A letter to the editor
I would like to clarify a couple of things.
First, your “Choosing sides — Will lawmakers stand with NRA against assault-weapons ban?” editorial last month referred to the “deep-pocketed National Rifle Association” as if it were some type of monster that hides under the bed and will come out to eat you up if angered. The NRA is nothing more than a group of American citizens who pay their dues to belong. It is really no different than the AARP, the AAA or the NEA. All are organizations that exist to make sure the voice of their members — seniors, drivers and educators — get heard by the government.
Second, there is no data that I could find to suggest that the assault-weapons ban has had any effect on crime overall. While the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms says that the incidents of these weapons used has gone down clearly, the crimes themselves have not. The U.S. Department of Justice, the Centers for Disease Control and the FBI Web sites contain data that says, in essence, that the ban has had no discernible effect on crime or gun-related deaths.
Third, and most important, is the fact that the elected officials you mention are clearly doing what their constituents have told them to do. They are not supporting the renewal of the ban because we, the people, have contacted them and asked them not to. If I’m reading your editorial correctly, it would seem that you would have them ignore the will of the people.
We live in a democracy; the people have the right to elect representatives and a duty to inform those elected as to our wishes. It is their duty to create legislation that conforms to these wishes.
People forget often that the NRA is the nations oldest civil liberties watchdog (gun rights are civil liberties, whether you like it or not). The NRA didn’t get into lobbying until the late 1930s as a result of the 1934 NFA. They are viewed as evil because they have lots of members and lots of money. I’ve never been a member of the NRA because of the few times they sold gun owners down the river to protect manufacturers (1968, 1986 and 1994). No gun control law has passed in this country since 1934 without their support (passive or active). Yet, they’re labeled extremists in the media.
