Sighting In on the NRA

FORTY YEARS AGO the National Rifle Association had about a million member, one of whom was a good friend of mine. he assured me that he would be quite in favor of gun control, but that it was too late; the cow was out of the barn, the guns were already long since in the hands of millions of Americans devoted to their second amendment rights, scattered all over kingdom come, and that therefore trying to institute new stringent gun restrictions was a bit like trying to put the genie back in the bottle. I, who favors gun control, recall telling him that he had a point. The NRA was once upon a time a benevolent organization whose purpose was to promote gun safety and responsibility, and sportsmanship. Then, in 1977 something of a coup d'tat took place, and the group was taken over by a gang or extreme right wing politicos whose agenda was to aggressively promote the second amendment, to strongly opposes anyone and anything even hinting of support for gun control or regulation, and to pump millions of dollars into the campaign coffers of right wing politicians of a similar ilk. Today the organization has more than five million members, and is among the nation's most powerful advocacy groups, with its tentacles deeply entrenched in conservative American politics. A new book, being released today, by former second in command and chief of staff Joshua Powell 'Inside the NRA"..the title is extended, and includes words like "fraud" and "greed".... promises to stir the pot, with accusations that the club, as Powell puts it, appeals to the most greedy, darkest aspects of its member's characters. Powell, who will doubtless be dismissed by the NRA, in true Donald Trump style, as nothing but a disgruntled former associates, was fired in January, and has written his book as a tell all expose. He makes the startling claims that fraud and embezzlement are rampant within the NRA, that teh highest ranking members have pocketed millions of dollars of member's contributions intended for charitable purposes, and that the organization, huge and unwieldy is rife with corruption, financial mismanagement, and nefarious purposes. We wait for the wailing and gnashing of teeth to begin among the faithful, along with the denials. Covid 19 has had the pleasant unintended consequence of postponing many mass murders in America, since people no longer gather together in such large and frequent numbers as to present easy targets. but once the virus is vanquished and target practice resumes as usual, the question of gun control, particularly with regard to assault refiles, is likely to resurface. Then, once again, its game on, American sanity and sense versus the National Rifle Association.