As the American public increasingly turns away from the gun control agenda, the leading gun control group has been forced to sell its membership list to raise money.
While NRA membership nears 4 million members, the flagship gun control group, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, has been revealed to have just over 50,000 members.
The once-secret Brady Campaign membership numbers were discovered when gun rights activist and blogger Joe Huffman found that the Brady Campaign was selling its membership list for direct mail marketing.
As Huffman points out, 50,000 members is far below the "about half a million members" that Michael D. Barnes, then Brady president, claimed in a 2004 interview.
That means that either Barnes misstated the "about half a million" number back in 2004 or, if that membership number was accurate, that about 450,000 former members of the Brady Campaign have left the anti-gun group in the last six years.
Either way, it's the latest in a string of bad news for the gun control group.
In my recent article, The tide turns in the battle for gun rights as the Brady Campaign withers away, I wrote about the staggering drop in donors, funding and expenditures for the Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence - Voter Education PAC.
This includes a fund raising drop from $1.7 million raised in the 2000 election cycle to just over $15,000 raised in the 2008 election cycle.
The Brady Campaign to End Gun Violence - Voter Education PAC is the arm of the Brady Campaign that directly receives and distributes funds to political candidates to influence elections.
While the PAC is only part of the larger Brady organization, the financial health of the PAC, and the drop in individual donors, does give in an indication of the overall health of the organization.
Although times are tough for the gun grabbers, the fight for gun rights is not over. Now is the time for gun rights activists to work even harder to increase our gains and show that we will not stand for efforts to further infringe on our 2nd Amendment rights.
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Comments
I've been part of the non-profit world of selling and buying lists for years now and you might have the wrong idea here. It is common for npos to rent the lapsed names on their list -- people who haven't given in several years and it doesn't seem that they will give again. No org will ever sell their current donors. They simply cannot make enough money renting the list to make up for any revenue they would lose from donations dropping off.
If they claim 500,000 members then 50,000 would be reasonable for their far lapsed numbers.
I would be concerned if I was a anti firearms activist and my information was sold. A list of people that are the most likely to be unarmed would be a valuable asset to criminals such as home invaders.
good point jack. and ryan.
The "lapsed members" theory might be more plausible if it didn't correspond with the fundraising drop.
Jack Burton,
I hear what you are saying, but I don't think you are correct.
The mailing list solicitation includes the following info:
40,765 DONORS/MEMBERS (24 MOS)
28,417 DONORS/MEMBERS (12 MOS)
That tells me that 28,417 of the 50,581 names donated in the last 12 months. That seems pretty current to me.
When you consider that 40,765 of the 50,581 are listed as having contributed within the last two years, that tells me this is a current list, not an old "no longer donating/lapsed members" list.
I think the Brady people are idiots anyway. Will someone sell me their lapsed member list so that I can personally thank each and every one of them for pulling their heads out and finally realizing they should support the Constitution. Wow
When one considers that the neo-Aztec anti-2A/pro-thug/pro-dictatorship cult has allies in local/state/Federal govt, the press/media, academia, medical/legal professions, sports, & law enforcement who'll happily push the cult's agenda gratis, it's prudent not to start celebrating as the activities of the cult's aforementioned allies are what the military terms 'force multipliers' that allow the cult to use its time/finances more effectively elsewhere. Think about how George Soros is vilified as the 'poster boy' for Leftism while equally Leftist foundations pursue the same goals untainted & largely unnoticed by most of the public. Ponder that, then recall the following comment from Han Solo to Luke Skywalker after Luke's first combat victory,: "GREAT, kid, DON'T get cocky!".
And we shouldn't, because the fight against the cult, its allies, their dictatorial agenda, & the twisted mindset it oozes from isn't even close to being over. NO TRUCE WITH KINGS NOR RESPITE FOR TYRANTS!
A half million? What's that to some 80-90 million for real gun owners with some 250-300 million for real firearms?
Cassandra has this picture right. The real enemy to be defeated is the one who has it's tendrils in our government. So long as the government can be used in any way to deny the free practice of our rights, be it that of keeping arms, being free from illegal search and seizure, or even that of free speech; we are subject to the personal beliefs and whims of those who work in government and their willingness to use the power entrusted to them against us. And as was suggested, there are those whose political aspirations were financed by groups whose goal is to see that they do just that.
Yet the silent enemy we all face is our neighbor who doesn't vote, and refuses to take a stand for freedom. They are complicite in the usurption of freedom. They are always among the first to denounce it, and always the first to say, "Better him than me" as you are dragged away.
The NRA should buy a copy of the list and send all those good people a donation request.
Rob, I agree, now is not the time to let up in our support for the Second Amendment. The Brady Bunch may well be in its death throes, but, as any hunter knows, that's when beasts are most dangerous.
Lautenberg's bill is still in the works. So is Rush's bill. The U.N. 'CIFTA" treaty is in play. We need to keep up the heat on Congress to make sure these anti-gun provisions - and all others in the works- go nowhere.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: "The price of liberty is eternal vigilance".
The Brady Bunch may be waning, but back in May of 2000 there was another group who held a rally against the Million Mom March in favor of gun rights and the right to self-defense - the Second Amendment Sisters. Without a lot of media hype, political favoritism or a "sugar daddy", they've managed to keep interest within the community and attract new members through Ladies' Shoots and a blossoming campaign to end gun-free zones. SAS is entirely comprised of volunteers who realize that their work will never be done.
It is in manner quite amusing how the people trying impose greater gun control as seen as "cultists, oppressors, or tyrants" when the NRA is one of the most powerful if not the most powerful lobbyist groups in Washington. Guns are awesome, I agree, but you do not need complete deregulation in order to enjoy them. Everyone being able to carry a small firearm with the capacity to kill a deer or unload a 30 round clip in a matter of seconds is not always the best idea. I have lived in other countries, though most of my life has been spent in the States, and I can say with confidence that gun related crimes are much more prevalent in the US than say Italy. So please, before you start criticizing the "hippies" stop for a second and apply common sense. Hunting does not require half of the types of weapons the industry is trying to push on to the public. For empirical evidence:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cliff-schecter/nra-its-good-to-live-like_b...
http://www.press.umich.edu/pdf/0472115103-ch6.pdf (this entire book is quite good and is non-partisan)
Do yourself a service read before you speak.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson. This is why we have the Second Amendment. The last time I checked the tyrant is the bad guy and is more powerful than the patriot. Brady Campaign is quite weak compared to the NRA.
Anonymous, Our 2nd Amendment isn't about hunting.
Anonymous maybe you should speak for yourself and do a little research! Then you'd maybe find out that every single piece of gun control legislation in every country has been an outright failure! As for you're comparing Italy to the US, that is like comparing Conneticut's crime rate to California's! Maybe you can explain to me why the United State's crime rate has been on a steady decline for many years now while having a record number of gun owners?
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