No one is coming for your guns.
No one is suggesting that.
I expected a backlash when I wrote the first opinion on firearms issues and the National Rifle Association (NRA) last week. Let me be clear, I completely support one’s right to protect oneself.
But, I find it unacceptable that the NRA has become the most influential advocacy group in the country. The NRA is a roadblock to meaningful changes in our laws that will protect the American public and, more importantly, our kids — your kids.
What I didn’t expect when I wrote the article last week was the support I’ve received, even from gun owners. Comments have been about 10 to 1 in support.
I advocate outlawing the sale of semi-automatic assault-type weapons and I support universal, comprehensive background checks. And I now support raising the age to purchase a gun.
Dick’s Sporting Goods has made that change. Walmart is also not going to sell firearms to anyone under 21. I hope other retailers follow suit.
These changes are no longer just safety-related. They’re the right thing to do.
It is a movement that is gaining momentum, thanks to the high school students from Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. Their outrage is spreading throughout the country. Many businesses have dropped their support of the NRA, not because of the views of members, but because of the outrageous stance of a few people in the hierarchy of the NRA.
It was pointed out to me that there have been instances of people using a gun to stop an intruder in Utah.
The NRA says that is a good guy with a gun stopping a bad guy with a gun. A friend told me of two instances he is familiar with. I found a few other instances in Utah that I could verify where a gun owner stopped someone.
I stand corrected. I was wrong.
However, in all of the instances I am familiar with, the gun used is not one I object to. More power to you.
I completely support one’s right to protect oneself.
Let me also point out that the Friday (March 2) incident in Michigan where a teenager shot and killed his parents was done with the victim’s own gun.
The son took the weapon from this father and used it to kill his parents. This is an instance of a bad guy killing a good guy with the good guy’s gun. It’s also noteworthy that the victim was a police officer.
This is an instance where, had the good guy not been carrying a gun, he and his wife would be alive today.
Yes, I oppose the NRA. While it’s apparently true that a good guy with a gun on a rare occasion stops a bad guy with a gun, sometimes it backfires, as it did in the recent Michigan tragedy.
My friend erroneously stated the membership in the NRA is 15 million. That is not true. Wayne LaPierre (Mr. NRA) himself puts the membership at about 5 million. No one knows the exact membership, since the NRA refuses to publish that information. The NRA gets a great deal of money from donations, much of it from the firearms industry.
While 5 million is a lot of people, let’s keep it in perspective. That is less than 1.5 percent of the American population. Meanwhile, over two-thirds of the population supports more restrictive gun laws.
During a recent meeting with legislators, President Donald Trump accused elected officials of being “petrified of the NRA.” That is on tape, although Trump has reversed most of the statements he made during that meeting. I suppose that was to be expected.
We can’t even study gun-related deaths. There is a law that prohibits the Center for Disease Control and Prevention from using any of its funds from being used to advocate or promote gun control. It’s aptly called “The Dickey amendment.” Every time there is an attempt to repeal the ban, it is defeated, always by lawmakers who have been bought by the NRA. Jay Dickey, the person who sponsored the legislation, has since said he regrets doing it.
Contrary to what the NRA and the politicians they have bought would have you believe, reducing the number of guns does reduce the instances of gun-related violence. That is clear from the example of Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The number of non-war gun-related deaths in this country is astronomically higher than any other country.
The influence of the NRA is immense. That’s because it donates to every politician who will take its money. Your money, if you are a member.
That organization stands in the way of any and all meaningful firearm legislation that would protect the American public — and your kids.
The NRA even opposes legislation that is non-controversial. If it’s gun related, they automatically oppose it. One of the complainers said he sent my article to the NRA.
Good. I hope Mr. LaPierre reads it. I would appreciate it if you will send this one, too.
Moral courage must be shown to move NRA aside in gun debate
STEVE CHRISTENSEN