Gun Control Tide Turns Against the NRA and Second Amendment Fanatics

[Robb]

(snip)

Gun fanatics seem to fancy themselves as enjoying the kind of political invulnerability that comes from being in synch with an overwhelming majority of the public. They are way off the mark.

It's true that since the 1994 elections the NRA has possessed (and cultivated) such a reputation. But that was then. The group dropped more than $11 million in the 2012 elections, yet only 0.83 percent was spent on races where it got its desired outcome, according to the Sunlight Foundation. And while gun safety advocates mounted relatively little resistance in recent years (the NRA spent 73 times more on lobbying in the 112th Congress than the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and more than 3,000 times as much on the 2012 elections, notes Sunlight), a new anti-NRA infrastructure has developed. Americans for Responsible Solutions, the group founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly, raised $11 million in it first four months of existence, while Mayors Against Illegal Guns, the group founded by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, has been running television ads against key senators who helped kill the background check bill.

The NRA has also eased its opponents' task by taking uncompromising positions (the group voted unanimously last weekend to oppose "any and all new restrictions" on gun ownership). Polls show that overwhelming majorities of Americans, and even of NRA members, favor universal background checks. NRA extremism is creating an exploitable common-sense gap. Giffords and her husband, for example, aren't talking about handgun bans or (as people like LaPierre fantasize) confiscation – they're gun owners and Second Amendment supporters themselves.

Read More: http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2013/05/10/gun-control-tide-turns-against-the-nra-and-second-amendment-fanatics

[billh58]

1. The tide is turning

and the NRA "A" rating will soon become a liability in the eyes of a majority of voters.

[rdharma]

2. "A" for albatross!

[Vietnameravet]

3. I will believe this when congress passes meaningful legislation..

until then actions speak louder than words

[alphalimaromeo]

4. current laws

We already have background checks that when used are pretty effective. now i will say they should find a way to implement them into shows and internet sales. But as far as walking into a gun shop they are pretty good. what we need to do it figure out why people do the things they do (yes i know i sound like the NRA but i think they are right on this one). the problem isn't the gun. its the hands they are in. So we need to figure out why people do horrible things and go from there. i mean...violence will never stop no matter what you take away or restrict. And more background checks wont really help either. (note the Newtown shooters weapons were purchased by his mother). We should focus on the fact that he had a condition that made him focus on something. and he grew up with guns and violent media. therefore (speculation) he probably had gun violence programed into his mind. Background checks would not stop this.

[billh58]

5. Ah, the old

"people kill people" ploy, and "we really shouldn't do anything about the obscene proliferation of lethal weapons in this country because they don't actually kill anyone."

Yes, you DO "sound like the NRA" because you use their talking points, and no they are NOT "right on this one." I highly suggest that you read the SOP for this Group before you post any more NRA bullshit.