In the wake of Joe Zumbo's revelations of his real opinion of his fellow shooters, an open letter to the NRA by way of a wake-up call:
Good afternoon,
By now I'm sure you've heard plenty about Joe Zumbo and Outdoor Life, and how Remington has scrubbed its hands of Joe Zumbo and severed any association with him. You probably know that Zumbo, while proclaiming that he's been an NRA member for 40 years, has become the Brady Campaign's latest poster boy.
Here's the basic problem in this: Joe Zumbo is frighteningly close to the NRA's party line. And neither I, nor any other shooter I know, expects the NRA to say anything to distance itself from Joe Zumbo's comments. Because, frankly, we've come to realize that the NRA has sold us out.
There was a time when the NRA was the leading organization supporting US gun rights. It isn't any more. The NRA has apparently found it likes political influence and money better than it likes the Second Amendment. This is one reason why I stopped renewing my NRA membership. (Another reason is realizing how much of my annual dues was being spent on mailing me frivolous NRA-logo bling that I didn't want, in order to persuade me to sign up for another year. Do you know how many damned NRA-logo ball caps I have?)
The NRA doesn't even play nicely with the other US pro-gun organizations. GOA rarely gets even a nod from the NRA. The Second Amendment Foundation (of which I am a life member) was "airbrushed out" of NRA press releases regarding the New Orleans confiscation lawsuits, when it was SAF that did most of the work. The NRA mostly just came along after the fact and took credit.
So who does the NRA stand behind? Gun owners, or Joe Zumbo? Gun owners, or Sarah Brady? Gun owners, or the Violence Policy Center?
Lately, it doesn't look like the answer to any of those is "Gun owners". And that's a problem. The NRA's MO has become "compromise". And by compromise after compromise, our rights are being eroded away, little bit by little bit ... with the NRA's tacit cooperation. The NRA is playing a defensive campaign, and by doing so, it's only putting off the inevitable, slowing down our losses to the point where most people - particularly the "huntin'n'fishin'" set -- scarcely notice them. The NRA has done too much endorsing the lesser of two evils ... but a vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil. If there isn't a candidate who isn't merely the lesser of several evils, RUN ONE. That's the way the NRA needs to be thinking -- offensively, not defensively; fighting to re-establish our lost rights, not just to slow down the rate at which we lose more.
Two years ago, I moved to New Hampshire. Why? Well, there were several reasons. But among them is New Hampshire's motto: "Live free or die." New Hampshire was the first state to tell Congress where it could shove the RealID Act. New Hampshire was the first state to pass a law saying "Kelo vs. New London won't happen here." New Hampshire also has a state government that does more, with less taxpayer money, than any other state.
Do you know what I'm going to do this year? I'm going to join JPFO. Why? Because their motto isn't "let's compromise some more" or "political expediency". Their motto is "NEVER AGAIN."
If the NRA ever wants me as a member again, it's time for the NRA to put its actions where its mouth is. It can start by calling Joe Zumbo out as the Quisling he is. But for now, I'm giving my membership dollars to organizations that always have had the courage of their convictions.