Here's Why I Burned My NRA Card Today - Reposted
image: crooksandliars.com
http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-board-tirade/2017/10/burn-your-nra-card-2/
The following was posted on November 4, 2016.  It seemed appropriate to re-post it today:
I burned my NRA card today because I am completely fed up with their obstructionist policies, fear mongering and phony 2nd Amendment defense arguments.
NOTE:  You can save yourself the hassle of reading this by clicking HEREto see the YouTube video.
I was tossing out some old newspapers last week when I noticed the headline in our local rag that read, "Gun related arrest - Page 6"
When I opened to page 6, the headline read, "Chicago Man Arrested For Use of Firearm"
According to the story, Michael D. Samuels was pulled over one morning and charged with "aggravated use of a weapon, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm by a street gang member."
According to the police, the gun was discovered subsequent to a routine traffic stop.  It doesn't say if he was stopped for speeding or a busted tail light, but that's not relevant to this discussion
What we have to ask ourselves is how this convicted felon and known gang member got his hands on a gun in the first place.
Which brings us to the NRA.
After any mass shooting like Sandy Hook Elementary School, where 20 students and 6 adults died or the Pulse night club, where 49 were killed and 53 injured, the National Rifle Association reflexively announces that guns had nothing to do with the shootings.
Neither Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's million-dollar man nor any of his followers seem to capture the irony of the NRA calling out Democrats for making a political issue out of these tragedies.
As long as we're on the subject, why is it that Republican legislatures across the country are passing voter ID laws to stem a tide of voter fraud that doesn't exist, but won't try to stiffen gun laws to stem a tide of violence that actually does exist?
Most of America's gun violence, like here in Chicago is caused by handguns, not the type of rifles used in the aforementioned shootings.
How can anybody be opposed to doing anything at all that might make it more difficult for someone like Michael Samuels to get his gangbanging hands on a gun?
I have guns, you might even call me a gun enthusiast.  I'm not going to tell you what kind of guns I have, but it's worth noting that I am a light sleeper, an excellent shot and a firm believer in the Castle Doctrine.
I'm pretty confident that the outcome of the next election is not going to impact my ability to own guns.  NOBODY IS COMING FOR YOUR GUNS.  Not Hillary, not nobody.
We need to make a greater effort to keep guns out of the hands of bad and crazy people.  Whether that means more stringent, universal background checks, greater oversight at gun shows or not selling guns to anyone on a no-fly list, than that's what we need to do.
Someone like Wayne LaPierre should not be able to stand in the way of making America safer for our children.
The inconvenience of someone having to clear their name off a no-fly list before they can get a gun is insignificant.  Why is it so important that every dumb ass who wants to buy a gun should be able to do so immediately?
Sometimes we're inconvenienced for the sake of public safety.  It cost me about a grand to get my 2000 SUV into shape for the emissions test and I kept my fingers crossed at the testing station.
We need to stop letting big business tell us that government is bad because they're the real beneficiaries of regulatory constipation.  Our cities and our citizens are the losers.
There's another reason I'm pissed at the NRA. They gave an "F" rating to Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, who is now running for Senator against incumbent Roy Blunt.
Kander joined the National Guard after 9/11 and volunteered to go to Afghanistan after he graduated from law school. He's a real American hero. He knows and respects his weapons and believes in his 2nd Amendment right to own them.
He just doesn't think terrorists and assholes should have them.
The NRA gave Blunt, who has never served this nation an "A" rating because Blunt voted to shorten the waiting period for guns from 72 hrs to 24 hrs.
NOTE:  If you haven't watched the video, you can click HERE if you want to see it without having to scroll back to the top.