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NRA Board of Director elections are once more upon us, although good luck finding out anything about it from their website that requires a video to explain how to find your way around. It's a nice looking site, very high tech, but good luck if you're on dial-up or have an older computer, or just want an intuitive way to navigate around and find things...
Good grief, I sound like I'm ready to start railing against "whippersnappers"...
Fortunately, I have my March 2010 issue of American Rifleman with the enclosed ballot and nominating committee recommendations. Right off, I see they're telling us to vote for, among others, Joaquin Jackson.
Who?
This guy:
And while they have tried to do damage control, I have not changed my opinion that I find the explanation disingenuous:
I can't find any other conclusion to draw from this than he does support banning full autos from civilian possession. I don't know what the hell Jackson thinks the Second Amendment is about, but he certainly hasn't demonstrated a competent understanding of the unalienable right of the people to keep and bear arms to deserve a leadership position.
This just doesn't cut it.
So who should you vote for? Jeff Knox of The Firearms Coalition gives us his views on the candidates here.
As for me, since some of you have been asking, I haven't changed my recommendation that we skip with the fluff bio paragraphs and find out where the candidates truly and unequivocally stand—so along the same lines as my political questionnaire, long-time readers will recall I also developed one for NRA director hopefuls.
Here are my 2010 questions. Feel free to try and get answers.
1. Do you believe that the Constitution is the "supreme law of the land" and that the Bill of Rights acknowledges a birthright of all Americans?
2. If so, should these rights be proactively protected from infringement by all levels of government, including city, county and state?
3. Please give some examples of gun laws you consider constitutional.
4. Please give some examples of gun laws you consider unconstitutional.
5. Does the right to bear arms include the right for any peaceable citizen to carry them concealed without a permit, as in Vermont?
6. Do you believe that Americans have a right to own, use and carry weapons of military pattern?
7. Do you support or oppose using "Project Exile"-type programs, and do you agree with current NRA management’s call to “enforce existing gun laws”?
8. Do you support or oppose licensing requirements to own or carry firearms? Why?
9. What specific gun laws will you work to get repealed?
10. If elected to the NRA Board, will you back your words of support for firearms rights up with consistent actions? How?
11. Do you agree with the way NRA assigns political ratings? If not, what would you change and why? Who would you have given a different rating to, what would it been and why?
12. Do you disagree with any policies being promulgated by NRA management? What is your biggest area of dissent? Have you offered superior alternatives and worked with others to implement them?
13. Have you ever publicly spoken out against an NRA management position because you thought it was wrong? When, where, and what were the results?
14. What reforms do you think are needed at NRA and why?
15. If elected, how will you inform members of your performance and voting record? Will you let us know when you dissent and why?
16. Will you have an "open door" policy letting NRA members know how to contact you with their concerns?
17. Would you consider engaging in and recommending civil disobedience over a gun law? If "Yes," give some examples of what your line in the sand would be.
Some of these questions will no doubt be upsetting to some. I won't apologize for asking them. We can't even begin to talk about meaningful reform unless we can articulate the honest differences some of us have with current management.
To those of you who aren't NRA voting members, that is, with five years' sustained membership, a Life membership or higher, you can't affect the organization's direction unless you are.
Do I think this questionnaire will make a difference? Not really.
Unlike the political questionnaire, there's not enough general interest for me to regularly pound on this, and that's what it would take to even make a dent in the status quo. And I just don't expect others to pick up the concept and run with it.
So why even bring it up? I'm compelled to point out that there are many non-demanding alternatives and ways to involve ourselves besides complaining and ultimately doing nothing. This is just another illustration of that. Hopefully, gun owners will get involved with something, be it demanding hearings into ATF corruption, supporting a deserving political candidate, getting some hard core directors seated on the NRA board...
You know, something...
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Oath Keepers on PJTV
Bill Whittle sits down with Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes.
Imagine that—a host who's not out to play "Gotcha!"
Click here to watch.
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Radio Free Frisco
I've been invited to participate in a discussion tomorrow on Your Call on KALW 91.7. The show will air from 11:00 am to Noon PST, so adjust your time accordingly.
Talking guns on public radio in San Francisco? What am I getting myself into?
Why not find out with me by tuning in?
If you're not in an area where you can pick up the broadcast on air, click here to listen live via the internet.
UPDATE: Just got this from the producer:
Hi,
I just wanted to cancel our appointment for tomorrow because I just realized that the program has already been booked,
Thanks
Hope looking me up didn't scare them off...and I wonder who they got?
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McDonald meets SCOTUS
And we should all be following it tomorrow when the Supreme Court hears oral arguments in McDonald v. Chicago. I expect I'll have a thing or two to say about the proceedings.
