Memo To Gun Control Advocates: Be Careful What You Wish For

As this is written, the NRA is in deep trouble, massively split and facing an uncertain

future.  Gun control advocates are celebrating - but are their celebrations misplaced?

To be clear, I hope the NRA can be saved.   I fully support those who are working to reform and transform it.

That made clear, the more we learn, the more we see how little of our dues and donations were effectively used to protect the 2nd Amendment.  The current NRA is clearly a mirror image of the Washington DC political system: Bloated, ineffective and corrupt.

Just because the NRA ceases to exist, that doesn't mean that its' 5 million members are going to stop advocating for the 2nd Amendment.  They are not going to stop voting for pro-freedom candidates, give up their guns and take up knitting.  They are still going to advocate for gun rights and they are still going to give their money to the cause.

Other gun rights organizations are mean, lean and clearly more effective.  Many are not small either.  

The Gun Owners of America (GOA) has well over 2 million members, is much more uncompromising than the NRA.  It also has a significant record of stopping gun control legislation at both state and federal levels.  Indeed, the GOA is well positioned to take the place of the NRA and collect more former NRA members and supporters.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) and its' non-profit arm the Second Amendment Foundation have nearly 3/4 of a million members.  These groups have been extremely successful for their size, especially in the area of litigation and the courts.  Given that the battle for gun rights is shifting to this arena, this group's work becomes even more important,  On the political front, this group has been willing to make deals with the other side when they believed it advanced the cause of gun rights.  They are in a good position to collect NRA members who might consider the GOA to be too radical.

In addition to these groups, there are many other "lean and mean" gun rights groups including the Firearms Policy Coalition and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership.  In addition, there are too many state and regional groups to list.

The bottom line is simple: The gun rights groups positioned to replace the NRA are actually likely to be much more effective than the NRA.  If the NRA fails, it could be a good thing for gun rights in the long run.  If the NRA is reformed and continues in a more effective form, that would be a good thing for gun rights in the long run.  What would not be good for gun rights in the long run?  The NRA continuing as is - but that does not look like it will be likely to happen.