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NRA ******* me off again - this time over annual meetings

Tess

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
As a life member, I'd really like to attend an annual meeting. I was set to go last year to Charlotte, until I found out they planned to disarm members.

This year, I went to the Annual Meeting website and clicked on the "contact us" link. Got back an e-mail saying "Just kidding...we aren't monitoring this e-mail address."

Today I get this big packet of wonderful info. Call this number to register! Called them. Gentleman who answered the phone couldn't answer my question and referred me to Member Services. When I asked if they could answer, he said "They're who I have to refer you to."

But Member Services only services members 8-5 M-F.

In other words, go pound sand, life member. No one wants to answer your question.

I've also asked the question on the official NRA LinkedIn.com page.
 
Last edited:

rotorhead

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
862
Location
FL
Next time you call, tell them something like "Look, I've got $213,000 ready to donate to your organization but I can't seem to get anyone on the line who can help me with a couple of simple questions".

Most large overbearing organizations which pay little attention to the members that actually keep it alive will usually perk up to something like that.
 

MITCH

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2006
Messages
111
Location
, Arizona, USA
Your lucky

Every time I call with a question I get a sales pitch. Usually get fed up and hang up.
Mitch
 

YosemiteSam

New member
Joined
Feb 20, 2010
Messages
1
Location
Shelocta, Pennsylvania, USA
As a life member, I'd really like to attend an annual meeting. I was set to go last year to Charlotte, until I found out they planned to disarm members.

This year, I went to the Annual Meeting website and clicked on the "contact us" link. Got back an e-mail saying "Just kidding...we aren't monitoring this e-mail address."

Today I get this big packet of wonderful info. Call this number to register! Called them. Gentleman who answered the phone couldn't answer my question and referred me to Member Services. When I asked if they could answer, he said "They're who I have to refer you to."

But Member Services only services members 8-5 M-F.

In other words, go pound sand, life member. No one wants to answer your question.

I've also asked the question on the official NRA LinkedIn.com page.

If the question is,may I carry at the NRA meeting in Pittsburgh? The answer is, yes you may carry open or concealed at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.
 

Tess

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
If the question is,may I carry at the NRA meeting in Pittsburgh? The answer is, yes you may carry open or concealed at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

That's exactly the question. Why won't NRA answer it?
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Try asking them a question of substance, such as how to correct misinformation they post about Alabama law. You get even less help.
 

buster81

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2008
Messages
1,461
Location
Richmond, Virginia, USA
I asked the convention center about this. This is their reply to my question regarding the carry of firearms inside the convention center.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, January 24, 2011 8:00 AM
From: "DLCC-Debbie Smucker" <dsmucker@pittsburghcc.com>
To: Buster81
RE: Site policies for the NRA Annual Convention

Good morning, Buster--The Center follows the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania laws/policies. The Center does not place any additional restrictions.

Debbie Smucker
Director of Sales & Marketing, David L. Lawrence Convention Center
t 412.325.6174 f 412.565.6008
 

mark-in-texas

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 20, 2010
Messages
319
Location
Richmond, Tx
The reason NRA can't answer this question is simple; it's not up to them! They are renting a convention center from it's owner/operator, THEY are the entity who has the final say in this matter. Follow applicable state/local laws and have a good time.
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Of course the NRA can answer the question. For two reasons:

1. They rent the venue and would surely ask if their members could carry.

2. If they were dedicated firearms advocates, they would only rent venues that would allow carry.
 

Gunslinger

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
3,853
Location
Free, Colorado, USA
It's not the venue owner who normally makes this kind of decision, it's the renter. Gun shows here are a good example. The venue owner has no problem with CC for other events. The Gun Show agent is the one who bans it. OC or CC in the parking lot or the johns outside the show proper is OK. Just not on the floor. At the boat show or garden show or whatever, never a sign posted concerning carry of firearms.

My understanding on the Charlotte venue was they did allow CC all along and finally allowed OC. Is this correct?
 

bom1911

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
114
Location
Chesterfield County , USA
It's not the venue owner who normally makes this kind of decision, it's the renter. Gun shows here are a good example. The venue owner has no problem with CC for other events. The Gun Show agent is the one who bans it. OC or CC in the parking lot or the johns outside the show proper is OK. Just not on the floor. At the boat show or garden show or whatever, never a sign posted concerning carry of firearms.

My understanding on the Charlotte venue was they did allow CC all along and finally allowed OC. Is this correct?


The NRA hid behind the convention center rules in Charlotte.

Thank you for contacting us.

The Charlotte Convention Center does not allow the carrying of firearms, both open and concealed.

