I say all guns are good guns. There are no bad guns. I say the whole nation should be an armed nation. Period.@ This rather bold statement was made by Joseph Foss. Former Governor Joseph Foss, a former fighter pilot for the US Air Force, is the current President of the NRA, or National
Rifle Association (Lacayo 16). The NRA is a special interest group known by many. Its members are stereotyped to be a group of >truck-driving=, pompous, huntsmen. Indeed this is partially true, as 97% of all NRA members are suburban men. Because the organization is a more >Domestic
Blend=, it is a surprising fact that the NRA is a powerful lobbyist organization. And skeptically viewed upon by many people (Lacayo 19). As a lobbyist organization, the NRA has a current main objective of protecting American citizens= rights, to possess and operate a firearm, form being violated by gun control laws. One of the NRA=s main weapons in this crusade is the second amendment of the Constitution of the United
States of America. The amendment=s translation in the eyes of the NRA and many American citizens, clearly protects the individual rights of all citizens to possess and operate firearms. This would easily make any and all gun control laws unconstitutional. And therefore illegal. This translation, however, is not accepted by all people. Including the United
States Government. They believe that the amendment guaranteed no right for individual citizens to possess weaponry, but merely allowed for the government to form and maintain an armed service (IE. United States Army,
US. Navy). Because of the different translations of our constitution, gun control can be viewed by different people in different ways (Lacayo 20).
Some of the many gun control bans and laws which are under constant hellfire from the NRA are those pertaining to self-defense. Under current laws, like those of Texas, require that people MUST retreat and be pursued
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Cited: Peterson, Harold L. A History of Firearms. New York: Charles Scribner=s sons, 1961. Lacayo, Richard. AWho is the NRA?@ Time-The Weekly Magazine 29 Jan. 1990: 16-24. Post 30 Dec. 1993: G11. Travers, Bridget. World of Invention. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. 1994.