{"id":2800,"date":"2024-01-12T01:50:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-12T01:50:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2800"},"modified":"2024-01-12T01:50:52","modified_gmt":"2024-01-12T01:50:52","slug":"members-instructors-and-students-need-real-nra-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/?p=2800","title":{"rendered":"Members, Instructors and Students Need REAL NRA Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"td-post-featured-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform.png\" data-caption=\"\"><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"696\" height=\"693\" class=\"entry-thumb td-modal-image\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-696x693.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-696x693.png 696w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-300x299.png 300w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-700x697.png 700w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-150x149.png 150w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-768x764.png 768w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-422x420.png 422w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform-560x557.png 560w, https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Real-Reform.png 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 696px) 100vw, 696px\" alt=\"\" title=\"Real Reform\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>As a firearms instructor, I want to share my ideas for the reform the NRA needs as it heads into a trial its leadership will NOT win. The court will order that the organization be rebuilt, but if we don\u2019t make it clear what\u2019s really needed, we won\u2019t get the results we need.<\/p>\n<p>If you agree, <a href=\"https:\/\/chng.it\/6pNNTQznVF\">be sure to check out a petition I put up here and sign it<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Before I get started, I need to cover a bunch of background information. There\u2019s a lot of bad information out there about the organization\u2019s real problems and what it needs to do. Many people also don\u2019t understand the situation the NRA is in with the trial. Both of those things must be understood to come up with good solutions.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Original Purpose Of The NRA<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During the Civil War, it was calculated that for every hit on a confederate soldier, over 1,000 rounds were fired by union troops. During earlier wars, soldiers at least had an excuse, but more accurate minie balls in far better rifles meant that soldiers were capable of doing a lot better. But, they needed the training.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 1871, the National Rifle Association was formed to solve that problem. Not only did the organization work to establish marksmanship clubs across the United States, but it also worked with military units and promoted international competition to keep the improvement going globally. In the following decades, the whole shooting world (civilian and military) became safer and more accurate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The NRA initially backed U.S. gun control measures passed between 1934 and 1968. But, as the 20th century wore on, gun control law after gun control law eventually got to the point where gun owners were fed up with all of the restrictions. So, members pushed the organization to make an effort to fight back against these restrictive laws, working to repeal and cut back on them starting in the 1970s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The NRA Has Lost Its Way<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting in the 1990s, the organization lost its way on both the educational and the legislative fronts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, the NRA is a joke in the gun rights community. Organizations like Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation, Citizens Defense Leagues, and now the Firearms Policy Coalition have picked up the baton that the NRA dropped. Now, when those other groups score a legislative or court victory, it\u2019s not long before an e-mail from the NRA hits our inboxes telling us all about how they won.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With the abandonment of serious gun rights efforts, surely they\u2019d have been working hard on the training side to improve gun safety, right? Sadly, the training department has also become a joke. Once a dynamic effort, the training department kept having its budget cut until it became increasingly slow to respond to instructor and student needs. Long delays in creating a concealed carry certification is a great example of this.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetrace.org\/2023\/11\/nra-budget-spending-cuts-4h-boy-scouts\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Training at the NRA is on the edge of collapse<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The training department now consists of only two people. Grants to local training efforts and facilities are way down. Instructors are largely going independent, only maintaining certifications as needed for state concealed carry courses. Other organizations, like USCCA, are filling the vacuum the NRA has left, while many states are scrapping concealed carry permit requirements, negating much of the need for certifications in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What Did They Do With All The Money?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of spending time and money on improving gun owner education or fighting gun control, we\u2019ve found in recent years that the leadership has been robbing and misusing the treasury. Friends and family billed the group for expensive services. The executive vice president spent big on suits, an expensive SUV and travel.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The other problem is that the NRA exists within the increasingly polarized political environment every other organization has to exist within. Governments used to fund the NRA, but when they initially failed to toe the gun control line, that funding evaporated. In turn, the organization had to \u201cpick a side\u201d to survive in the 70s and 80s. Now, in the 21st century, the success of gun rights activism has led to gun ownership rising in all parts of society, and the NRA is having a tough time serving the wider community of gun owners while serving what has become its core constituency.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In sum, the NRA establishment doesn\u2019t appear interested in performing the organization\u2019s original mission or the political mission it picked up along the way, and the problem goes much deeper than just bad spending at the top.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The NRA Will Be Reformed, But We Need To Push For <\/b><b>Good<\/b><b> Reform<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After decades of mismanagement and the corruption described above, the organization then spent big money on legal fees to protect the people who robbed it. Now,<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/05\/nyregion\/wayne-lapierre-resigns-nra.html\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the leader has resigned and the organization is going to trial for wasteful spending practices and possible violations of its non-profit status<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. New York\u2019s attorney general Letitia James wanted the court to dissolve the NRA, but the judge refused and the NRA is in the midst of a trial.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is a trial that the organization\u2019s current leadership will not win. The leadership will be removed by the court and an independent monitor will be in charge of putting the organization back together. When put together, it will get some of the money back that was stolen from it, but will be required to act like other nonprofits.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But, as NRA instructors and students from every arena in America, we need to be active in pushing for a good organization to come out of this effort.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What The Reformed NRA Must Do<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most important thing the court\u2019s monitor or special master can do is bring it into compliance with applicable laws, and end the organization\u2019s involvement in politics so it can focus on its original mission of training and education.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This might sound bad for gun rights on the surface, but anyone who takes a serious look at the fight for gun rights in the last decade already knows that the NRA has not been effective at that for years. Instead of soliciting donations for gun rights, the new NRA should instead refer members wanting to oppose gun control to donate money to serious groups like the GOA, SAF and FPC.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What remains should be focused on education, training and grants to organizations that provide education and training. All funds from members and other sources should be used to build a serious training program that:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Creates innovative and cutting-edge curriculum and software for youth, adults, law enforcement, and military (including virtual reality, laser training, and remote learning)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Builds serious training facilities that cater to the training needs of all kinds of gun owners<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provides real continuing education for instructors and coaches, not just collecting a payment every two years.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reaches out to all gun owners, regardless of background<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Uses industry standard concepts in firearms training, such as Cooper\u2019s Rules and reasonable safe storage training that people owning a gun for defense might actually follow<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does not allow gun control groups to dictate any part of the curriculum<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does not plan events in \u201cgun free\u201d zones or invite speakers who require the audience to be disarmed<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Does not invite political candidates of any party to serve as keynote speakers at events<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The organization should also have an ombudsman to take complaints at all levels. When anyone faces discrimination or a hostile work or training environment, the organization needs to address those concerns instead of sweeping them under the rug.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, the new NRA should seriously seek to rebuild partnerships with private and governmental organizations at every level to spread good training for people of all ages and backgrounds. This would make the organization a real charity that serves the public good and keep it from being destroyed by litigation in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If you agree with this, or agree with part of it and want to comment about things you think I\u2019m wrong about, <a href=\"https:\/\/chng.it\/6pNNTQznVF\">be sure to check out my petition here and sign\/comment<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-next-post-navi\">\n<p>\nNext Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetruthaboutguns.com\/members-instructors-and-students-need-real-nra-reform\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Next Post Coming Soon&#8230;\u25b6 As a firearms instructor, I want to share my ideas for the reform the NRA needs as it heads into a trial its leadership will NOT win. The court will order that the organization be rebuilt, but if we don\u2019t make it clear what\u2019s really needed, we won\u2019t get the results [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2801,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-2800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reviews"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gunsandpride.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}