Part II

Over the weekend I stumbled across a few really informative commentaries posted online regarding the history of the NRA. Those commentaries brought to my awareness a surprising comment made by the NRA President at the time, Karl T. Frederick, in 1938.

Below is my "mash-up" (blending) of those commentaries.

"The NRA Once Supported Gun Control"

In 1933, Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, made fighting crime and gun control part of his ‘New Deal.’ The NRA actually HELPED HIM draft the first federal gun controls: 1934’s National Firearms Act and 1938’s Gun Control Act. These laws imposed heavy taxes and restrictions on certain classes of firearms—machine guns, silencers, and sawed-off shotguns—and forced gun sellers to register with the federal government.

The NRA President at the time, Karl T. Frederick, a 1920 Olympic gold-medal winner for marksmanship who became a lawyer, praised the new state gun controls in Congress. He testified before the 1938 law was passed:

"I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapon. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.”

This statement was not an exception, but the general consensus of those within the association for the majority of its existence. Founded after the Civil War by two Union soldiers, the NRA’s original intent was to improve the marksmanship of soldiers. Their motto, unchanged until 1977, read: Firearms Safety Education, Marksmanship Training, Shooting for Recreation. To that end, the passing of sensible gun restrictions was in no way at odds with the group’s longstanding objectives.

In 1977, thirty years after the landmark federal legislation passed, the Black Panthers began raising eyebrows in California for walking around armed. In response, Robert Mulford, a Republican Assemblyman from Oakland, proposed banning the open carrying of loaded guns in California, calling it an “act of violence or near violence.” The Mulford Act, passed in 1967, enjoyed the full support of both the NRA and Ronald Reagan, who the association would eventually endorse for president.

The NRA’s shift from a mainstream, apolitical marksmanship association to its current form happened literally overnight. In a watershed moment now known as the Revolt in Cincinnati, hardline gun advocates, upset by the NRA’s past endorsement of gun restrictions, ousted the full leadership of the organization through parliamentary rules.

From The Washington Post‘s description of that evening:

"The Old Guard was caught by surprise. The NRA officers sat up front, on a dais, observing their demise. The organization, about a century old already, was thoroughly mainstream and bipartisan, focusing on hunting, conservation and marksmanship. It taught Boy Scouts how to shoot safely. But the world had changed, and everything was more political now. The rebels saw the NRA leaders as elites who lacked the heart and conviction to fight against gun-control legislation."

That same night, the NRA’s executive director changed the organization’s motto to its current form: The Right Of The People To Keep And Bear Arms Shall Not Be Infringed. They embarked, almost immediately, on efforts to funnel money to pro-gun political campaigns. Their signature magazine, American Rifleman, began printing long essays on the inflexibility of the 2nd amendment, something it had scarcely mentioned in thousands of previous issues. […]

Sources: Salon.com, The Daily Beast, Alternet

My response is in two parts.

Part I

First: I couldn't agree with DJ more. Pres. Obama "appeared "ill-prepared for the "no format" Town Hall discussion. He frequently stumbled over his statements, turned simple questions into professorial retorts and even seemed to outright avoid some questions."

I don't question his heart (sincerity) on this issue. I do however, wish he had stepped up a lot sooner in his presidency and put forth real effort to tackle it by having several towhall meetings across the country over time (televised or not) in order to:

1. have open, and honest and substantive discussions about gun-violence in America.

2. increase public awareness of the actual cost..Human cost…to us as a society using current and credible data …i.e., as per the CD, in 2013, firearms were used in 84,258 gun-related Non-fatal injuries (26.65 per 100,000 U.S. citizens) and 11,208 deaths by homicide (3.5 per 100,000), 21,175 by suicide with a firearm, 505 deaths due to accidental discharge of a firearm, and 281 deaths due to firearms-use with "undetermined intent, for a total of 33,169 deaths related to firearms (excluding firearm deaths due to legal intervention). 1.3% of all deaths in the country were related to Guns […]

3. give a real listen to the concerns of those Americans who fear he's trying to take away their guns. Seize the opportunity to DISPEL that LIE, face-to-face.

4. and grow support among most Americans for sensible gun-control measures.

Unfortunately, the President failed to take any proactive steps.

Thankfully, it appears the majority of American people are finally ready for sensible updated gun-control measures.

We shall see what happens……