Tuesday, November 07, 2006

"Ron Paul- Asked and Answered"

Thanks for your email to NRA-PVF.

We have been receiving a bit of communication from NRA members after the latest publicity campaign from GOA regarding Ron Paul's NRA-rating. GOA does this to encourage folks to join their organization rather than NRA. Think about it: if they said NRA was doing everything right, they wouldn't have any members. Only in trying to stir up disagreement among our members, do they reap the benefits.

NRA has accordingly graded Congressman Ron Paul a "B". We have NOT endorsed against him - as widely MISreported.

Congressman Paul is a staunch libertarian, and as such, would not vote for the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act on countless occasions over the past decade. Although he opposed it on libertarian grounds, he still voted against us on one of our top legislative priorities for over a decade. We cannot make exceptions for the reasons WHY Members of Congress don't vote for a bill because they will all come up with some reason not to be supportive. This bill was critical in protecting our firearms heritage in this country, and NRA very successful shephered its passage through the Congress in 2005.

Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you.
Uh, yeah, I have a few other questions.

I understand why you gave Ron Paul a "B"--it's your rating system, and if voting for lawsuit protection was a priority, that's your call.

The real question is, why did Shane Sklar get an "A"? Aside from trumpeting his "sporting purposes" affiliation and advocating that we "enforce existing gun laws", his position on specific details has been carefully left obscure. Why should we give Sklar's rating any more credibility than we would give, say, Bill Brown's?

Oh, and one other question--why the slam on GOA, with the accusation that their motive is to compete with NRA for members, rather than having a principled difference of opinion? As the email came from an NRA staffer, I'm assuming that tactic has been authorized by Mr. LaPierre and Mr. Cox?

"Bill Brown-Asked and Answered"

I received the following forwarded email reply by NRA-ILA regarding Bill Brown from a friend in Santa Barbara:
Thank you for your email. Our lobbyist has carefully evaluated Bill Brown's stand on the Second Amendment. In fact Bill Brown has worked with the NRA to defeat anti-gun legislation at the State Capitol. As for his opponent Sheriff Anderson, he never returned the questionnaire that the NRA-PVF sent to him. We assume that is because he is hostile to gun rights.
Well, NRA's lobbyist wouldn't return my call on the matter, nor would their PR department. Incidentally, what do they mean by "Brown...worked with the NRA...at the State Capitol"?

Which bills? What did he actually do?

As for Anderson not returning a questionnaire, the implication is that Brown did.

Did he? Why won't NRA tell us how he responded?

Why won't NRA tell its voting members, who are being asked to support Brown, what his stances are on specific issues, such as concealed carry, the semiauto ban, the .50 ban, and other "anti-gun legislation"?

Why should we believe that Bill Brown's A-rating is a credible assessment of his "stand on the Second Amendment," when NRA is deliberately withholding this information, and refuses to explain Brown's documented position on the bearing of arms:
"With regard to CCWs, I don't believe in a blanket policy, i.e. I feel that Sheriffs and Police Chiefs need to have and should exercise discretion in issuing CCWs. Circumstances vary. What works in a rural setting may not be appropriate in an urbanized area. I would continue my current policy, which is to issue CCWs sparingly if there is a valid reason (such as a credible threat against life, requirement due to profession, or similar circumstance)."
This is what it takes to get an "A", and these people only gave Ron Paul a "B"?

Don't look for these questions to be answered. But do look at that evasion when assessing the credibility of NRA political ratings.

This Day in History: November 7

On this day in 1776, Congress chooses Richard Bache to succeed his father-in-law, Benjamin Franklin, as postmaster general. Franklin had sailed for France on behalf of the Continental Congress the previous month.