Are you a member of an organization that uses your dues to promote gun laws and won’t even let any business dealing with guns advertise in their magazine? If you are a member of American Association of Retired Persons you do.
In a 12/10/04 press release AARP states “AARP supported the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which went into law in 1994 with bi-partisan support, but was allowed to expire this year.” On their website under advertising guidelines they state: “Unacceptable Ad Messages – AARP deems some industry sectors as unacceptable for its publications. These include: Guns, Firearms, Weapons.”
Would you donate to a charity that refuses to allow anything dealing with guns or hunting? If you donate to the “Make A Wish Foundation” you do. This group claims to grant wishes to dying children and they do – as long as the wish does not involve guns or hunting. Some other groups have stepped in to grant hunting and shooting wishes, but if you donate to Make A Wish your money will not be used to grant the dying wish of a child wanting to go hunting or shooting.
Would you join a group at work and pay annual dues to them if they wanted to take your guns away from you? If you are a member of the National Education Association or the AFL/CIO you have. Both groups are listed as supporters of gun control laws by the NRA at http://www.nraila.org/Issues/FactSheets/Read.aspx?ID=15. They say “The following organizations have lent monetary, grassroots or some other type of direct support to anti-gun organizations..”
Check the list and see if you give money to any of them and how many you belong to. You will find the usual suspect groups like the ACLU, American Federation of Teachers and Common Cause but you might be surprised to also find the American Medical Association, American Bar Association, and the Episcopal Church, Washington Office. Be careful which groups you pay money to. They might be fighting against your right to own a gun and your right to defend yourself.
What action can you take if you do? In February 2000 Citibank turned down a business account because the business dealt with guns. In a 2/23/00 report the following quote sums up Citibank’s policy at that time: “Citibank spokesman Mark Rodgers told WorldNetDaily, “Citibank’s consumer business has a longstanding policy of not engaging in financial relationships with businesses that manufacture or sell military weapons, military munitions or firearms.”
Gun owners groups publicized this policy and called for a boycott. Within two months Citibank announced it eliminated that policy. I am not sure I want to do business with a bank that had that policy just seven short years ago and with bankers that started it who probably still work there, but the boycott worked there and it will work in other places.
Be especially careful of gun friendly “sounding” groups like the American Hunters and Shooters Association. They claim to support gun ownership but this is from there no2w defunct web site under Who we are : “an overwhelming majority of hunters support proposals like background checks to purchase guns, keeping military style assault weapons off our streets and the elimination of cop killer bullets.”
So this group would support banning guns that have a certain look, make you jump through hoops to buy a gun and outlaw ammo like the 30-30 and 30-06 bullets. Their name sounds good and they might support some gun rights but they support way too much of the same things the gun ban fanatics support.
Apparently some deaf dumb and blind kid at Field and |Stream magazine wrote this: “If you haven’t heard of the American Hunters and Shooters Association let me introduce you. The AHSA is an organization in its formative stages, and claims to be a viable alternative to the NRA which, it says, has alienated hunters and shooters by its boorish political tactics, unwillingness to compromise, and refusal to support conservation in any meaningful way.”
AHSA is defunct even with Field and Stream shilling for them and the founder is dead yet the NRA still works to protect ALL gun rights.
Even more troubling, the NRA says AHSA Executive Director Bob Ricker worked as a paid shill for the anti-gun lobby and its lawyers. Board member John Rosenthal is founder of the anti-gun Massachusetts state group “Stop Handgun Violence.” Now they want our support.
Not from me!