The large size of our event and the fact that many of the largest convention centers are in some of the most restrictive cities leaves us with relatively few convention centers large enough to accommodate the Annual Meetings. In an effort to provide all NRA members a better opportunity to attend the Annual Meetings, it is important that we move the event around the country as much as possible. While we will not consider bringing the Annual Meetings to a city with gun laws we feel are restrictive, we must however deal with convention centers that have restrictions simply because there are so few convention centers that both allow conceal carry and are large enough to host all of the events that comprise the Annual Meetings.

Thank you for your support!

Best Regards,

Ken
NRA Member Communications
 
Last edited:

Gunslinger

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 6, 2008
Messages
3,853
Location
Free, Colorado, USA
The NRA hid behind the convention center rules in Charlotte.

Interesting. They should have checked before booking. There are plenty of gun friendly cities that would bend over backwards to get an event of this size. If Charlotte--which is hardly the Dallas of the Atlantic coast, has these rules, go to VA or SC or WV. The NRA had the clout to tell them to shove it but not the balls to use it. I doubt seriously the convention center owners would have lost the $$$ if the NRA stood firm.
 

bom1911

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 2, 2009
Messages
114
Location
Chesterfield County , USA
Interesting. They should have checked before booking. There are plenty of gun friendly cities that would bend over backwards to get an event of this size. If Charlotte--which is hardly the Dallas of the Atlantic coast, has these rules, go to VA or SC or WV. The NRA had the clout to tell them to shove it but not the balls to use it. I doubt seriously the convention center owners would have lost the $$$ if the NRA stood firm.


They probably would have done all that, if they cared. If the members cared, they wouldn't have gone, however, there seem to have been sufficient FUDs in the ranks to fill the place. Some where even quoted as saying they thought a gun prohibition was a good idea. :eek:
 

Dave Workman

Regular Member
Joined
May 23, 2007
Messages
1,874
Location
, ,
Interesting. They should have checked before booking. There are plenty of gun friendly cities that would bend over backwards to get an event of this size. If Charlotte--which is hardly the Dallas of the Atlantic coast, has these rules, go to VA or SC or WV. The NRA had the clout to tell them to shove it but not the balls to use it. I doubt seriously the convention center owners would have lost the $$$ if the NRA stood firm.

Oh, yeah? Name them.
Name the cities with:

a) ease of access (by air, bus, car)
b) huge numbers of NRA members within, say, a 150-300 mile radius
c) a facility large enough to handle the exhibition AND a members' meeting AND a banquet
d) enough available hotel rooms within easy walking/shuttle distance of the convention center

Some of you guys simply do not get this about convention centers and laws, it appears. The convention center, and ONLY the convention center management makes the rules based on applicable state laws. If state statute prohibits firearms in a convention center, your problem is with the legislature, not the NRA. Just because you don't agree with that doesn't mean you get to invent your own scenarios. In Phoenix, for example, they were open-carrying inside the hall, and nobody gave a rat's butt. But state statute allows that down there.

NRA simply can't go into a city and start dictating statute and policy, no matter what some people think. That is simply not how it works.

Don't misunderstand, I fully sympathize with people who dislike regulations governing these places, but if you don't like the law, change the law, don't blame the NRA. You simply cannot expect the NRA to hold its annual members' meetings in the same town(s) over and over and over again. That's not fair to the members from other parts of the country that would never get an opportunity to attend one of these meetings.

Understand something else, too. CCW is still relatively in its infancy or at least adolescence in terms of the history of gun control laws in most states. The Open Carry movement is still in diapers, and you guys think it's time to run marathons. It is going to take time and activism and working with lawmakers to gradually ease and hopefully - ultimately - erase the onerous laws and regulations.
 

eye95

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
13,524
Location
Fairborn, Ohio, USA
Screw the big city.
Screw the easy access.
Screw the hotels nearby.
Screw it all.

If the NRA is about carry, they will make it happen. Wherever they have to go to make it happen. Whatever the inconvenience. Until they do, they don't get dime one from me. When they do, I will rejoin.
 

Tess

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Jun 15, 2006
Messages
3,837
Location
Bryan, TX
Oh, yeah? Name them.
Name the cities with:

a) ease of access (by air, bus, car)
b) huge numbers of NRA members within, say, a 150-300 mile radius
c) a facility large enough to handle the exhibition AND a members' meeting AND a banquet
d) enough available hotel rooms within easy walking/shuttle distance of the convention center

Some of you guys simply do not get this about convention centers and laws, it appears. The convention center, and ONLY the convention center management makes the rules based on applicable state laws. If state statute prohibits firearms in a convention center, your problem is with the legislature, not the NRA. Just because you don't agree with that doesn't mean you get to invent your own scenarios. In Phoenix, for example, they were open-carrying inside the hall, and nobody gave a rat's butt. But state statute allows that down there.

