NRA: Gun Rights Group, or Republican Advocates?

Rachel has great chyrons! Image from Raw Story.

It might surprise you to know that even as the lefty, liberal moonbat that I am, I'm not anti-gun. You could say I'm for sensible regulations and restrictions, that is, I don't think every weapon (grenade launcher, rocket launcher, IED, nuclear warhead) is necessarily covered by the second amendment. Much as free speech rights have some limitations (libel, slander, defamation, incitement to riot, "fire in a crowded theater"), so too could guns. I don't see a conflict there.

But, I was raised around guns. We had shotgun shell reloaders in the basement. Dad had several weapons, from revolvers to rifles to shotguns. Grandpa did too. We respected them, never played with them (well, we played with our BB guns), and I never developed a knee-jerk negative reaction to them. On the other hand, I also have been around gun fetishists. People so into their guns, it's almost sexual. . .or religion. . .or some perverted mixture of the two, wrapped up with patriotism. People who hold the 2nd amendment out as the most important--sometimes only important--amendment to the Constitution.

An argument could be made for whether the National Rifle Association has fostered this fetishism, or if they merely cater to the fetishists. But one thing is for sure. The NRA is a lobbying group. And however pure their motives were at the outset, they have become a major business, one that would like to continue and grow. As much as conservatives will often rail against Unions as just about money and power, the same could be alleged of the NRA. And it's awfully curious that they always support the Republican in a political contest, regardless of their actual policies, isn't it?

Case in point, Mitt Romney, who has been involved in multiple "anti-gun" regulations, and Barack Obama, who never has, and in fact has been involved in pro-gun legislation. Guess who the NRA is spending millions to support?

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[Excerpt]

Maddow shows why the NRA is just a ‘Republican interest group’

On her show Monday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow accused the National Rifle Association of being far more interested in electing Republicans than defending Second Amendment rights.
Last week, the NRA endorsed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney and has now launched ads against President Barack Obama. . .

Read more at: Raw Story