NRA solicitation email

TomNJVA · December 15, 2021, 06:14 PM

Received an email solicitation from the NRA today begging for money. Wayne must be hard up for funds to use such outrageous scare tactics. Does he really believe the President and Congress have the authority to just void a constitutional amendment? Does he really believe the Supreme Court would allow such a ban? Does he really believe law enforcement would risk door-to-door confiscation and jail millions of Americans? Geez! Not a dime from me.

Excerpt below (bold is his)

Dear Thomas,

Unless you fight back starting right now, you’ll soon face the real threat of having your guns confiscated along with your right to self-defense.

No, I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill gun control.

I’m talking about an actual ban on the firearms you currently own, door-to-door confiscation of those firearms, and you facing actual jail time if you fail to comply.

That’s why I’m urging you to join the National Rifle Association right now to save your guns and your freedom before it’s too late.

Thomas, for the first time in American history, the sitting President of the United States has openly vowed to round up your guns. And if we lose just a handful of seats in the U.S. House and Senate in the next election…he’ll have the power he needs to rubber-stamp his extremist gun-ban agenda and destroy the Second Amendment forever.

Make no mistake. The only organization in America with the strength to STOP GUN CONFISCATION is the National Rifle Association.

……

Sincerely,

Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President

BornFighting88 · December 15, 2021, 07:08 PM

I was gifted a Benefactor membership years ago, but haven’t given them a penny since. With the turbulence of Chris Cox leaving (for whatever reasons), and the controversy with LaPierre’s spending habits and the money problems of the NRA.

I joined SAF and CCRKBA.

I know better than to be naive and hopeful, but with what is going on in Washington, and with the trends of the House and Senate having gone the opposite color of the Oval Office in the past however many election cycles…. I have a feeling the House and Senate are going to get pretty Conservative come 2022.

I hope they throw EVERY stupid idea right back at him and tell him where to stuff them.

**4V50 Gary** · December 15, 2021, 07:40 PM

I would set a poor example for this forum if I were to speak my mind.

NobodyJones · December 16, 2021, 12:24 AM

I will speak my mind. As long as Wayne LaPierre is in a leadership role with the NRA I will not join or give them a single cent.

TruthTellers · December 16, 2021, 05:19 AM

Remember the days of the NRA when Moses would hold a gun over his head and say "From my cold, dead hands!"

I know times have changed and if anyone from the NRA or GOA said that now there'd be an FBI raid on an "insurrectionist" but man, that was a far better NRA than what we have today which is driven entirely by money and fear mongering.

Really, let's say that the party in charge currently decided they'd use the nuclear option and ram thru gun control bills, is the NRA going to write blank checks to senators like Manchin and Sinema? We all know they won't.

Right now the NRA is such a paper tiger that if it were to disappear there would be no real effect on the 2A because there are so many other organizations available to take up the slack. Really the life and death of the NRA and its effect is more for clickbait or soundbytes for politicians to use in campaign ads. If the NRA dies, Democrats can parade all they want, it means nothing. If the NRA lives, Republicans can beat it over our heads what grade the NRA has given them.

Mitt Romney had a B grade from the NRA, which goes to show you how fake that rating system is.

The NRA is largely funded by companies in the industry and when you realize that, you realize that is who the NRA represents and that money is what's used to lobby. You the individual are just milked to death to pay for the custom suits, hotel rooms, caviar, and escorts.

seanc · December 16, 2021, 11:45 AM

Quote:

You the individual are just milked to death to pay for the custom suits, hotel rooms, caviar, and escorts.

And yet, to join certain clubs, you have to have an NRA membership. I just recently re-joined so I can join a rifle club that's NRA affiliated. I'm still a GOA fan and I detest Wayne Lapierre, long before his cozy compensation was revealed, going back to the Shotgun News days when they railed against how he was running the NRA as his own little club based on his cult of personality.

As far as the NRA saying the current administration is going to go door-to-door, that's what Beto said he was going to do and President Magoo's BATF nominee David Chipman would have been an absolute nightmare for us. There's some hyperbole coming from both sides there. One of those sides is accusing nearly 50% of this country of insurrection or supporters of insurrectionists and arresting and jailing people, holding them without charges, so I take that into consideration too. Those are facts. Love 'em or hate 'em, the NRA is still the largest 2A organization in the country.

Prof Young · December 16, 2021, 01:06 PM

Yep. I've been disappointed in the NRA lately. Have taken my $$ and joined other organizations like Guns Save Lives and the Illinois State Rifle Assoc.