Comments
Question #11 seems misdirected. My understanding is that political ratings are a product of NRA/ILA, a separate legal entity that is chartered to lobby whereas NRA proper is not. Is the NRA/ILA answerable to the NRA Board of Directors?
It's a valid question HB--one of my other oft-stated complaints is the dang bylaws ought to be online. We ought to be able to hold directors and staff accountable to them just like we're supposed to be able to hold political reps accountable to the Constitution. Anyway, per Art. V sec. 1, the EVP ILA (Cox) is one of the officers of the association and the EVP (LaPierre) is elected by the BOD. Per sec. 2.c., EVP-ILA is appointed/suspended/removed by the EVP. Per 2.g., EVP-ILA is directed by EVP. And then Art X of the Association Bylaws defines ILA functions and BOD oversight.
Directors have influence here.
David, I apologize for postng this here, but don't have an email addy for you. The gun-grabbers at the Brady Campaign are holding a protest to express their disdain for our Second Amendment Rights and toward Starbucks for allowing Law-Abiding Citizens to Carry licensed firearms inside their stores. I'll be there at 10:00 on Wednesday morning to show my support for our Second Amendment Rights. Won't you join me? This is in downtown Seattle at Victor Steinbrueck Park (Next to Pike Place Market)
2000 Western Avenue Seattle, WA 98121 I realize you're on a National level, but surely you know 2A advocates in WA who can attend... I already posted on Workman's article.
The NRA will keep on doing stupid things and backing/recommending stupid people until enough of the membership tells them to go to Hell or change their stance and be pro-gun. I wouldn't be an NRA member if they were paying ME. It's a political back-scratching society.
Thanks for the mention David and for working to improve NRA.
Steiner, the fact is that NRA will always be the most influential component of the gun lobby unless they self-destruct from the inside. Hard core guys dropping out does nothing but shift the balance of power to "moderates." Bottom line, NRA is going to speak for you whether you like it or not so it's a good idea to try to influence what they say any way you can.
We are collecting information on Director candidates at www.GunVoter.org and I invite everyone to stop by and share their thoughts and questions. -- Jeff
I like the cut-to-the-chase question, "Do you think blind persons should be barred from owning guns and ammunition?"
This, surprisingly, trips up many.
"Do I think this questionnaire will make a difference? Not really"
Why not? The Cincinnati Reforms had to start someplace.
The NRA is a 4 million member organization. How can anyone expect to get the support of 2 million of them? The answer is that you don't have to. Most of them are not eligible to vote. Many of those eligible don't bother. Don't worry about the hunting, benchrest, and target shooting guys. They will either come around or they won't. Get enough of the "hard core" 2A supporters the right info about director candidates and things just might happen. If your website and Jeff Knox's GunVoter.org provide that info it will be a great start. Amazing things can be done with the internet and email. Neal Knox, Harlon Carter, and Tanya Metaksa did more with less. Lets do it.
David I going to show my ignorance here but how do you get on the ballot for NRA board of Directors in the first place.
Personally the people on the current NRA board aren’t getting the job done.
Former governors and out of touch politicians should never be on the board.
The NRA has lost all credibility in my eyes and if the NRA is going speak for gun owners then we need to take them over.
If only 7% of NRA members eligible to vote actually vote then we can take over this group
Madashell--call NRA and have them send you a copy of the bylaws--all members should have them. Art. VII Sec 2 covers nomination/election of directors--basically either by the nominating committee or by petition, with specific and detailed requirements I can't repro here. I can't post the complete bylaws because they are copyrighted. Like I say, I wish they'd just post them online.
I am DougBuchanan.com, a previous NRA Director. I can verify the following against any questions anyone can ask. NRA is functionally the most effective anti-gun owner rights organization in the US, by process. It is not possible within the NRA system to cause NRA to functionally regain or even attempt to regain gun owner rights, for the same reason that the hunter-started National Wildlife Federation became an anti-hunter organization (I was the Director of the Alaska Wildlife Federation when the National Federation rescinded Alaska's affiliation when it opposed the anti-hunter Alaska Lands Act.)
One hundred percent of any gun owner effort to do anything useful with NRA is wasted and counter productive, by design of the NRA system.
There is a lawful, peaceful process to efficiently regain gun owner rights. Amusingly, no gun owner organization leadership will even inquire, because they are making too much money and ego gratification to eliminate their reason for existence.
Jackson believes only the military should have weapons with magazine capacity >5 rounds??? This is what the turncoats at the NRA are asking the membership to support??? May as well put New York mayor Bloomberg at the helm. I'm putting a good old fashioned Germanic curse on this pile of ship mf'er.
I would love to start a write in Campaing for the following 3 people if they are up for it.
David Codrea,
Jeff Know,
Tom Gresham
Sorry Type-o
That was Jeff Knox not Know.
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