[auggy]

I knew it. The AARP had to be there.

I refused to join them because, they were too liberal. I wrote them about it. Never received any reply.

[Noumenon]

I got a reply to my inquiry as to AARP's take on firearms ownership. My question was - "Where does AARP stand with respect to an individual's right to firearms ownership?" The response was as follows:

Thank you for contacting AARP headquarters on the issue of state and federal gun policies. We appreciate hearing from you. This is a difficult subject for people to discuss without misunderstanding. Even though you may not agree with AARP's objectives on this one issue, I hope you find our work toward prescription drug coverage in Medicare, for example, and many other important issues worthy of your continued support.

The AARP policymaking process is a long one, beginning in September and continuing through February annually. AARP's all-volunteer National Legislative Council thoughtfully develops each policy after reviewing the pros and cons and makes recommendations to the Board of Directors, also a distinguished cross-section of volunteers. Public policies are reconsidered and approved anew each year. Input from members like you, along with other members' suggestions, are carefully reviewed and contribute to establishing AARP priorities.

At this time, the Board of Directors has recently restated AARP policy to reduce misunderstanding and better fit the current legal environment on this issue. We do continue to support careful measures to restrict the availability of handguns to certain populations. Yet, our policy does not preclude responsible citizens who are educated in gun safety from gun ownership.

However, respected research continues to indicate that the use of firearms in assaults and robbery-particularly handguns-is directly linked to the high death rate from interpersonal violence in the USA compared with other industrialized countries. At a time when having enough resources to provide adequate healthcare for older Americans is a special concern for AARP, the medical costs of treating gunshot victims exceeds $1 billion a year.

The prevalence of random violence featuring handguns in some neighborhoods has resulted in numbers of older people becoming virtual prisoners in their homes. Increasingly, families are suffering the loss of children and grandchildren who are the victims of violent crimes and senseless shootings. While registration requirements do not eliminate criminal or psychotic misuse of handguns, such requirements reduce the availability of guns, just as laws do not eliminate but do reduce the availability of illegal narcotics. Reduced availability to inappropriate users means lives saved.

I want to emphasize that AARP policy does not preclude gun ownership for responsible citizens, just as no federal or state law precludes ownership for responsible citizens. Our policy now states:

"Congress should eliminate gaps in and strengthen enforcement of the Brady Act and other federal gun laws. States should enact legislation to eliminate gaps in and strengthen enforcement of federal and state gun laws, particularly with regard to possession by juveniles, convicted domestic abusers and those under domestic violence restraining orders."

I hope this information has been helpful. While you may disagree with the Board on this particular policy, we hope that many other issues, objectives, and services of AARP so beneficial to older Americans encourage you to remain or become a valued member of the association. We appreciate your participation.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if there is any way your headquarters staff may be of assistance in the future. Thank you again for taking the time to get in touch. It is an important part of my job to consider carefully the concerns of every member.

June
Member Service
Member@aarp.org

I report - you decide.