How NRA’s true believers converted a marksman group into a gun lobby
“We must declare that there are no shades of gray in American freedom. It’s black and white, all or nothing,” Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre said at an NRA annual meeting in 2002, a message that the organization has reiterated at almost every opportunity since.
“You’re with us or against us.”
Extremist of any position are extremely dangerous. There is grey in American freedom. One of the reasons the constitution has remained relevant over the years is because the founding fathers left room for interpretation.
The 2nd Amendment alone just states that we have a right to bear arms. It doesn’t say what kind of arms or how many weapons we can own. It is purposely written to be left up to interpretation. 200 years ago no one should have been able to imagine the the advances in weapons.
Weapons designed solely for the porpoise of killing as many people as possible should not be in the hands of civilians. These weapons were made for war.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” LaPierre predicted that he’d be beaten up in the news media: “I can imagine the headlines, the shocking headlines you’ll print tomorrow. ‘More guns,’ you’ll claim, ‘are the NRA’s answer to everything.’ Your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place in society, much less in our schools.”
“CRAZIEST MAN ON EARTH” blared the front-page headline of the next morning’s New York Daily News.
“GUN NUT!” proclaimed the New York Post.