Category Archives: National Rifle Association

March 24, 2013 · 8:07 PM

Fear and Loathing – ‘Gun Lobby Bombards Newtown Families With Robocalls Against Gun Regulations’

NRA Bombards Newtown Families with Robocalls

The amazing thing about all of this is that the NRA has the unmitigated gall to harass Newton Connecticut families like this…

The Last Of The Milleniums

‘Newtown Action Alliance — a Sandy Hook-based, all-volunteer organization working to reduce gun violence and death — reported on Thursday that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is making robocalls and sending post cards to Newtown families asking them to oppose any new measures. The messages, first obtained by Christina Wilkie of the Huffington Post, warn that “Connecticut General Assembly are aggressively forging ahead with numerous proposals that are designed to disarm and punish law-abiding gun owners and sportsmen”:

The National Shooting Sports Foundation — a group which represents gun manufacturers — has also begun airing radio ads claiming that restrictions will “punish law-abiding citizens” and threatening that gun manufactures will leave the state and take away “thousands of jobs”:

Ed. Note: Read more at Think Progress

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March 7, 2013 · 7:32 AM

Meet 34 Corporations That Help Inflate The NRA’s Membership

Think  Progress

While the National Rifle Association claims millions of members, polls show the vast majorityof the group’s members disagree with the national leadership’s hard-line opposition to gun violence prevention efforts. But despite the out-of-touch NRA executives, Americans might well join for another reason: massive financial incentives.

A recent NRA promotion invited people to join at a discounted $25 rate. In addition to receiving an official membership card, a subscription to an association magazine, and free gun insurance, new members received a $25 gift card for Bass Pro Shops, making the membership essentially free.

In addition to those incentives, members of the NRA and its business alliance receive a bevy of other discounts courtesy of the Association’s corporate affiliates. National and local companies provide discounts on everything from car rentals to identity theft protection. The companies get listed on the NRA’s site as corporate partners and can promote themselves as “NRA endorsed.” And, in some cases, the NRA gets a percentage of the profits.

Among the companies are:

  • 4Ever Active: Five percent discount on healthcare supplies.
  • American Cellars Wine Club/Vinesse: Discounted membership in the American Cellars Wine Club.
  • Americap: Discounted custom-decorated caps, pistol holsters, clay bags, and apparel.
  • Avis/Budget Group: Discounts on Avis and Budget rental cars.
  • Best Western: Discounted rates at hotels worldwide.
  • Celerant Technology: A 25 percent discount for gun clubs and stores buying software systems. A spokeswoman told ThinkProgress: “We have been a longtime partner of the NRA because we have many clients who are firearm dealers and several who are NRA members. We are a retail software company, and we specialize in many different retail verticals, one of them being firearms. We offer a discount to NRA members and do not have any plans to discontinue our partnership.”
  • eHealthInsurance: Discounted insurance plans.
  • Emergency Assistance Plus: Discounted emergency medical assistance.
  • FedEx: Discounted shipping through the FedEx advantage program.
  • First National Bank of Omaha: NRA Visa Card with no annual fee.
  • Globalinx: Discounted telecomm service.
  • GoHealth Insurance: Discounted health insurance plans.
  • Harland Clarke: Discounted personal check printing.
  • Hertz: Discounted rental cars.
  • Holiday Card Center: Discounted holiday cards.
  • Insperity / HR Tools: Fifteen percent discount on management software.
  • Life Insurance Central: Discounted life insurance.
  • LifeLock: Discounted identify theft protection.
  • Life Line Screening: Discounted health screenings. A spokeswoman told ThinkProgress that “NRA members, along with members of literally dozens of other national associations, including unions, can receive a small discount off of our screening packages as a benefit of their membership. We believe that access to good, affordable healthcare is not a political issue and should be available to everyone.”
  • Lockton Affinity / Gun Store Insurance: Discounted business insurance for gun vendors.
  • National/Alamo/Enterprise: Discounts of up to 25 percent on rental cars.
  • Outdoor Affinity: Discounted telecomm services.
  • Payment Alliance International: Discounted credit card processing, especially for gun vendors.
  • Rescue 360: Discounted emergency rescue services.
  • SIRVA: Discounted moving services. A spokesman told ThinkProgress: “The relationship with NRA is one of many similar relationships with membership groups all over the country. These arrangements do not represent an endorsement by SIRVA.”
  • Smartwaiver: Discounted legal waivers.
  • Sportsmans Bench Products/ND Industries: Discounted adhesives.
  • Staples Advantage (Corporate Express): Discounted Staples office supplies.
  • Starkey Hearing Technologies: Discounted hearing aids
  • TN Marketing L.L.C.: Discounted gun videos.
  • TrueCar: Discounts on new and used cars.
  • Wild Apricot: Discounted membership and website software. A spokesman told ThinkProgress that it allows any lawful group to receive a commission if they sign up asaffiliate partners. Though the NRA Business Alliance site identifies them as offering a discount, he explained: “We do not pay any fee to the NRA, and their affiliates do not receive any discount on our software.”
  • Wyndham Hotel Group: Discounts at Days Inn, Howard Johnson, Ramada, Super 8, and other Wyndham hotel chains.

