-2009, 08:53 AM	#23
Terry_P Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: NH Posts: 2,513	Re: Another beef with the NRA With their tax exempt status we all certainly are and with the way this congress operates I suspect you are right. __________________ NRA and NAHC Life "Both oligarch and tyrant mistrust the people, and therefore deprive them of their arms." -Aristotle

10-05-2009, 01:56 PM	#25
Hardballer V.I.P. Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Smack dab in da middle Posts: 471	Re: Another beef with the NRA Anybody who wants to find a complaint about an org. can do so easily. The same can be said about a person, just ask my wife. (she's sleeping now) Seriously though, If we don't all stand together, we will surely all fall together. Does the NRA fund raise, sure they do. they are not some local gun range with an annual budget of 20,000 dollars. Want someone with a big voice to stand up for you? Support them. The NRA, to me, appears to be an honest and forthright org. that has our best interests at heart. I find that an endearing quality this day and age. The same can be said of the GOA whom I also support wholeheartedly. I can tell you that if half of the whiners, would just pony up, they would have much less to carp about as far as fund raising goes. Think about this for a moment, this should give you some perspective. The NRA asks for a measly 25-35 bucks a year. You blow that much on dinner at a low end family restaurant or fast food place taking the kids and mom out to dinner. Look at the "PAY THIS AMOUNT" line on your tax form and compare it to the NRA yearly payment. The reason "bad" laws are passed, for the most part is because only 4 million or so gun owners join the NRA, If they had even 30 million, heck, 20 million of the 80 million plus gun owners on their roll call, there would be no problems with, Gun Control inc. I can promise you that. We are cutting our own throats with infighting and whining. Edit: I've read other posts about the NRA on this board and others and have come to the conclusion that if you want to change things, become an activist and change things. Get Wayne out of there. Last edited by Hardballer; 10-05-2009 at 02:16 PM..