NRA simply can't go into a city and start dictating statute and policy, no matter what some people think. That is simply not how it works.

Don't misunderstand, I fully sympathize with people who dislike regulations governing these places, but if you don't like the law, change the law, don't blame the NRA. You simply cannot expect the NRA to hold its annual members' meetings in the same town(s) over and over and over again. That's not fair to the members from other parts of the country that would never get an opportunity to attend one of these meetings.

Understand something else, too. CCW is still relatively in its infancy or at least adolescence in terms of the history of gun control laws in most states. The Open Carry movement is still in diapers, and you guys think it's time to run marathons. It is going to take time and activism and working with lawmakers to gradually ease and hopefully - ultimately - erase the onerous laws and regulations.


I got this note too. Highlighting is mine.

In response to inquiries, the NRA sent the following note from "Ken" at NRA member communications.
Thank you for contacting us.
The Charlotte Convention Center does not allow the carrying of firearms, both open and concealed.
The large size of our event and the fact that many of the largest convention centers are in some of the most restrictive cities leaves us with relatively few convention centers large enough to accommodate the Annual Meetings. In an effort to provide all NRA members a better opportunity to attend the Annual Meetings, it is important that we move the event around the country as much as possible. While we will not consider bringing the Annual Meetings to a city with gun laws we feel are restrictive, we must however deal with convention centers that have restrictions simply because there are so few convention centers that both allow conceal carry and are large enough to host all of the events that comprise the Annual Meetings.
Thank you for your support!
Best Regards,
Ken
NRA Member Communications​

And it does NOT excuse the fact that this year NRA is not monitoring its "contact us" address, and has not seen fit to respond on the official member page on LinkedIn.com, and does not answer questions addressed to the registration telephone number, but instead refers me to someone else, whose phone number is only active while I'm at work.
 

Mr. Y

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 6, 2006
Messages
485
Location
Super Secret Squirrel Bunker, Virginia, USA
That's right... some of us just don't get it.

Oh, yeah? Name them.
Name the cities with:

a) ease of access (by air, bus, car)
b) huge numbers of NRA members within, say, a 150-300 mile radius
c) a facility large enough to handle the exhibition AND a members' meeting AND a banquet
d) enough available hotel rooms within easy walking/shuttle distance of the convention center

Some of you guys simply do not get this about convention centers and laws, it appears. The convention center, and ONLY the convention center management makes the rules based on applicable state laws. If state statute prohibits firearms in a convention center, your problem is with the legislature, not the NRA. Just because you don't agree with that doesn't mean you get to invent your own scenarios. In Phoenix, for example, they were open-carrying inside the hall, and nobody gave a rat's butt. But state statute allows that down there.

NRA simply can't go into a city and start dictating statute and policy, no matter what some people think. That is simply not how it works.

Don't misunderstand, I fully sympathize with people who dislike regulations governing these places, but if you don't like the law, change the law, don't blame the NRA. You simply cannot expect the NRA to hold its annual members' meetings in the same town(s) over and over and over again. That's not fair to the members from other parts of the country that would never get an opportunity to attend one of these meetings.

Understand something else, too. CCW is still relatively in its infancy or at least adolescence in terms of the history of gun control laws in most states. The Open Carry movement is still in diapers, and you guys think it's time to run marathons. It is going to take time and activism and working with lawmakers to gradually ease and hopefully - ultimately - erase the onerous laws and regulations.

Richmond? Fairfax? Or Florida - Orlando? Miami? How about somewhere in ... Kentucky? Maybe Tennessee?
True, NRA is not going to alter the law, or regulations, but they most certainly do have the ability to decide on a venue where no arbitrary 'rule' gets imposed - and they have done this in PA previously.

But hey, since our movements are too young relatively to understand, feel free to educate us. Perhaps all those amicus briefs in Heller were incorrect about folks carrying arms "back in the day" after all...
 

wolffe

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2010
Messages
36
Location
, ,
This is why I would never be a member of the NRA. You do not need some big organization to defend your rights for you - you need to defend them yourself.

Also, whenever you join a big organization like this, your reputation and name is easily blackened if the organization does anything a majority of the population thinks is wrong.

I find people who are hardcore NRA members to be generally weak minded people, as you seriously do not need a big organization to defend your own liberties.
 
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