(June 23, 2016 at 1:29 am)Cecelia Wrote: The problem with fighting the NRA is that they're simply against Gun Control of all kinds. They paint a picture that the opposition is going to take all their guns. It's a ridiculous assertion that creates fear among their members, and brings in quick donations. The Republican Party of course has been running with the same strategy for years. Opposing the NRA is difficult because those who want regulations can't agree on what regulations we want. It's a complicated issue. And they're not going to make it easy for us. That's why they use propaganda to keep laws that forbid the CDC from doing research on gun violence and gun control.
The opposition needs to start firing back at the NRA directly, rather than focusing on gun control. Attack them directly. Point out their horrible stance on things like gun safety. They advocate keeping guns hidden rather than locked up. This isn't a safe practice, especially if you have kids in the house. I know I would refuse to let my kids go to someone's house if they had a gun, and didn't keep it locked up. they could be painted as the no responsibility association. To the NRA it's just a horrible accident if you leave your kid around a weapon, and he gets it and shoots himself. People want to go after a woman for not watching her child at a zoo, after getting a gorilla killed. But apparently it's too much to ask that someone go to jail for leaving their weapon in a place their kid can get it, and then they shoot themselves. Apparently this is okay. I suppose it's a trend, because it's also okay to deny a child medical care and use prayer instead. If these were unborn fetuses instead, there would be outrage.
They'll be quick to place the blame elsehwere-- they tried video games, but found that didn't cut it with gamers. Yeah, you're kind of outnumbered by people who play video games given that almost everyone has played video games (oh, and there's not that many of you to begin with, and gamers are a passionate lot). So then they shifted their focus to mental health. Of course--they won't actually do anything about the mental health system in this country. That's another focus for an attack against the NRA. They claim mental health is the real issue, then do nothing to improve mental health issues in this country. They say they'll support reasonable fixes to our mental health system, but haven't actually proposed anything. They certainly aren't out there fighting to make sure that our mental health system gets fixed. They're too busy making sure politicians don't expand background checks.
Defeating the NRA wouldn't be hard if gun control wasn't a complicated issue. But it is. That's why they don't want the CDC doing research into it. Kill it before it even becomes an option that most people can agree on. They know how hard it is for people to agree on these issues. If you want to defeat them, you're going to have to go after them on everything they do. Hold their feet to the fire, and don't stop hitting until they're down for the count.
Your first line says it all, and the sane have been screaming that for decades.