WASHINGTON - The National Rifle Association is creating a news corporation, starting an Internet talk show and preparing to buy a radio station to speak about candidates and gun rights at election time despite new political ad limits.
The 4 million-member gun lobby, looking for the same legal recognition as mainstream news organizations, says it has already hired its first reporter. NRANews.com was to start online broadcasts Friday.
The NRA is taking the step to operate free of political spending limits, hoping to use unlimited donations known as soft money to focus on gun issues and candidates' positions despite the law's restrictions on soft money-financed political ads close to elections.
"Someone needs to show the court and the politicians how absurd their speech gag on the American public is," Wayne LaPierre, NRA executive vice president, told The Associated Press. "This is an act of defiance. But it's also in 100 percent compliance with the law."
LaPierre said the NRA is taking several steps to become a "legitimate packager of news" like newspapers and TV networks, including hiring Cam Edwards, a conservative talk-show host from Oklahoma City.
I agree. I think that there are numerous gun owners and hunters who don't declare it around their workplace. Here in New England I know this to be the case. Maybe if NRA radio/tv is able to reach out to some of these people we'll move toward not having to justify ourselves all the time. I hate to say it, but if we're going to win over some of the anti-hunters / anti-gunners, we're going to have to address them in a sane, calm, and responsible way. Yelling at them isn't going to do anything but dive them away. Of course, I don't mean the extremist antis.
Your comments on the work place have sparked me to share this.
I work for an engineering firm. The firm has a membership to a game farm so we can take customers and vendors hunting. We have a guy on staff that spent 5 years in Germany training trial dogs. Our buildings and grounds guy is a range master and all our machinists hunt. We have company sponsored sporting clays shoots once a year where every employee is invited to shoot a round on the companies dime. We have a big buck contest every year (I've been 2nd twice, both time beaten by .5 points!). At any given time you can walk into our automation division and see a gun that one of the machinists is working on. In the breakroom we have a few years worth of the gun bible and on the wall in the shop we have a clip board with fliers for all up comming gun shows. This is not a small machine shop, we are a 100 employee engineering firm that is split 90% white colar engineers and 10% blue colar machinists and assemblers. We have a few anti's here, but they are the ones that hide thier thoughts and leave the room when the topic turns to guns!
I think if everyone starts talking guns at work you will find out pretty quick that you are the majority not the minority. There is hope and that hope is open communication!
EDIT TO JAY: I tried to type : machinists and a s s e m b l e r s but you can see what happened above. Kind of funny!
Sounds like a great place to work I've heard lots of anti-gun talk at my university, of course; it's almost a given, and there are numerous people, my own department chair included, who are members of PETA and who make it widely known. However, there is some hope. I was at a conference in Texas the second week of April and there were actually a couple of papers given on fishing and social class. Needless to say, I went up to the guys who were doing the panel, introduced myself, and in a few minutes we were talking hunting. If there are other New England academics who hunt, they're probably closet cases. But every so often I remark on it to close friends. We shall see.
Regarding the 'closet' gun enthusiasts let me add my .02.
Why not talk about something that you enjoy and can educate people about?
The devout 'anti's' will never change their mind, so let them leave the room when you start talking about your hobby (I have a brother in law who does), but the majority of people will listen & appreciate when you tell them about:
the mathmatical precision needed in reloading;
the patience & skill to call in game,
the practice needed at the range when you only get one shot in the field;
the dedication needed when you keep going out & don't get to take a shot.
I think everyone loves to hear a great story be told & this is how we spread the word, starting at the watercoolers and cubicles at work.
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