I used to get NRA renewal notices constantly. Never checked on when my membership actually expired. Just kept renewing. Well, I finally checked and I'm a member through 2024. Really?

Prof Young

Bob Willman · December 17, 2021, 04:31 PM

I must admit that some of the stuff I have heard about the NRA troubles me. The problem I have is that I do not know what/who to believe. The charges leveled by officials in New York I take with a grain of salt because I am pretty sure of their ultimate goal. The NRA has been quiet as I suspect they should be until the court decides. I still believe in the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty." which is the bedrock of our judicial system. I think that many are rushing to judgment based on information that may not be credible. I am still debating about renewing my Golden Eagle membership for the coming year. I still would like to believe that the NRA is our best bet for progress on a national scale.

dahermit · December 17, 2021, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Willman

I must admit that some of the stuff I have heard about the NRA troubles me. The problem I have is that I do not know what/who to believe. The charges leveled by officials in New York I take with a grain of salt because I am pretty sure of their ultimate goal. The NRA has been quiet as I suspect they should be until the court decides. I still believe in the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty." which is the bedrock of our judicial system. I think that many are rushing to judgment based on information that may not be credible. I am still debating about renewing my Golden Eagle membership for the coming year. I still would like to believe that the NRA is our best bet for progress on a national scale.

If he was innocent, why did he pay it back? Of all the news sources that says he did "hinky" things with NRA moneys, how many have said he is innocent?

https://www.rollingstone.com/politic...eport-1096433/

**Tom Servo** · December 18, 2021, 07:12 AM

Quote:

Remember the days of the NRA when Moses would hold a gun over his head and say "From my cold, dead hands!"

How can I possibly forget? He did it days after the Columbine shooting and right down the street. The optics were horrendous.

Quote:

Right now the NRA is such a paper tiger that if it were to disappear there would be no real effect on the 2A because there are so many other organizations available to take up the slack

Unfortunately, none of those organizations has the reach and influence of the NRA. GOA and the FPC don't have the juice to stop a federal gun-control bill, and they don't have the network of grassroots coordinators on the state level.

Quote:

The NRA is largely funded by companies in the industry

This is the "gun lobby" argument the media uses, but it's hard to find any evidence of this. Membership dues and donations to the NRA Foundation aren't used for lobbying. That's done by the ILA, which operates on a ~$4 million/year budget and is mostly funded by individual donations.

Quote:

You the individual are just milked to death to pay for the custom suits, hotel rooms, caviar, and escorts.

This is absolutely a problem, and it goes back to LaPierre. Nobody's happy about it, and it's hurting them in the public eye. Problem is, it's VERY hard to get rid of him since he rewrote the bylaws a few years back to make ousting him nearly impossible.

This mailer bothers me. It came pretty much out of the blue, it's really vague, and the rhetoric sounds like GOA spam. Take this part:

Quote:

Time is running out! To stop the gun-banners from taking our guns and crushing our liberty, you and I must fight back right now with all the strength we can muster.

No mention of a bill. No mention of how to contact my legislators. It's just dumb fearmongering. Given the budget and talent the NRA retains, it's really odd to see something this amateurish coming from them.

**Aguila Blanca** · December 18, 2021, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

No mention of a bill. No mention of how to contact my legislators. It's just dumb fearmongering. Given the budget and talent the NRA retains, it's really odd to see something this amateurish coming from them.

It's hard to know these days just what "talent" the NRA still has on board. They've been shedding staff to conserve money -- but I haven't seen any mention of LaPierre taking a cut in his salary. It reminds me of where I was working 25+ years ago. Business was a bit slow, and at year's end (right around this time of the year) the boss called everyone together and announced there would be no pay raises and no year-end bonuses. He said "I've tightened my belt as much as I can, so I expect everyone here to do the same."

A few months later the Feds (the FBI and the HUD Office of Inspector General) swooped in with a search warrant -- the boss (and the firm) was being investigated for federal contract fraud. What came out of this was the news that, when the highest paid employees were a couple of project managers who earned about $75,000 a year, the boss's idea of "tightening his belt" was paying himself a quarter of a million -- and giving himself a 10% raise when he didn't give increases to any of the staff.

The more I think about it, to more it sounds like Wayne LaPierre.

TomNJVA · December 18, 2021, 02:37 PM

I've now been getting solicitation emails from the NRA everyday, so I unsubscribed from all of their emails. I'm neutral on the NRA, but I hate the use of scare tactics to raise funds by any organization. Today I got a letter from the GOA with similar tactics. so I changed my mind about donating.

