Looks like the NRA can lose.

[nyantler]

Lighten up Wildcat.  That was inserted for levity.  Have you no sense of self deprecating humor?  Offense can not be given, only taken.  You would do well to remember that.

I am truly interested in what young people think and have to say.  But to be honest, a lot of what I hear scares me.

I on the other hand have never really heard anything worth listening to from younger people... although I have listened.. It usually was a waste of my time.. sorry

[Caveman]

Lighten up Wildcat.  That was inserted for levity.  Have you no sense of self deprecating humor?  Offense can not be given, only taken.  You would do well to remember that.

I am truly interested in what young people think and have to say.  But to be honest, a lot of what I hear scares me.

I on the other hand have never really heard anything worth listening to from younger people... although I have listened.. It usually was a waste of my time.. sorry

No apologies, everyone's entitled to be wrong 

[Mr VJP]

I prefer to live my life thinking for myself and making my own decisions.

Good Luck to you Jimbo.

[Caveman]

Wildcats I would just like to say bravo to you. You debated about your views and did not back down when bullied with the age old argument of "what does he know, he is just a kid". I still consider myself young(mid 30's) but I am a free thinker just like you. I agree with just about everything you have said on this thread. Mr VJP is just a conspiracy theorist who probably believes the world is gonna end in 2012 but not before the govt takes all our guns, kills all our elderly, and burns the constitution on live TV. I prefer to live my life thinking for myself and making my own decisions based on fact and logic not hearsay, conspiracy theories, and religion.

I've been a registered Democrat and I've been a registered republican and it wasn't until I took a step back and asked myself "Do I actually believe this stuff?" that I renounced both.  The way I see it neither one wants you to think for yourself and formulate your own opinions.  Both just want you to think and act in accordance with their beliefs. They fight and demonize one another but the funny thing is, they're not that different in this regard.   

[growalot]

Well ...Well....Here's one for you.....I agree with Jimbo and Wildcats....I luv my guns my hunting and as a woman that is in her 50's ...and lived more that an interesting life thus far.... am still a registered Democrat...Why

Because neither party ...speaking of the 2 major ones....are worth a tinkers damn ...One wants a welfare state with little legal personal rights unless your in one minority or another....The other wants to forget the poor and middle class...give  you your personal rights ...as long as they coincide  with their Christian guide lines

Wow that's a choice : .....on a local level...in every town I've lived in...ppl speaking out both sides of their mouth and sneaky ......well I can't get a descent word to come to mind

So I'll continue to vote for the lesser "evil"  of Democrats on the local and state levels and hope the Republicans stop shooting them selves in the foot on the national level.....

This whole party line thinking has driven me nuts for 30+yrs...I married into a staunch politically involved Republican family with an x marine father in-law....believe me I've heard it all ....I have no problems stating I didn't vote ...for the first time ever...in the last presidential election...well I take that back I voted...just not on the presidential level....

in good consciences I abstained...  for their wasn't one candidate presented... that I didn't fear would send this country down a slippery slope...and could not consider myself a part of that ...how sad....and I see it happening again...It's got me searching the papers for a non lethal ...Alaskan hunting accident...it scares me so

[Doc]

Lol ..... this thread has taken a few strange turns here within the last couple of pages. Now we have generational warfare, and a battle of the major political parties. I think it is heading in a direction that I have heard all too much of over the years. It's probably not an area that I would like to get involved in. Politics  ...... a  subject that can get real unfriendly - real quick. I've got a feeling that this generational thing could probably get just as ugly...... ;D . Thread has taken a bad turn ..... time for me to leave...... 

[nyantler]

I'm actually a registered independent, but consider myself a conservative... I have recently found myself backing away from government in general... at least the way ours has been beating on the me for most of my adult life... I have a huge problem with them making decisions about my life because they don't live the same life as me... they live in an elite world where everything is given to them by us... I hate paying for a their over the top health plan that I don;t have but I pay for them to have.. their generous pensions that I don;t have that I pay for them to have.. and so on and so on... i'm sick of paying taxes for things to get done only to have them squander the money on lavish trips, dinners, and other self serving stuff... then they have the nerve to tell me that I need to tighten my belt and give more money so they can get me out of the mess they got me in that I already paid money for them to take care of.. it's sickening...

