Columnist Asks Who is Afraid of the NRA – Apparently She Is!
Posted by FirearmsTruth on July 28, 2010 · Leave a Comment
In a column for the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation titled “Who’s afraid of the NRA” Beth Day Romulo describes how the NRA is “one of the most powerful lobbies in Washington.” She makes it seem like that is a bad thing, but we’ll be the first to stand up and say, “that’s a good thing.” Why is it wrong suddenly to be a lobbyist? Yes, politicians rally against the “special interest,” but the truth is that everything is more or less a special interest.
If the NRA wasn’t there to fight for gun rights, who would? Of course this is a point of contention that annoys the anti-gun crowd. Romulo tries to show that the NRA has become some insidious group with tentacles reaching out to issues beyond guns:
“In the recent health care debate, NRA lobbyists managed to tack on a provision to the bill banning insurance companies from charging higher premiums for people with guns in their homes.”
Is this really such a stretch? Should gun owners have to pay higher premiums because they own a gun? What’s next paying a higher premium because you beer in the refrigerator and might be tempted to drive after having a few, or paying a higher premium because you have food with trans fats?
She further argues:
“The rationale for not opposing the NRA goes something like this: If the candidate opposes the NRA they are likely to lose their seat. and therefore would be unable to support important legislation they are already committed to.”
Doesn’t that suggest that people in America want their guns? That important point is lost on liberals such as Romulo and anti-gun groups such as the Brady Center. These types seem to think that the NRA somehow doesn’t play by the same rules. The truth is that many Americans want their guns, and that’s an issue that helps them decide how they cast their votes.
The problem with Romulo’s logic is that she thinks guns aren’t an important enough consideration when it comes to “important legislation.” But to the NRA, and to many gun owners, it is the most important legislation. It is the line in the sand. And what’s wrong with that line?