**Tom Servo** · December 19, 2021, 05:54 AM

Quote:

It's hard to know these days just what "talent" the NRA still has on board.

Good point. I'm not really clear who's in charge at the ILA. Chris Cox's departure was weird and sudden. From what I understand, he was asked to lend money from the ILA to the Foundation and refused. Then some "anonymous source" told Rolling Stone he was suspected of "grifting."

Who knows? Richard Childress, Pete Brownell, Sean Maloney, and Tim Knight all resigned from the board last year. I really don't know who's keeping the lights on, but they're not very forthcoming with the members or the general public.

TruthTellers · December 19, 2021, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Unfortunately, none of those organizations has the reach and influence of the NRA. GOA and the FPC don't have the juice to stop a federal gun-control bill, and they don't have the network of grassroots coordinators on the state level.

At this point I don't trust the NRA anymore and whether or not current organizations have the reach of the NRA doesn't matter to me as if the NRA disappeared that vacuum would be filled quickly.

In the case of the NRA, do throw the baby out with the bathwater because another one can be made, hopefully better.

Quote:

This is absolutely a problem, and it goes back to LaPierre. Nobody's happy about it, and it's hurting them in the public eye. Problem is, it's VERY hard to get rid of him since he rewrote the bylaws a few years back to make ousting him nearly impossible.

This mailer bothers me. It came pretty much out of the blue, it's really vague, and the rhetoric sounds like GOA spam. Take this part:

No mention of a bill. No mention of how to contact my legislators. It's just dumb fearmongering. Given the budget and talent the NRA retains, it's really odd to see something this amateurish coming from them.

I guess they figure so long as Democrats run Congress and Brandon is President that they can fool some people into thinking the 2nd Amendment can be veritably cancelled overnight and the sad thing is for a lot of new gun owners that have been made the past 2 yrs, some of them will buy into it.

The reality is with Sen. Manchin voting no on the BBB bill, he's also not going to be voting for any new gun laws, nor will Sinema from Arizona.

The new tactic that the anti's are using now is because they can't get gun control rammed thru Congress and state legislatures is they're prosecuting people who use a gun for self defense as a means of terrorizing other gun owners into believing they'll be dragged thru the system, possibly convicted, and rack up legal fees.

Instead of sending money off to the NRA, I'd take that money and get some sort of insurance coverage to pay for your legal team in the event your state AG or local prosecutor is a Donk.

**Aguila Blanca** · December 19, 2021, 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TruthTellers

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Servo

Unfortunately, none of those organizations has the reach and influence of the NRA. GOA and the FPC don't have the juice to stop a federal gun-control bill, and they don't have the network of grassroots coordinators on the state level.

At this point I don't trust the NRA anymore and whether or not current organizations have the reach of the NRA doesn't matter to me as if the NRA disappeared that vacuum would be filled quickly.

The "clout" that the NRA had (note the use of the past tense) was due to a membership of some 5 million members, virtually all of whom could be counted on to vote the same way with respect to pretty much any firearms legislation, or legislators who presumed to attack the right to keep and bear arms.

All it takes to give the same clout to GOA or to the SAF is for each and every current and former member of the NRA to send whatever the minimum dues are to one or both of those organizations, and then they'll be able to tell the Congress and state legislators that they represent ### voters who are watching ___ proposal carefully.

natman · December 20, 2021, 11:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomNJVA

I’m talking about an actual ban on the firearms you currently own, door-to-door confiscation of those firearms, and you facing actual jail time if you fail to comply.

There's no doubt the NRA tends to quote worst case scenarios to raise funds, but just to put it in perspective, the state of California has ALREADY outlawed possession of magazines over 10 rounds, including previously owned ones that were formerly grandfathered.

That's a ban on a firearms part you currently own. Door-to-door confiscation hadn't happened yet when it was ruled unconstitutional by two Federal Courts, only to be overturned by the Ninth Circuit. It's currently being appealed further.

So it's not so far fetched, although I would like to see a citation where Biden called for an outright ban. The Democratic platform calls for making all "assault weapons" and over-10 magazines NFA items.

Porsche911 · December 22, 2021, 01:14 AM

I support the NRA and just gave them $10,000.

thallub · December 22, 2021, 12:54 PM

Quote:

I support the NRA and just gave them $10,000.

NRA lawyers are charging $80,000-$100.000 every day.

**Unclenick** · December 22, 2021, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomNJVA

Does he really believe the Supreme Court would allow such a ban?

Not a ban, per see, but they've opened the door to the possibility of a de facto ban by inundation with lawsuits. See this article.