The LA Times reported in January that the global advocacy site Avaaz.org is encouraging Facebook users to urge Best Western and Wyndham “to get out of bed with the extremist NRA.”

A spokeswoman for one listed partner, Palo Alto Software, told ThinkProgress that it had ended its corporate partnership with the NRA and no longer offers a discount to NRA members. The NRA affiliate link, she said in an e-mail, is “outdated” and the company expects it to be removed “this week.”

ThinkProgress reached out to all of the other companies and the NRA for comment. Representatives for FedEx, Hertz and Lockton Affinity declined to comment on their “proprietary” relationships with the NRA. The others did not respond to inquiries by press time.

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January 19, 2013 · 12:57 AM

NRA lied: No armed guards at Obama girls’ school

AmericaBlog

There’s a reason they’re called gun “NUTS.”  The NRA just lies.  These guys should consider teaming up with the religious right, considering the audacity of lies they tell.

You might recall that we reported earlier this week that the NRA had launched an ad/Web site targeting President Obama’s children.  The ad claimed – falsely, we now know – that the school the Obama girls attend, Sidwell friends, has “11 armed guards.”

NRA ad site targeting obama girls

In fact, the school has no armed guards of any kind.

Now, you’d think that when the NRA saw that the source for lie was “Breitbart,” a far right blog known for its sensationalism rather than it’s love of veracity, they’d have double checked.  Well, if they did, they double checked with Fox News, because it’s a lie.

From the Washington Post’s fact checker:

But what about the claim that Sidwell Friends has 11 armed guards, which some Web sites have depicted with images of armed police with binoculars?

This is based on the fact that the online directory for Sidwell Friends lists 11 people as working in the Security Department. Five are listed as “special police officer,” while two are listed as “on call special police officer,” which presumably means they do not work full-time. The directory also lists two weekend shift supervisors, one security officer and the chief of security….

But we spoke to parents who said they had never seen a guard on campus with a weapon. And Ellis Turner, associate head of Sidwell Friends, told us emphatically: “Sidwell Friends security officers do not carry guns.” (Note: this includes those listed as special police officers.)

And just to clarify, the NRA wasn’t talking about Secret Service protection – they were talking about actual armed security forces – more from the Washington Post:

While some news organizations reported that the ad was referencing the Secret Service protection provided to the Obama family — as required by federal law — the longer ad makes it clear that the NRA is specifically referring to the security force at Sidwell Friends.

The Post’s conclusion?

pinocchio_4

A slashing attack like this has an especially high threshold to get its facts straight. The ad gives the impression that a phalanx of armed police are guarding students, such as the Obama and Gregory children, at Sidwell Friends.

