I agree that VM's points are worth looking at, but they are mis-characterized and without context.
1934. 1968. ? Ancient history.
You're stretching it to say that the NRA "drafted" the legislation way back then too... the NRA President was consulted along with many others in the firearms industry including leaders at Colt Firearms. (you going to stop buying Colts too?)
http://hnn.us/articles/142662.html
Besides... isn't all of that a bit old and irrelevant for today? Especially when you consider that the testimony during those hearings contains many things that the NRA is 100% against today. If you want more detailed actual history of gun control measures and the context of why they came about along with the NRA involvement in each instance, this is a good read:
http://www.vpc.org/nrainfo/chapter1.html
It isn't the fun, one-sided skewed version that all of the other 2A groups want you to hear, but then again that wouldn't drive people away from the NRA and to their ranks now would it?
In it you'll find out that the Gun Control Act of 1968 is more to blame on Oswald, James Earl Ray and Sirhan Sirhan than the NRA or anyone else. Did you know that the act was amended the day after MLK was murdered to include handgun restrictions and subsequently became the first gun control measure to pass out of committee since 1938? Did you also know that the day after Robert Kennedy was assassinated, the bill cleared congress and was signed into law just a short while thereafter? Did you know that with the way things were back then, that a January 1970 Gallup Poll showed 70% of Americans were in favor of gun control and that handguns laws should be MORE strict?
It's actually one of the turning points of the NRA as we see it today. That period in history also gave us the assassination of Alabama Governor George Wallace in 1972 with a .38 "Saturday Night Special". There was outrage and an attempted ban on the specific weapon. Consider the Lynyrd Skynyrd lyrics from 1974... (you going to stop listening to Skynyrd too?)
Mr.Saturday night special
Got a barrel that's blue and cold
Ain't no good for nothin'
But put a man six feet in a hole
Oooh Saturday night special...
For twenty dollars you can buy yourself one too...
Well hand guns are made for killin'
They ain't no good for nothin' else
And if you like to drink your whiskey
You might even shoot yourself
So why don't we dump 'em people
To the bottom of the sea
Before some ole fool come around here
Wanna shoot either you or me
When the proposed ban on "Saturday Night Specials" came before Congress, NRA Executive Vice President Maxwell Rich testified that "the National Rifle Association concurs in principle with the desirability of removing from the market crudely made and unsafe handguns." He noted that NRA publications did not accept advertising for such "junk guns" because "they have no sporting purpose, they are frequently poorly made, and they do not represent value received to any purchaser."
Those words and testimony and attitude eventually led to him being unseated and the NRA becoming more of what it is today.
If you're argument against ALL OF THE GOOD that the NRA does is because they helped to get machine guns taxed back in 1934, or were facing an uphill battle of monumental proportions in 1968, then you're missing the point. WITHOUT the NRA, this country wouldn't have had nearly the rich firearms history and culture that we have... it would have long been taken away and again. I'd argue that in 1968, with the sentiment of the country and the steadfast proposals of gun control in the forefront, that we're lucky the politicians didn't just try to ban everything entirely. The NRA might just be the only thing that kept them from trying.
The larger point is that TODAY, the NRA wields more power against anti-gun groups and lobby efforts than anyone else. In today's world (not 1934), the NRA does fight to protect the 2A and there is NOBODY who is more effective at it.
The NRA is full of millions of honest, good citizens, lovers of freedom and supporters of the 2A. "Supporting the NRA" doesn't mean accepting everything you don't agree with 100%. It' means joining up with a group of like minded people in membership and working together to fight the 2A battles and protect our freedoms. As evidenced in 1972, the organization CAN change from within when necessary too. Of course it's much easier to just sit on the sidelines and point at every little nuance or grievance despite the mountains of good that the NRA does.