TomNJVA · December 22, 2021, 05:23 PM

Yeah I saw that. I think Newsom is just testing the SCOTUS over the Texas abortion thing. It'll never fly.

zeke · December 22, 2021, 06:29 PM

"I’m talking about an actual ban on the firearms you currently own, door-to-door confiscation of those firearms, and you facing actual jail time if you fail to comply."

IMO, the proposed reinterpretation of braces on pistols, and turning them into short barreled rifles could fulfill all of the above.

https://www.federalregister.gov/docu...ilizing-braces

Bidet's position on "assault rifles" rifles would come very close to fulfilling all the above, depending on how it was done.

Am certainly not a fan of NRA fund raising, which is extremely obnoxious, but am a life time member and shudder to think where we would be without them. Already being a life member, i simply throw out everything else from them (except American Rifleman magazine).

101combatvet · December 23, 2021, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NobodyJones

I will speak my mind. As long as Wayne LaPierre is in a leadership role with the NRA I will not join or give them a single cent.

Were you ever a member?

101combatvet · December 23, 2021, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Willman

I must admit that some of the stuff I have heard about the NRA troubles me. The problem I have is that I do not know what/who to believe. The charges leveled by officials in New York I take with a grain of salt because I am pretty sure of their ultimate goal. The NRA has been quiet as I suspect they should be until the court decides. I still believe in the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty." which is the bedrock of our judicial system. I think that many are rushing to judgment based on information that may not be credible. I am still debating about renewing my Golden Eagle membership for the coming year. I still would like to believe that the NRA is our best bet for progress on a national scale.

I'm sure much of it is liberal BS, and suckers will believe it and run with it on this forum. Does the NRA have issues? Perhaps they do; however, if you like your firearms, they are the only real protection from the Democrats.

Mainah · December 23, 2021, 01:59 PM

Quote:

I'm sure much of it is liberal BS, and suckers will believe it and run with it on this forum. Does the NRA have issues? Perhaps they do; however, if you like your firearms, they are the only real protection from the Democrats.

Ironically Democrats can sure sell some guns and ammo.

101combatvet · December 23, 2021, 10:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mainah

Ironically Democrats can sure sell some guns and ammo.

Just wait until they get their way; it's coming.

December 15, 2021, 06:14 PM	#1
TomNJVA Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2014 Location: Floyd, VA Posts: 242	NRA solicitation email Received an email solicitation from the NRA today begging for money. Wayne must be hard up for funds to use such outrageous scare tactics. Does he really believe the President and Congress have the authority to just void a constitutional amendment? Does he really believe the Supreme Court would allow such a ban? Does he really believe law enforcement would risk door-to-door confiscation and jail millions of Americans? Geez! Not a dime from me. Excerpt below (bold is his) Dear Thomas, Unless you fight back starting right now, you’ll soon face the real threat of having your guns confiscated along with your right to self-defense. No, I’m not talking about run-of-the-mill gun control. I’m talking about an actual ban on the firearms you currently own, door-to-door confiscation of those firearms, and you facing actual jail time if you fail to comply. That’s why I’m urging you to join the National Rifle Association right now to save your guns and your freedom before it’s too late. Thomas, for the first time in American history, the sitting President of the United States has openly vowed to round up your guns. And if we lose just a handful of seats in the U.S. House and Senate in the next election…he’ll have the power he needs to rubber-stamp his extremist gun-ban agenda and destroy the Second Amendment forever. Make no mistake. The only organization in America with the strength to STOP GUN CONFISCATION is the National Rifle Association. …… Sincerely, Wayne LaPierre Executive Vice President __________________ In NJ, the bad guys are armed and the households are alarmed. In VA, the households are armed and the bad guys are alarmed.

December 15, 2021, 07:40 PM	#3
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,841	I would set a poor example for this forum if I were to speak my mind. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

December 16, 2021, 05:19 AM	#5
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,888	Remember the days of the NRA when Moses would hold a gun over his head and say "From my cold, dead hands!" I know times have changed and if anyone from the NRA or GOA said that now there'd be an FBI raid on an "insurrectionist" but man, that was a far better NRA than what we have today which is driven entirely by money and fear mongering. Really, let's say that the party in charge currently decided they'd use the nuclear option and ram thru gun control bills, is the NRA going to write blank checks to senators like Manchin and Sinema? We all know they won't. Right now the NRA is such a paper tiger that if it were to disappear there would be no real effect on the 2A because there are so many other organizations available to take up the slack. Really the life and death of the NRA and its effect is more for clickbait or soundbytes for politicians to use in campaign ads. If the NRA dies, Democrats can parade all they want, it means nothing. If the NRA lives, Republicans can beat it over our heads what grade the NRA has given them. Mitt Romney had a B grade from the NRA, which goes to show you how fake that rating system is. The NRA is largely funded by companies in the industry and when you realize that, you realize that is who the NRA represents and that money is what's used to lobby. You the individual are just milked to death to pay for the custom suits, hotel rooms, caviar, and escorts. __________________ "We always think there's gonna be more time... then it runs out."

