My opinion: We are, indeed, the NRA's three legged pig. I've been to several NRA Gun Rights Policy Conferences, and what I've encountered there is usually the same.
I'm not going to bad mouth the NRA. They are HUGE and their goal IS, indeed, to promote firearms freedom. Bashing them is pointless as they DO promote our freedom. They're the good guys. I simply have a beef with their methodology and have an opinion on "why theyare the way they are".
Every GRPC (both) I've been to has been filled to the brim with 80 year old duck hunters. I dislike the term "Fudd" as it connotes a diparaging view of them. They aren't all simply duck hunters trying to safeguard their Weatherby's and goose guns. There's a large portion that are, but those ALSO respect your desire to keep your gun for self defense. To call them "Fudds" is to discount their hard work in fighting for your self-defense rights, as well.
The reason for the dislike of the NRA (I believe) is their methodology. They have become so used to gaining ground in small increments, they're afraid to rock the boat. Ever since they started fighting for our rights, they've been heavily opposed by anti-gunners AND public opinion. Through all of it, they've gained ground. They've done so in tiny little steps, and it's been successful.
They are just simply afraid of the NEW. They've been so successful in winning, but winning in small steps, that they don't want to "rock the boat" by trying to take any giant leaps. Even when they can push their momentum and take advantage of a huge gain...they're still stuck in the ways of the past. They don't want to take the chance of getting behind something that even has the tiniest fraction of a chance of being opposed by the majority. They're old. Brash "damn the torpedoes!" young boldness is not going to be their warcry. Folks bash the NRA for not taking huge leaps of faith. Well, that just isn't their thing. They're not going to just come right out and say they're in favor of constitutional carry for every state. They're not going to support OC unabashedly. They don't want to alienate ANYONE because they're so used to winning by taking tiny little steps. As long as they keep going the right direction, I don't see anything wrong with it. It might not be the huge jumps of freedom we desire, but instead of deriding them for not being as bold as we desire, I say we just accept it and support the NRA for what it is. Yes, we're their three legged pig. We're not going to get fed steak tartar, but as long as we keep getting table scraps and aren't sold for bacon, it's fine with me.
