Adolphus Busch resigns from NRA

Recently? Yes. In the past? No, it was an advocate for responsible gun ownership and I was an enthusiastic member. Its recent change of mission dismays me.

FOLLOW THE MONEY........ :owned:

chickaree wrote: Is there any right more sacred to Americans than the right to vote? Yet we require registration for that. The NRA used to support the idea of background checks. They have given no good reason for their abandonment of this position other than an unwillingness to accept any regulation at all. I expect them to start lobbying soon to lift the ban on fully automatic weapons and I expect the ideologues to go right along with them. After all, it is easy to make the necessary changes, so why regulate it? We glorify violence, but then react with shock when things like the Boston bombings occur.

If the government was seeking to have those who wished to own firearms register themselves, you wouldn't be encountering any resistance. But what the government is essentially asking be done is that you tell them how you voted when you vote. Are you willing to do that chickaree? Do you think it is proper for the government to ask for that information? Is it any of their business how you voted if you are eligible to vote?

If you want me to register prior to purchasing a gun so that you can look into my background, I'm good with that. But having registered, and found to be eligible, I should be able to purchase whatever I wish to purchase, including a fully automatic weapon manufactured after 1986. I can already purchase one made in 1985, but the government has infringed on my right by prohibiting me from purchasing one made in 1987. Now, how an M16 manufactured in 1985 is more lethal, or more dangerous, than one made in 1987 has never been satisfactorily explained to me; perhaps you'd like to make an attempt?

I can, by filling out a form and paying $200 in taxes, saw off the barrel of the shotgun I own and have a sawed off shotgun at my home for my own defense, or simply because I desired to have it. It is not outlawed, it is restricted - the government wants to know I have it. My owning a 1990 M16 is not restricted, it is outlawed. The government has infringed on my ability to keep and bear that arm, which the 2nd Amendment says it may not do in very clear and unambiguous language, " . . . the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

I'm more than happy to have my background checked when I register to own guns, just as I had no objection to my background being checked when I registered to vote. What you are asking would be the equivalent of having to pass a background check every time I presented myself at the polls to cast a vote. There's a hesitancy, to put it mildly, among a certain segment of the population to even require that official identification be presented at the polls; can you imagine the resistance that would exist if it was required to pass a background check each and every time one wished to exercise that right?

You want me to register and have the opportunity to examine my background, fine, but after I have done so I want to have something from the controlling authority which I can present which allows me to freely exercise that right at anytime, at any place of my choosing, and for whatever individual arms I choose to have. What arms I own is frankly none of your business, nor that of the government.

homeagain wrote: FOLLOW THE MONEY........ :owned:

So what does that mean?

The NRA has millions of members who vouluntarily donate to preserve their second amendment rights.

Rather than Mayor Bloomberg who with a checkbook buys lobbyists to enforce his will in Colorado? Which is a better example of democracy? Million of Americans joining together to preserve rights? Or a one man special interest group denying rights?

If Americans really thought gun rights were one of the most important issues, why doesn't The Brady Campaign have just as many members and even more funding than the NRA?

chickaree wrote:

April 18, 2013

 

Mr. David A. Keene

President

National Rifle Association of America

11250 Waples Mill Road

Fairfax, VA 22030

 

Mr. Keene,

This letter shall serve as formal resignation of my life membership in the NRA. I ask that you immediately remove my name from your membership roles and provide me an acknowledgement of this action.

As most in your organization would admit, I have historically been a staunch defender of the NRA purpose and tradition in representing the interests of gun owners.  I have personally devoted countless financial resources and time to nurture an intelligent environmental policy that provided for the proud tradition of personal hunting for generations to come.   

It disturbs me greatly to see this rigid new direction of the NRA. As a starting point, one only has to ask why the NRA reversed its original position on background checks.  Was it not the NRA position to support background checks when Mr. LaPierre himself stated in 1999 that NRA saw checks as “reasonable”?  Furthermore, I fail to see how the NRA can disregard the overwhelming will of its members who see background checks as reasonable.  In fact, according to a Johns Hopkins University study, 74% say they support background checks.

I am simply unable to comprehend how assault weapons and large capacity magazines have a role in your vision. The NRA I see today has undermined the values upon which it was established. Your current strategic focus places a priority on the needs of gun and ammunition manufacturers while disregarding the opinions of your 4 million individual members.

One only has to look at the makeup of the 75-member board of directors, dominated by manufacturing interests, to confirm my point.  The NRA appears to have evolved into the lobby for gun and ammunition manufacturers rather than gun owners. 

In closing I find it important to extend my personal thanks to Chris Cox and David Lehman for their support of so many important environmental issues.  I will miss that level of friendship and support, but must take this action based upon my personal feelings toward the distorted values I see emerging within the NRA.

Sincerely,

Adolphus A. Busch, IV

 

I agree with his reasoning. I discontinued my membership for the same reasons.

We need to know if this letter is as presented. From where did it come? How did it happen to be posted to the public domain? Is it bogus or genuine? These questions need to be answered before any further discussion can be taken seriously.

(A lifetime member of the NRA would know that there is no classification of "assault" weapons.)

Every indication is that this letter is real....but I can see why you wish it weren't.

What indications? Let's see some provenance.

The letter has been widely publicized.....surely you have seen it, and Busch has not disavowed it. The NRA even responded to it

An NRA spokesman’s terse response: “We disagree with his characterization, but we wish him all the best.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/frederickal ... n-protest/

Since you made the claim that the letter may not be real, we will await your sources.

[
Adolphus A. Busch, IV

 

:rofllol :rofllol Just color me cyclical.

Several posts were split out and moved here: mymountaintown.com/forum/29-the-ring/279...esigns-from-nra-ring