Google blog alerts tells me to read lefty blogs.

It’s rather amusing to me the misconceptions held about gun laws and the NRA by (generally speaking) the left. And more specifically, the widely-read, coo-coo-banana left. Digby says:

In the late 70’s it was a matter faith among liberals that handguns would be outlawed and other guns would be strictly regulated. It was just a matter of time. Within 20 years the NRA had killed the issue. Gun control is no longer even on the menu outside the biggest cities and even then it’s dicey.

And that’s a good thing. The NRA did not kill the issue. It was merely not popular. People support the right to arms by a large margin and, specifically, handguns for self-defense. In the 1980s until this year, many states have passed concealed carry laws (48 of 50 have provisions and 40 of those 48 have right to carry provisions). And, here’s a newsflash, a movement that big doesn’t just happen because of the big bad NRA snapping its fingers. Those legislators have to cater to voters to keep their jobs and they did.

The NRA said that Americans had a right to bear arms. Period. They didn’t bargain or negotiate. And they were successful because when your raison d’etre is protecting a fundamental right, you have to be absolutist or you lose the moral authority of your argument.

This is another misconception regarding arms and the NRA. That they don’t bargain or negotiate. And that’s just crap. There is not a single federal gun control law in this country that has passed without the NRA’s OK. And the NRA has taken some flak for that. In fact, here’s a little dialogue between the NRA and a group that does not negotiate. Read it. It’s the purists at JPFO v. the NRA. Because JPFO does not bargain or negotiate, they are, essentially, powerless in politics. They have no influence. The NRA is the 800 pound gorilla of gun rights but to intimate that they are absolutists who do not negotiate is either done out of ignorance; or misunderstanding; or the fact that the claim is made by someone who is anti-gun.

After quoting an utter misrepresentation of a shooting and castle doctrine laws, Jane Hamsher writes:

I think there is a fundamental incentive problem here — the NRA is financed by gun manufacturers who aren’t going to keep writing the fat checks in order to lose.

The NRA is funded by its members and donations primarily. The NRA’s $80 million yearly budget is largely from its membership dues ($25 per year) from over 3 million members. The NRA is forbidden by law from using these funds to lobby the government. And gun manufacturers are not particularly large companies but they do have their own trade organization, that Nationals Shooting Sports Foundation.

The NRA also supports some gun laws, such as Project Exile; background checks; the NFA, the NRA wrote the law that bans armor-piercing handgun ammunition; the NRA supports laws restricting access to firearms by minors and felons; and was the advocate behind the National Instant Check System (which unfortunately had the assault weapons ban attached to it). Those simply are not extremist positions and that does not indicate opposition to all gun controls.

But it is an article of faith among anti-gunners and some of those on the left that the Big Bad NRA is made of evil gun-maker money and it is an extremist bully that tell congress what to do. They have to believe that because it’s easier to swallow than the fact that most people don’t share their views on guns.

Update: I’m informed that digby is not the coo-coo-banana left. I read more of the blog and concur. Sorry about that.

Posted in uncategorized on December 14th, 2006 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |