by Journalist David Codrea had an interesting article posted yesterday on Ammoland. It is titled, “Barr for NRA President Would Prove Association Has Learned Nothing.” The article deals with Bob Barr’s support for the Lautenberg Amendment while a member of Congress. For those who are unfamiliar with the Lautenberg Amendment it makes a misdemeanor conviction for domestic violence a disqualification of your Second Amendment rights. In other words, if convicted of such a misdemeanor you are not allowed to purchase, possess, transport, or ship both guns and ammunition.
Now I don’t think anyone reading my blog is in favor of domestic violence in any form or fashion. If you are, stop reading now and never come back. However, with some courts now finding that non-violent felons are entitled to having their 2A rights restored, it is hard for me to argue that a misdemeanor conviction should be worthy of a lifetime denial of an enumerated Constitutional right.
Codrea points to GOA’s take on Barr when he authored a competing bill to Rep. Helen Chenoweth’s (R-ID) complete reversal of the Lautenberg Amendment. He noted that Barr endorsed the underlying concept of the Lautenberg Amendment but just not the retroactive part of the ban.
Codrea also links to a number of posts over the years he put up on his old blog The War on Guns. They are worth a look as well. I will say having a negligent discharge is one thing but going wobbly on rights is a more serious matter when it comes to being the next President of the NRA.
I have a t-shirt that I picked up at, of all places, an NRA Annual Meeting. I’m not sure who was giving them out but if Barr is elected President then the message on that shirt still stands. It reads “Negotiating Rights Away.”
I was gifted a NRA shirt a while back. The front just has “NRA” in block letters, and the back says “Keep Calm and Carry Guns”.
While I agree with the message on the back, I stopped wearing that shirt because I do not endorse the direction the NRA has gone under the Wayne-Brewer faction and don’t want to be mistaken for someone who does.
If they do change directions as an organization, I’ll be happy to dig the shirt out again.
Never “negotiate” for a RIGHT
Having spent substantial time around legislatures, I believe that the person on the spot should be given discretion as to the tactics to be followed in a conflict. That would be the NRA and Barr as a legislator himself. Thus, I have never supported those critical of NRA compromises made when the alternative was something worse. It is easy to talk but getting something done is another thing.
Corruption is something else entirely and I oppose Barr as EVP for that reason.
“Negotiating Rights Away” is right!
The problem with compromise is that the gun grabbers are never satisfied. Every compromise has just been the camel’s nose a little farther into the tent. All this means is our rights are compromised slowly, and he NRA acts as an enabler. There are two reasons GOA, SAF, NAGR, JPFO, and the Zelman Partisans are gaining members. Sure, corruption in the NRA is a part of it, but their inability to just say “NO means NO” is much larger factor. It started with the NFA in 1934 and the “yeah, but…” attitude hasn’t changed. I personally watched it happen and have complained about it from 1968 through today.
Barr is an experienced politico. He might do well as the Executive Director of ILA. But what the NRA needs at the helm is a tough, no-nonsense, experienced business/nonprofit leader who is focused on compliance and is impeccably honest. To my knowledge Barr lacks serious business/nonprofit leadership experience, and that last qualification alone (honesty) rules out all current and former congressmen. The email from Bruce Widener that you just posted only confirms that Barr specifically has a strained relationship with the truth. No thank you.
We had enough strained relationship with the truth in Wayne. I had more than one board member tell me that he would lie to your face even when both involved knew it was a lie.