The issue of guns, NRA and NRA members really highlights the divide here

[Kaleva]

Not long ago, I posted a poll here in this forum asking if one thought that the majority of the members of the NRA were or were not the enemy. This was brought up because of a comment a candidate made.

A couple of things from the poll stood out to me. One was that 30% of respondents chose the "I believe the majority of NRA members are not the enemy" option. I was really surprised it was that high. I was expecting a percentage in the single digits. The other thing that stood out was that only one group of supporters had a majority of respondents pick the "I believe the majority of NRA members are not the enemy" option. This is in stark contrast to the option that the majority of supporters of other candidates picked and that was "I believe the majority of NRA members are the enemy".

Here below are the most up to date results of the vote:

Believe the majority of NRA members are not the enemy

9 Joe Biden supporters
5 Undecideds
2 Pete Buttigieg supporter
1 Bernie Sanders supporter
1 Seth Moulton supporter
1 Kamala Harris supporter
1 Tulsi Gabbard supporter

Believe the majority of NRA members are the enemy

14 Kamala Harris supporters
12 Elizabeth Warren supporters
9 Undecideds
4 Bernie Sanders supporters
4 Joe Biden supporters
5 Pete Buttigieg supporters
2 Beto O'Rourke supporters
1 Marianne Williamson supporter
1 Jay Inslee supporter

Members who did not wish to select any of the options provided.

2 Elizabeth Warren supporters
1 Joe Biden supporters
1 Pete Buttigieg supporter
1 Undecided

For those you may think that maybe a majority of NRA are responsible people who support some gun control measures , here is a link to an OP I posted in GD titled "Meet the members of the NRA".

Here is a link to a Pew Research poll results where one sees that a large majority of Republican NRA members, who make up about 77% of NRA's membership, oppose creating a federal database to track gun purchases, banning assault style weapons, and banning high capacity magazines.

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/07/05/among-gun-owners-nra-members-have-a-unique-set-of-views-and-experiences/

IMHO, the average NRA member, the majority of them, opposes sensible and progressive gun control measures we surely need. Thus, they are our enemy in this matter. I don't see how one can argue that they are not.

[keithbvadu2]

1. The NRA has its own database of gun owners.

The NRA has its own database of gun owners.

[Kaleva]

5. NRA says they ran a poll of it's members

"The only legitimate poll of NRA members ever done was a national scientific survey commissioned by NRA. It surveyed 1,000 randomly-selected NRA members across the country and found that NRA members are united on today’s issues.

92 percent oppose banning the sale of firearms between private citizens.
92 percent oppose background checks on the sale of firearms between private citizens.
89 percent oppose banning so-called “assault weapons.”
93 percent oppose gun registration.
91 percent SUPPORT laws to keep guns out of the hands of people with mental illnesses."

http://blog.joehuffman.org/2018/07/04/poll-of-nra-members-on-gun-control/

[Marengo]

6. I'm not an NRA member, but also oppose 1 and 4. Does that make me an "enemy"?

[Kaleva]

7. You can answer your own question by reading the OP.

I'm interested to know if you think a majority of members of the NRA are the enemy.

[Marengo]

8. I'm asking YOU to answer my question. A simple yes or no will suffice.

[Kaleva]

9. Vote on this poll and I can answer your question

A simple choice on your part will suffice. You are believe that a majority of NRA members are the enemy or you don't. Yes or No.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/1287181712

[sharedvalues]

11. I don't think NRA members are the enemy. But they are responsible for deaths.

I think many NRA members can be converted and we should welcome them.

But the first thing NRA members need to realize is that the NRA is a blood-soaked domestic terror organization that gets American kids killed. Supporting the NRA, either directly or indirectly by buying guns or ammo, means helping Americans get killed.

The NRA has changed. Forty years ago it was a gun safety organization centered around hunting. Today it is a domestic terror organization funded by Republicans because gun identity politics gets votes for Republican billionaires. No one at DU — no patriotic American — should support the NRA.

[Marengo]

14. LOL! I'd like to have a hit of whatever you are smoking. Let's apply that logic to you...

Do you use fossil fuels, eat meat, own property, purchase from Amazon, etc.?

[sharedvalues]

17. None of those are domestic terror, as guns are.

If you buy guns or ammo you are LITERALLY sending money to the NRA which lobbied to allow the Sandy Hook and Vegas killings. You bear responsibility.

[Marengo]

19. How many millions have died as result of our addiction to oil? You buy a petroleum product, you...

Are responsible. Peddle your hypocrisy elsewhere.

[sharedvalues]

21. How many have died as a result of NRA-promoted gun laws?

No false equivalencies, please.

Guns kill people. (Other stuff kills people too. If you want to talk about that, do so in a new thread).


If you buy guns or ammo you are complicit in kid shooting deaths.

[Marengo]

13. I'm not interested in polls that categorize fellow Americans as "enemies", that's how RWers think.

I am interested in how you categorize a fellow Democrat who happens to share a few points of policy agreement with a majority of NRA members, but is not a member of the organization.

[Kaleva]

15. Then select the first option. You do not think the majojority of NRA members are the enemy.

Once you vote, I'll answer your question.

Stand with the candidate you support.

[Marengo]

18. No thanks, your insistence in hiding behind your poll suggests it's a trap. You would have

Answered me otherwise.

[Kaleva]

20. What trap? Point out one single respondent to the poll who I trapped.

I bet you can't do it which suggests, since there isn't any evidence that it's a trap, there must be some other reason you won't vote in the poll either way.

[Kaleva]

16. Your candidate uses the term "enemy"

"“Last thing, we should have smart guns. No gun should be able to be sold unless your biometric measure can pull that trigger. It’s within our right to do that, we can do that, our enemy is the gun manufacturers, not the NRA,” he said."

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/450807-biden-enemy-is-gun-manufacturers-not-the-nra

[sharedvalues]

10. Do you buy guns and ammo? Then yes.

Because:
NRA money is used to lobby to keep guns totally unrestricted.
Totally unrestricted guns are why so many Americans get killed by guns, including kids shot to death at schools.
If you buy guns and ammo, some of the profits are given to the NRA so gun manufacturers can make more money.


So if you buy guns and ammo you are contributing to kid deaths.

I know that seems harsh, but it’s true and I want to say it again. We have an epidemic of gun violence. Our children are being assassinated in schools because the country is flooded with guns. And if you buy guns and ammo, you are responsible for those deaths.

[rogue emissary]

2. Excellent post but I fear it will fall on deaf ears here.

[Kaleva]

4. The difference of opinion between one group and everyone else is interesting

[Hoyt]

3. No argument from me. I will say that there are a lot of white wing

gun-lovers who are too cheap to pay dues, but still support NRA and other gun groups and militia. All they care about is access to more guns, stand your ground laws, and similar crud.

They know the gun manufacturers, other gun profiteers, white wing organizations, Russia, GOP, etc., will keep funding the NRA.

[sharedvalues]

12. Those people support domestic terror.

The NRA is a domestic terror organization and those people support it, then.

[Kaleva]

22. kick