[wztirem]

We have ourselves to blame! We voted for these individuals!

[wztirem]

We have ourselves to blame! We voted for these individuals!

In fact, New York’s turnout was lower than in any midterm election for at least three decades.

On the basis of unofficial returns, about 40 percent of registered New Yorkers voted on Nov. 2. But an analysis by the United States Election Project at George Mason University found that only 32.1 percent of the 13.4 million who were eligible — citizens 18 and older who are not convicted felons in prison or on parole — actually voted.

[nyantler]

I didn't vote for any of them.. not a single person I voted for was elected to office in NY... or Washington. So I'm good...

[First-light]

Honestly, I've been following some of these posts lately that have turned into down right political battles. This goes nowhere it's like a dog chasing its tail. I give credit to those Dem's that post on this site. We know it is loaded with conservatives. I myself am a democrat and wish not on a hunting site debate my fellow hunters on their political agenda. In the end (like a title of another post "aren't we all Americans") aren't we all hunters?

[fasteddie]

When I vote , I don't vote the party line . I vote for the person I think will do the job or the lesser of two evils . There are a few things that I like with the Democrat party but more with the Republican party .

[Caveman]

When I vote , I don't vote the party line . I vote for the person I think will do the job or the lesser of two evils . There are a few things that I like with the Democrat party but more with the Republican party .

Eddie you hit the nail on the head with part of that, "The lesser of two evils."  It's unfortunate that politics has become a matter of who's gonna screw things up the least.  There aren't many politicians left that I think would actually do a GOOD job lol.

[Doc]

So, I see the NRA part of this thread has completely disappeared, so what the heck, I'll just go with the flow.....lol

How many hours a day do most of you each spend researching the dozens (hundreds?) of candidates that will be running for office in the next primaries and elections (local, school, county, state, federal)? That local Town Supervisor who had absolutely no prior voting record ..... How did you make up your mind about his/her beliefs and qualifications? Was it based on who spun you the best yarn during the campaign? There are potential congressmen and senators who today you have never heard of. When will you begin your research on all of them? How about that judge that will be running? Anybody here study his case judgements to see if they are decisions that you agree with? Those that claim to vote for the "best" candidate ..... what kinds of investigation techniques are you using to figure out whether they deserve your vote or not. Will you wait until the campaigns begin and pick whatever soundbites or political attacks or rumors or innuendos that sound the most convincing? I have always been curious as to how people so confidently arrive at this feeling that they have voted for the "best" person.

Political party affiliation may be a lousy way of voting, but in most cases, it is the only concrete clue that you may have to the general way these characters think ..... and even then it's pretty much a crap-shoot.

[steve863]

I think it is about time NRA members start to shun these people.  Not an NRA member?  No hunting with me, or on my land.  No guns sold to you in my store, or by me.  No entry into a gun show.  No membership in a gun or hunting club.  No help from a gunsmith.  No ammo sales to you.  Nothing that a gun owner will not be able to do if we lose this fight in the end.

After today, any gun owner I meet who is not a member of the NRA will not even get me to speak to them.  They are not worth my attention and are now less than zero, they're also the enemy.  I used to think there was hope for them, but you guys have convinced me there isn't.

This has got to be the biggest crock I have ever heard!  So someone who might be new to the shooting sports can't even enter a gun shop to possibly buy a gun, learn or practice at a range, have repairs or adjustments made by a gunsmith, or even buy ammo to shoot with if they don't bow down to and pay the dues to your beloved organization??  Talk about un-american authoritarian and ANTI-gun ownership type of tactics.  You surely win the prize here with such BS!

[Mr VJP]

It would be very easy to sign up for membership on the spot.  I think of the NRA as an exclusive club.  If you are not a member, go somewhere else to hunt, or buy your stuff.  Not saying you can't hunt or shoot.  Just saying not with NRA members.  It forces you to declare to our face that you are anti-NRA, and that gives an NRA member the right to say I do not wish to associate with you.  That also happens to be a Constitutional right.

