As an older jewish woman I prefer not to live in a country where only the government has the guns.

Succinct and on the money, #1. Does a better job of defending the 2nd Amendment than many multi-paragraph articles I´ve read, including some published by the NRA.

The NRA should´ve had a massive presence everywhere immediately after Sandy Hook, with well-thought-out comments and offering help or assistance wherever possible. They should have asked for Hollywood, TV and video game makers to JOIN the NRA in creating a responsible and safe America.
But, no. They are hunkering in a corner allowing the media and politicians to destroy them.

Trust me, #3, the NRA is not "hunkering in a corner," they simply are not participating in the mindless blather being portrayed in media circles.

I agree with the premise of the article; the NRA is necessary and they protect far more of the Constitution than just the Second Amendment. But from my prospective, the opening sentence is wrong. I believe the NRA is stronger than ever before. Name another organization that can deliver a bloc of 4MM votes. I have been a dedicated member for sixty years(I have a certificate for marksmanship won in 1951) and am an Endowment Member. All my numerous progeny are members and will encourage their young´uns to join. The organzation is strong. However it may be time for Wayne LaPiere to step down. His once legendary vigor seems to be fading.

The NRA endorsed Harry Reed.

Please ponder.

Stupid last paragraph. No one is saying to ban all guns.

Start with making it difficult for those with serious mental illness to get guns. Allow such people, their families, their mental health professionals, to put them on ´no sell to´ lists that are shared nationally. Tell mental health professionals to strongly warn family members to keep guns out of their homes or, if this isn´t possible, to keep them locked away and hidden, with the key not on the premises. If you want to house someone with serious mental illness, then you don´t need to house guns. Plain and simple - make a public service announcement to that effect.

i am sorry but herd massive calls to ban all guns and to put all gun owners in prison camps the nra will come out on top of this fight to god save us from the nanny boy bloombergs of the world

People who oppose the NRA oppose it because they find the Second Amendment inconvenient. And.. they do that because it is a major obstacle on the road to collectivization. The stakes couldn´t be higher or clearer.

Will Diane Feinstein be giving up her weapon, or her security force? How about ValJar with her 5 or 6 SS agent detail?

Didn´t the congresscritters just pass legislation that they will have security protection for the rest of their lives? Why should this be necessary? What do they know that we do not know?

In 2010 in a stunning insult to conservative Republican challenger Corey Gardner, the NRA gave money to idiot incumbent democrat Colorado Congresswoman betsy markey. Gardner won a comfortable victory over markey. He easily won reelection in 2012. As poster 6 said, please ponder.

#6, Dingy Harry Reid is an opportunist. If push comes to shove, he will support the NRA, too many gun owners in Nevada to ignore them.

Excuse second post. In 2010, in addition to the endorsement and donation to idiot betsy markey, the NRA also endorsed ken salazar´s brother john who lost his Colorado Congressional seat to Republican Scott Tipton.

I agree with #1.

The NRA is a single-issue organization. It cannot endorse a challenger based on his being a conservative Republican if the incumbent votes the right way on guns. If it did that it would be a Republican organization, not a gun rights organization, and it would lose its clout. Although this necessary policy can be irritating in particular cases, overall the NRA endorsements have brought us a much more pro-gun Congress than we would have otherwise.

And #5, it helps to read the whole article. Or even the whole excerpt, before you spend time disagreeing with the first sentence.

#17 what are you talking about?

# 15. I disagree. The NRA endorsements of and donations to people like betsy markey and harry reid were completely unnecessary. Those two liberal democrats are not pro 2nd amendment and everybody knows it. No loss of clout would occur if the NRA just ignored incumbent democrats who pretend to be pro 2nd amendment. The folly of the NRA endorsements of democrats will become abundantly clear as people like manchin, reid and other “pro 2nd amendment” democrats dump on the NRA in the "assault weapons" legislation which is at the top of the democrat docket.

It is unusual that my Inbox hasn´t received anything from the NRA since the shooting. I would hope this would mean a well thought out plan for Second Amendment support will soon emerge. The nut cases in Houston calling to assassinate NRA members proves it will be needed. The nut cases have rights, don´t you know? ACLU will keep the nut cases on the streets for us. Glad so many of my friends CC. Hope to see an Ad campaign soon to support those needing meds for violence potential be hospitalized and evaluated- for our safety.

Number 17, this is not the legalize marijuana thread.

With the proper application of cash I, or anyone else, can obtain any weapon desired, in any country on this planet, regardless of any law or my mental state or my criminal record. Can do easy. Guaranteed. And while I´m getting the weapon I can also obtain explosives, booze, drugs and women from the same sources. It has always been thus. Do not delude yourselves, gentle readers. Crime is just human nature unfettered.

And I should believe the main stream media because??????

#16, I did and my statement stands. I am curious as to why so many pedants on this site tend to chastise fellow L dotters for not reading the article when fact the article has been read. You may disagree with my statement, consider me an idiot if you wish, but please do not assume that I have not read enough of the article to form an opinion when you cannot possibly know what I have read and what I have not.