This gun thing is a bigger argument than we even realize, I think.

[LAS14]

It's coming clear to me that the NRA wants to go back to frontier America. They really want guns to be commonplace, with everyone responsible for their own law enforcement. The thing is, if they get their way in smaller ways, we'll be forced to throw in the towel on civilization and go backwards. Because we WILL need to be our own law enforcement. Talk about scary slippery slopes.

But I'm thinking that the argument may not have been framed correctly. We need to say to NRA people, "No, we don't want everyone responsible for their own law enforcement." That is, say out loud what they are really advocating. What really brought this home was Judy Woodruff's interview with a couple of attractive, articulate NRA supporting teenagers last night.

I don't know if it will help, but I've always believed it's better to really understand the enemy than not.

[Freethinker65]

1. The leaders of the NRA want $$$$ and power.

I really think most NRA members just want to be sure they will be able to own gun(s) to hunt, for actual sport, to collect, and to protect themselves. Those members are being used to drive the rest of the conservative political agenda that many NRA members care and know little about. As long as NRA members remain single issue voters, and its leadership can convince them the other side is out to take all of their guns, the GOP/NRA wins.

For example- hunters and environmentalists have a lot of common interests and concerns, but those get drowned out until public lands become privatized, and environmental damage harms ecosystems necessary for hunting.

[Sherman A1]

4. Precisely

it's about money and very little more than that.

[njhoneybadger]

2. The NRA is an arm of the Koch brothers machine

As is the Religous Right. The Koch brothers don't really care about guns or religion.They understand they can use these organizations to divide and conquer the country. Most Republican politicians are Koch brother puppets.

[Caliman73]

3. Interesting point, but not sure that that is the full case.

It is probably part of the story, but not the full story. The NRA's lobbying shop simply wants to put as many guns in as many hands as possible. They will tell different groups different things but the main goal is to keep revenue flowing into the NRA's coffers.

Gun owners are not all the same. There are many different reasons people own guns. Remember that the NRA claims a membership of 4 to 5 million gun owners and there are reports that claim that that number is very inflated. With an estimated 30 to 50 million gun owners in the US the highest estimate for NRA membership is only about 10% of gun owners, yet the NRA is the face of gun ownership because they represent mostly, the gun manufacturers. That is where most of their revenue comes from. That is who the NRA represents and why they will spin whatever tale they can to put a gun in someone's hands.

[enough]

5. They want to sell guns. NT

[Captain Stern]

7. That's pretty much it.

I don't think the NRA cares one way or another how selling more guns actually impacts our country. Their only purpose is to sell more guns.

Since a gun can last pretty much forever, they can only sell a lot more two ways.

1. Convince people that don't own a gun to buy a gun. That's why they try to make the country sound like its such a scary, crime-filled, place. They want people to be scared not to have a gun.

2. Convince people that already have a gun, or guns, that they need even more guns. They do this, to some extent, by coming out with new, or "better" guns, but they also do a pretty good job of convincing some people that there might be a point that they won't be able to get guns at all, or that someone will take away the ones they have.

[TexasProgresive]

6. The thing is guns were not common place

That’s the hype of TV & movie Westerns.

[njhoneybadger]

8. It's primary goal is votes. Create a tribalism mentality.