But that is completely false. Far from being elitist, the relatively small force of unarmed security guards at Sidwell is not unusual for a school of its size.

Moreover, the ad also suggests that Obama rejects out of hand boosting security at schools, when in fact his proposals include provisions that would provide funding for more school security.

If the NRA is also trying to count Secret Service protection for Obama’s children as part of that force of armed guards, that’s even more ridiculous. As we noted, such protection is mandated under federal law — and only exists for the president’s children.

Four Pinocchios

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January 17, 2013 · 1:08 AM

Maddow on new NRA ads: Trolling a key aspect of conservative media

Maddow screenshot

Raw Story

On her show Wednesday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow said the National Rifle Association was simply “trolling” with its latest ads, a tactic employed throughout the conservative sphere.

“Trolling is a key part of the conservative-entertainment/media business model,” she said. “These guys say stuff all the time that they do not intend to be persuasive. They’re not trying to explain something, or bring people along to their way of thinking, they’re just doing something to attract attention, and hopefully condemnation and outrage from the mainstream, and particularly from liberals. They want to offend you. They seek to offend you. That is the point.”

Maddow said that “trolling” was a “tried and true schtick” for conservatives. Not just for media figures, but for politicians as well. She described Rep. Steve King (R-IA) as a “permanent troll.”

The new ad released by the National Rifle Association was a prime example of trolling, according to Maddow. The controversial ad said that President Barack Obama was an “elitist hypocrite” for having the Secret Service guard his two daughters while being skeptical that placing armed guards in schools was the only answer to mass shootings.

“Trolls have a purpose in our politics,” Maddow said. “They help niche, unpopular positions and people fund themselves and promote themselves as pseudo-political actors by tricking people who ought to know better into punching down at them.”

The liberal MSNBC host said that the NRA’s “trolling” was proof of their political impotence. She noted that only 0.83 percent of the $10,536,106 spent by the NRA in the 2012 elections ended up achieving the desired result.

Watch video, courtesy of Mediaite, below:

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December 19, 2012 · 7:58 AM

The Connecticut school massacre: Read the NRA’s first public comments

“It speaks…”

The Week

The National Rifle Association, the influential lobbying group that is a driving force behind America’s lax gun laws, on Tuesday released its first statement since the mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, that killed 26 people. Read the statement below:

National Rifle Association of America is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daughters — and we were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown.

Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting.

The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.

The NRA is planning to hold a major news conference in the Washington, DC area on Friday, December 21.

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May 2, 2011 · 2:00 AM

VIDEO: NRA Members Claim Obama Doesn’t Believe In 2nd Amendment, But Can’t Explain Why

ThinkProgress  filed this report from Pittsburgh, PA at the NRA’s annual convention.

President Obama has repeatedly said, while campaigning for the White House, and as president, that he firmly supports Americans’ right to own guns. As recently as last March, the subject came up during a press conference with Mexican President Felipe Calderon because of the large flow of American-made weapons going to drug cartels there. “I believe in the Second Amendment,” Obama said. “It does provide for Americans the right to bear arms for their protection, for their safety, for hunting, for a wide range of uses.”

Yet, the National Rifle Association instructs its members not to believe Obama’s words. Based on interviews ThinkProgress conducted with NRA members at the group’s annual conference in Pittsburgh this weekend, their strategy is working quite well:

ThinkProgress also talked to gun industry CEOs Ronnie Barrett and Pete Brownell, who are both on the NRA’s board of directors (listen to clips of the interviews here and here). Predictably, Barrett and Brownell said they don’t think Obama believes in the Second Amendment, but they couldn’t offer any evidence to support that view.

Even though gun regulations have actually loosened since Obama took office, Brownell wasn’t buying it. “I wouldn’t argue that,” he said. And when asked for specific pieces of legislation that have restricted gun rights, Brownell paused and then simply said, “The NRA has done a great job making America aware of what legislators are trying to do in banning firearms.”

Continue reading here…

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