4.  Who's the NRA
    by Jim Duenisng
    Jim{at}JimDuensing.com

Special to TLE

Who's the NRA?

George Bush, whose office the NRA was to be working out of, is in favor of
more gun control than Bill Clinton. Emperor Bush favors the
"reauthorization" of the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban.

Under the guise of reauthorizing the 1994 Clinton gun ban, H.R. 2038 'The
Assault Weapons Ban and Law Enforcement Protection Act of 2003' proposes
additional restrictions on American firearm freedom including; the banning
of the future manufacture and importation of ALL semi-automatic shotguns,
banning those weapons made to conform to the 1994 ban, increasing those
weapons banned by name from 19 to 65, and giving the Attorney General the
discretion to ban any other mechanism which he or she determines "is
not particularly suitable for sporting purposes." "A firearm
shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes
solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event."

Further, the bill bans the private transfer of "assault weapons".

The moderate sycophantic leadership of the NRA, a closet caucus of the
Republican Party, is to blame that this infringement on the right to keep
and bear arms is expected to pass.

The NRA supported candidate Bush -- they campaigned for him -- they spent
lots of their members' money in key districts. The NRA is responsible for
Bush winning Michigan, and arguably other states, by converting union
Democrats to Bush's camp to protect their gun rights. There were many
people who voted for Bush simply because the 1994 ban will sunset on
September 13th, 2004.

Now, the group which was supposed to be "working out of the White
House" is turning a blind eye to the Neo Assault Weapons Ban. Go to
the NRA's website. Look for information on it. You'll find it, but you'll
have to wade through pro-Republican propaganda and relatively minor
firearms legislation news.

I understand the thinking. Historically, the Republican Party has trampled
on the Second Amendment less than the Democratic Party has. So, supporting
the Republicans makes superficial sense. But, for a one issue political
action group like the NRA to continue to support a party which does not
support its agenda is foolish at best.

Instead of supporting a party and a President which is at odds with the
NRA's political positions, the NRA should find a candidate which vehemently
supports individual private possession of militia grade weaponry at home
and abroad. Once found, the NRA should throw its mighty clout behind that
candidate before its ability to speak for American gun owners is destroyed
by a lack of support from private firearms owners -- a group whose numbers
are sure to dwindle if this bill becomes a law.

If an alternative candidate in the Democratic Party cannot be found, -- and
yes there are staunchly pro-gun democrats -- the NRA should put their
support behind a candidate in one of the "third parties". The
Libertarian Party and the Constitution Party both support the individual
right to keep and bear arms.

Only two outcomes now seem likely. First, H.R. 2038 will continue to
engender little resistance from the NRA. Second, the NRA will mount an
offensive against 2038 and the assault weapons ban will be reauthorized in
its 1994 configuration. The NRA will claim victory and send out
solicitation letters to Life Members like myself informing us how lucky we
are that the NRA kept those radical Democratic alternatives from becoming
law.

It is time for the NRA to put up or be put out of its misery. If it does
not defeat this bill in all its forms it has outlived its usefulness and
needs to be abandoned by its membership in favor of a principled
non-partisan group.

--
Author Bio:  Jim is a columnist and radio talk show host.  You can find an
archive of his articles and a link to a webcast of his radio show at
http://www.JimDuensing.com/

---