Associating with a non, or anti-NRA sportsmen, is like giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

As far as voting goes, the politicians stand on gun rights is really the best way to tell how they will vote on most issues.  If they are anti-gun, they have the wrong attitude about freedom and your rights.  That attitude carries through to every vote they cast.

As far as Democrats go, most are anti-gun because their party is.

[steve863]

And since you like to talk about constitutional rights, where in the 2nd amendment does it say that one needs to be a member of ANY organization to own a gun?  Is that the militia part?  LOL

You obviously are holding yourself out as an elitist gun owner.  In your opinion people shouldn't even be allowed to own a gun unless they conform to your rules. 

[Doewhacker]

Wouldn't it make waaayy more sense to take the non-nra people's money and put it right back in to the Nra, just saying seems like a quick way to go out of business.

[Mr VJP]

Not really.  Ever been in a gun shop that wasn't an NRA member?  I wonder if the anti-NRA gun owners ever noticed that.  Do you think they understand why these gun shops are members?  I doubt it.

The fastest way for gun shops to go out of business is loss of gun rights.  The best way to insure gun rights is to be NRA.

I can't wait to see what Obama and his Democrat friends have in store for gun owners within the next couple of weeks.  I'm sure you will see a big increase in NRA membership because of it though.  People always start to join in droves when they start to see they were wrong about the security of their rights.

[steve863]

And how are you 100% certain that the gun shop owner is a member?  Just because he has a sticker pasted somewhere?  Maybe they were members for a year 20 years ago, got their sticker and never paid them a dime in dues ever since.  I have no doubt I have some NRA stickers lying around.  Maybe I will paste one on my forehead so I can enter your shop!  LOL

[Dinsdale]

              White House to Push Gun Control  Obama intentionally did not mention gun control in his State of the Union, but aides say that in the next two weeks the administration will unveil a campaign to get Congress to toughen existing laws.              At the beginning of his State of the Union address, President Obama tipped his hat to Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who’s now recuperating in a Houston medical facility. But throughout the hourlong speech, he never addressed the issue at the core of the Giffords tragedy—gun control—and what lawmakers would, or should, do to reform American firearm-access laws.      That was intentional, according to the White House. An administration official says Obama didn’t mention guns in his speech because of the omnipresent controversy surrounding the Second Amendment and gun control. Tuesday’s speech was designed to be more about the economy and how, as Obama repeated nine times, the U.S. could “win the future.”      But in the next two weeks, the White House will unveil a new gun-control effort in which it will urge Congress to strengthen current laws, which now allow some mentally unstable people, such as alleged Arizona shooter Jared Loughner, to obtain certain assault weapons, in some cases without even a background check.

Rest of article here;

http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/27/white-house-to-push-gun-control.html#

[Mr VJP]

I love how non, and anti-NRA people think it is the NRA that threatens their gun rights.  That "mentally unstable" clause in this proposed legislation should have them worried.

[steve863]

I am sure quite a few here would qualify as borderline mentally unstable.  Most especially those who seem to be in a constant state of panic and turn to look behind their shoulders every two minutes thinking the boogey man is out to get them.

[jimbodwb]

I am sure quite a few here would qualify as borderline mentally unstable.  Most especially those who seem to be in a constant state of panic and turn to look behind their shoulders every two minutes thinking the boogey man is out to get them.

+1  Well said Steve

[Mr VJP]

My last post was not a joke, boy's.  Give the government the ability to use that as a tool against gun owners and they will take full advantage of it.  One call to the authorities from an enemy of your's and you can be ordered by a judge to be evaluated.  As a gun owner, there is a good chance you will be declared "mentally unstable" and all of your gun rights removed.

Happens quite often in divorce cases already actually.  And no ones cares, because it is an isolated case, not the whole population.  If a judge says you are nuts, you must be nuts, right?

But then, some people are OK with these types of infringements on the 2nd Amendment because they believe the government would never do something like that.  The government is your friend.

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