With No Hint Of Irony


Seven months ago, the National Rifle Association released an ad (below) ridiculing gun free zones, knocking tax increases for the wealthy, and supporting armed guards in schools.Most of all, however, it took aim at Barack Obama.  The narrator argues he "is just another elitist hypocrite when it comes to a fair share of security. Protection for their kids and gun free zones for ours."








Where, you might ask, does the nation's leading pro-crime syndicate get off accusing the President of the United States of hypocrisy?

Of course, the answer is simple: the NRA knows more about hypocrisy than any organization we can imagine.   After the latest massacre with a semi-automatic weapon, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, as noted by Chris Hayes Wednesday, stated

The Adama Lanzas, the shooters in Aurora, the shooters in Newtown. They`re unrecognizable.They`re not going to be in the system. Who is going to be in the system? You and me. And, our names are gong to be in the system. There is going to be a list created. That list will be abused. Some newspaper will print  it all. Somebody will hack it. There will be a registry.

In a classic case of psychological projection or, less pretentiously stated, "it takes one to know one," it now

... turns out there is a sophisticated damn will near (sic) comprehensive database about gun owners already in existence.

But, it doesn`t belong to the federal government. It belongs to the NRA. An explosive new report from "BuzzFeed" reveals that for years, the organization has secretly collected information on one from an estimates as tens of millions of people.

You`d expect the NRA to have a database of its members, of course, but this, this is a database of current, former, and prospective gun owners. And, it has been put together largely without people`s knowledge or consent. Precisely, the type of vast and secretive registry, the NRA has so successfully fear mongered over for years.

As "BuzzFeed" reports the database has, quote, "Been built through years of acquiring gun permit registration lists from state and county offices, gathering names of new owners from the thousands of gun safety classes taught by NRA-certified instructors, and by buying lists of attendees of gun shows, subscribers to gun magazines and more."

E-mails obtained by "BuzzFeed" through the freedom of information act request show NRA representatives offering payment to state agencies in exchange for names of concealed carry permit holders. One lobbyist writing to an Iowa public safety official, "If the NRA wanted to collect data from permit holder files, is there a specific process or many rules for us to require the records? Can we pay to have the files copied or sent to us?"

Meanwhile, NRA-certified trainer, Mike Weisser, admits teaching gun safety classes do not only helps beef up the database, it`s also a great way to get the boss` attention. After people take a class, then you as an instructor can send all their names to Washington and you get credit for that.

If you can show you have taught enough classes, you can move up in the hierarchy as an NRA trainer.

The display of epic hypocrisy doesn't end there.  Hayes reports  When asked what the NRA does with those gun safety class rosters turned in by it`s nearly 100,000 certified instructors. An NRA spokesman told "BuzzFeed," "That`s not any of your business."   No elitism there, no sir.

Concluding, Hayes asks "Well (sic), knowledge of the NRA`s own registry prompts some kind of a revolt? As a former NRA lobbyist, Richard Feldman, puts it, 'It probably won't care, because the NRA is not part of the government.'"

And if that doesn't work to calm members of the base, NRA officials can chant "abortion is murder" ten thousand times.  Works for conservatives every time.




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