To paraphrase Churchill, they choose selfishness but they will lose both the second amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights.
Posted on 07/06/2019 8:59:20 PM PDT by familyop
New York/United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- When I first noted Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to misuse financial regulations against the National Rifle Association, I had hope that it would fail. I had hope that it would be like a last, desperate throw of the dice for one of the worst anti-Second Amendment extremists in the country. Furthermore, I had hope that its failure would be assured by the fact that Second Amendment supporters would unite against the abuses.
To my sorrow and anger, I was wrong. Instead, over a year after this started, Andrew Cuomo is winning. An anti-Second Amendment extremist who has, for all intents and purposes, lost the arguments on Second Amendment issues, is now winning with an abuse of power on par with Operation Chokepoint and the IRS targeting of the Tea Party.
How? Well, in the year since those abuses came to light when the NRA filed suit, instead of uniting against the existential threat Cuomo’s abuses against one pro-Second Amendment group posed to the entire community, far too many Second Amendment supporters have instead been fighting amongst themselves.
What was needed in the wake was a modified version of the principle of NATO: An abuse of power against one pro-Second Amendment group needed to be viewed as an abuse of power against all. Because, when it comes to abuses like Cuomo’s, someone is always the first to feel the brunt of them. And keep in mind, Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James want the NRA destroyed.
I know the NRA is not beloved by all Ammoland readers, but let me ask you all a question: Does anyone seriously think that if Cuomo successfully kills NRA Carry Guard that the United States Concealed Carry Association will be safe from similar attacks on their ability to provide services to their membership? Heck, even an ultimately unsuccessful attack on NRA Carry Guard has the potential to kill others without any action from Cuomo through a simple chilling effect on the financial services companies needed to make those ventures work.
By a similar token, if the Andrew Cuomo-Letitia James regime in New York takes down the NRA, what is to stop Jay Inslee and Bob Ferguson in Washington from killing the Second Amendment Foundation? Will GOA be safe form similar attacks, be they from Virginia’s Ralph Northam or California’s Gavin Newsom? Even NAGR, which Ammoland is no fan of, would be at risk.
Even with its internal chaos, the NRA is the largest pro-Second Amendment organization with the most resources for this sort of fight. If the NRA can be taken down, NO PRO-SECOND AMENDENT GROUP IS SAFE FROM A SIMILAR ATTACK FROM THE LIKES OF ANDREW CUOMO AND LETITIA JAMES.
If the Cuomo-James regime succeeds in their attack, the NRA will be dissolved. The assets will be sold off at auction – likely to those with lots of money – and it could very well be Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and/or Tom Steyer lined up to make the purchase of those assets. The collections of firearms in the NRA’s museums would be dispersed – if some weren’t just melted down on the spot. What is left would likely be used for anti-Second Amendment propaganda.
The accumulated knowledge from 1871 would also be gone. Firearms training would be drastically and negatively affected. So would competitive shooting. Cops would have it worse, too, as they’d lose the NRA as a source for training. All the good NRA does (and contrary to haters, it does a lot of good).
But the worst effect would be what would happen to the membership lists, records of donations beyond membership dues, and the names and addresses of not just those who donated, but those who volunteered. What do you think Bloomberg will do with that information when it falls into his hands?
If you think the social stigmatization is bad now, what happens when Bloomberg, Soros, or Steyer gets their mitts on that data? Imagine your neighborhood being covered in flyers listing you and other Second Amendment supporters as “domestic terrorists” – even listing how much you donated.
They won’t stop at NRA. They’ll go after any other pro-Second Amendment organization. It will be much easier to take them down as well, because those groups won’t have the size or resources the NRA had. Their membership and donation lists will be exposed, too. And do you think financial services companies will be willing to provide services to any replacement once confronted with the specter of “reputational risk” by the likes of Cuomo? The only way to stop that from happening is to save the NRA from the Cuomo-James regime.
There is enough blame to go around for everyone, in the failures to see what Cuomo would do in a combination of vindictiveness and desperation, the failure to address corporate gun control and social stigmatization, the botched execution of programs and ideas like NRA Carry Guard and NRA TV, the failure to make sacrifices necessary to winning the battle against Cuomo and James, and the whole NRA/AckMac relationship. While a housecleaning is in order and needs to happen, finger-pointing does no good at this point. First stop the bleeding, then deal with the heart failure.
The harsh reality is this: If the NRA is to be reformed, it must first survive this assault from the Cuomo-James regime. Before the survival is assured, talk of reform is academic, and those carrying it out now are just those who would be President, EVP, Executive Director, and Board of Directors of ashes. There will be a time to hold those accountable for the mess who need to be held accountable for this mess, and that must happen. However, assuring the NRA’s survival must be the first priority.
It means swallowing pride. It means putting aside grudges. It ultimately means putting aside your dislike of Wayne LaPierre and the NRA for the time being. If we do not stop the Cuomo-James regime’s effort to destroy the NRA, the haters of NRA and LaPierre will get their way, but we will lose everything.
Ping.
Sorry, it’s never wrong to oppose corruption.
Is the NRA incorporated in NY? If not, what authority does Cuomo have?
I’m not going to put a tourniquet on the NRAs **** after they shot them selves in it.
L
Yes
Because the GOA would put a foot in their @sses.
The GOA doesn't compromise. Evah. It doesn't accept the anti-gun premise and it doesn't have a fancy organization.
Just a dedicated group of people who are rabid pit bulls at defending the 2nd Amendment.
Ping
Years ago, I identified the two biggest threats to conservative thought as the Media and the Federal courts.
It's amusing to watch other Freepers in knifefights over stuff like abortion and illegal immigration.
President Trump of course identified the two biggest threats, exposed them and is dealing with them head-on.
The immediate threat here is the Fascist scumbag Cuomo and his scumbag b*tch Letitia James.
Jumping up and down about any other concerns is a waste of time and energy. That's all I need to say on this topic.
2nd Amendment bump for later....
Agreed. Many would benefit by breaking addictions to fiction and getting an education in civics.
More, specifically, they would benefit from an education in U.S. government and strategies for working with it instead of indulging in behavior like that portrayed in the following.
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1939/03/18/the-secret-life-of-walter-james-thurber
Spot on!!
Those who cheer the demise of the NRA are fools. The NRA is the only gun rights group the Left fears. Once again, the Right is its own enemy and the Left will benefit.
Poor wording on my part. The NRA isn’t dead yet. But it’s under attack and some people are wishing for its demise and think the Left gives a darn about any other gun rights group. Nope. The NRA is the only one they care about.
I'm a life member and want the organization fixed. New leadership is likely only way to save the organization, not circling the wagons and defending the BS that has been going on.
Horse vomit. The NRA has caved since the 1968 Gun Control Act through the Bump Stock ban.
The GOA NEVER caves.
To paraphrase Churchill, they choose selfishness but they will lose both the second amendment and the rest of the Bill of Rights.
if Cuomo manages to kill the NRA, the NRA has themselves mostly to blame.
The Carry Guard program was poorly thought out, with more energy spent trying to screw the other insurance groups.
Add to that the corruption and insane % they paid fundraisers the NRA is n the verge of committing suicide.
I hope they clean house and come back (I’ve been a member off and on off for over 20 years). But I am not sure they can pull it off.
NY is like the “concentration camps” the dems say we have at the border...nothing forces illegals to enter the ‘chutes” to the camps and nothing keeps people prisoners in NY... maybe they need a Snake Plissken to lead them out....
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