December 16, 2021, 01:06 PM	#7
Prof Young Senior Member Join Date: August 21, 2007 Location: Illinois - down state Posts: 2,404	More of the same. Yep. I've been disappointed in the NRA lately. Have taken my $$ and joined other organizations like Guns Save Lives and the Illinois State Rifle Assoc. I used to get NRA renewal notices constantly. Never checked on when my membership actually expired. Just kept renewing. Well, I finally checked and I'm a member through 2024. Really? Prof Young

December 18, 2021, 02:37 PM	#12
TomNJVA Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2014 Location: Floyd, VA Posts: 242	I've now been getting solicitation emails from the NRA everyday, so I unsubscribed from all of their emails. I'm neutral on the NRA, but I hate the use of scare tactics to raise funds by any organization. Today I got a letter from the GOA with similar tactics. so I changed my mind about donating. __________________ In NJ, the bad guys are armed and the households are alarmed. In VA, the households are armed and the bad guys are alarmed.

December 15, 2021, 07:08 PM	#2
BornFighting88 Senior Member Join Date: August 1, 2021 Posts: 455	I was gifted a Benefactor membership years ago, but haven’t given them a penny since. With the turbulence of Chris Cox leaving (for whatever reasons), and the controversy with LaPierre’s spending habits and the money problems of the NRA. I joined SAF and CCRKBA. I know better than to be naive and hopeful, but with what is going on in Washington, and with the trends of the House and Senate having gone the opposite color of the Oval Office in the past however many election cycles…. I have a feeling the House and Senate are going to get pretty Conservative come 2022. I hope they throw EVERY stupid idea right back at him and tell him where to stuff them.

December 16, 2021, 12:24 AM	#4
NobodyJones Member Join Date: December 21, 2019 Posts: 64	I will speak my mind. As long as Wayne LaPierre is in a leadership role with the NRA I will not join or give them a single cent.

December 17, 2021, 04:31 PM	#8
Bob Willman Senior Member Join Date: January 13, 2018 Location: Bowling Green, Ohio Posts: 111	I must admit that some of the stuff I have heard about the NRA troubles me. The problem I have is that I do not know what/who to believe. The charges leveled by officials in New York I take with a grain of salt because I am pretty sure of their ultimate goal. The NRA has been quiet as I suspect they should be until the court decides. I still believe in the saying, "Innocent until proven guilty." which is the bedrock of our judicial system. I think that many are rushing to judgment based on information that may not be credible. I am still debating about renewing my Golden Eagle membership for the coming year. I still would like to believe that the NRA is our best bet for progress on a national scale.

December 22, 2021, 01:14 AM	#17
Porsche911 Member Join Date: September 26, 2016 Location: North GA Posts: 37	I support the NRA and just gave them $10,000. __________________ S&W revolvers/Colt 1911s/Winchester

December 22, 2021, 05:23 PM	#20
TomNJVA Senior Member Join Date: January 22, 2014 Location: Floyd, VA Posts: 242	Yeah I saw that. I think Newsom is just testing the SCOTUS over the Texas abortion thing. It'll never fly. __________________ In NJ, the bad guys are armed and the households are alarmed. In VA, the households are armed and the bad guys are alarmed.

December 22, 2021, 06:29 PM	#21
zeke Senior Member Join Date: November 17, 1999 Location: NW Wi Posts: 1,671	"I’m talking about an actual ban on the firearms you currently own, door-to-door confiscation of those firearms, and you facing actual jail time if you fail to comply." IMO, the proposed reinterpretation of braces on pistols, and turning them into short barreled rifles could fulfill all of the above. https://www.federalregister.gov/docu...ilizing-braces Bidet's position on "assault rifles" rifles would come very close to fulfilling all the above, depending on how it was done. Am certainly not a fan of NRA fund raising, which is extremely obnoxious, but am a life time member and shudder to think where we would be without them. Already being a life member, i simply throw out everything else from them (except American Rifleman magazine). Last edited by zeke; December 22, 2021 at 09:45 PM.