I am just going to go ahead and say it….

I am a firearms enthusiast.

Regardless of how that is perceived by the general public,  I love to shoot and I love guns.  I am a career Marine, that in and of itself might indicate that I  greatly appreciate firearms and respect the ability to use them responsibly and with proficiency.

My family on my mother’s side are all weapons enthusiasts, all were brought up learning and understanding firearms and all know how to shoot quite well.

I am also a card-carrying member of the National Rifle Association and have been for many years.

I realize that with all that has happened and continues to happen, there is much pressure to do what is right to protect the innocent and hopefully preserve our constitutional rights along the way.

May 28th 1999, in the wake of the Columbine shootings, NRA Vice President Wayne LaPierre, while addressing the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee, openly voiced his support for universal background checks for ALL firearms purchases.

Anybody who has read my blog has heard my feelings on the subject of gun control, and knows that I believe that our laws need to be modernized.  Not in the typical knee jerk reaction being proposed by Diane Feinstein (D-CA) or that moron Michael Bloomberg, but focusing on accountability of both the vendor and the buyer, database management, mental health and laws pertaining to how weapons are stored in the home.

I believe that much of what is being proposed by Senator Feinstein and Mayor Bloomberg is much more about politics than finding an actual workable solution

My Uncle Bill always told me that the best way to protect your 2nd Amendment was to comply with the law to the best of your ability, and I believe this.

I personally have absolutely no issue with universal background checks.  I am a law-abiding citizen and if I want to purchase a new weapon I have no problem with my vendor checking my legal history and then waiting the 10 days to pick up my shiny new gun.

Recently the NRA has reversed its original stance from 1999 and now no longer supports universal background checks, claiming that criminals won’t participate (really?) and that it is basically a ploy by the liberals to develop an accurate database of gun owners to be used at a later date to fully confiscate the weapons of the law-abiding.

I have to admit, it sounds a bit paranoid.

Here is a thought:  Is it really surprising that career criminals won’t participate?  That is why they are called criminals, they don’t normally comply with the law.

The background check is to ensure that a vendor isn’t putting a weapon in the hands of someone who makes a habit of beating his wife, maybe has a history of drug abuse or has a documented history of mental instability.

My question is why the NRA, an organization consisting of law-abiding citizens, military and law enforcement personnel, doesn’t support universal background checks on people purchasing a firearm?  Who is pulling their strings?  Is there some corporate entity at work here?

A valid question I believe.

 The bottom line is this.  You have one side of the political spectrum acting like idiots and doing nothing except flailing about in a panic, commiserating with each other and  attempting to generate more mush mouthed, overbearing and ineffective policy, and you have the other side,  the NRA which is supposed to be there to help us but in my opinion seems to have lost its way and succumbed to corporate power.

We need the NRA now more than ever to demonstrate common sense, resolve and most importantly moral courage.

Last night I received a call from the NRA asking for 200 dollars to support their fight against universal background checks.  200 bucks in my family isn’t a small amount of money (it’s at least a nice chunk toward a new pistol).  Sadly I told them no.  How can I support them if there is even a possibility that they are driven by  corporate money and I don’t have full confidence that they will make the right decision?

I believe in the 2nd amendment with my heart and soul.  I will until the day I die. I shoot, I reload, and I teach my children how to safely, responsibly and proficiently handle a weapon.  I will teach the same to my children’s children when that time comes.

Its my right as an American to do so.

It’s time we had people in power on both sides of the aisle, less concerned about pandering to those with the deepest pockets and more focused on working to create laws that preserve the Constitution, that make sense and will effectively protect the people of this great nation.

Just me talking

MGunns