Say NO to the "Petition to Forbid Support of the NRA on this Site." Here is why: [View all]

[RBInMaine]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Violet_Crumble (a host of the General Discussion forum).

As a hunter, target shooter, and owner of a few guns in Maine where this is part of our culture, I also do NOT support the NRA. While they do actually offer gun use safety programs at target ranges, etc. they are mainly a corporate lobbying arm for the gun and ammo manufacturers that spend millions lobbying for the gun makers and attacking their opponents with viscious ads. This lobby has WAY too much pull. Also, they are extreme in their views and resist almost ANY attempt at reasonable gun control which I support. (i.e. closing registration and background check loopholes, banning assault weapons, etc.)

All that said, I think we should oppose the petition to stop any NRA members here from expressing their support of their membership in that organization. We do not need to get into this kind of censorship on a site that has always valued diversity of opinion. There are people on this site, regular users, who freely bash President Obama and other prominent Democrats all the time. THEY are allowed to express their views without censorship, but if a member is a card-carrying member of the NRA, a safe hunter and target shooter who supports gun ownership in a nation with a history of it, that person must worry about being censored? Is that really the DU way? No, it isn't. I'm sure there are FEW NRA members here on this site so this would be pretty moot anyhow, but there are a good number of gun-owning Democrats all over the nation who hunt, target shoot, and have weapons for personal safety who may also be card-carrying members of the NRA EVEN if they don't support everything the NRA does. These folks are still Democrats and support the party on a host of other issues. Some may be here at DU. They should not be shunned.

We MUST have some DIVERSITY in our party if we are to be a truly NATIONAL party. We DO NOT need to be an INTOLERANT leftwing version of the TeaPublicans who march in absolute lockstep and squash ANYONE who disagrees. I think it speaks well for Democrats that we have some people in our party who, though they agree with the majority on most issues, are able to disagree on some and are still WELCOMED and VALUED. There are some anti-abortion Democrats. There are some that have a disagreement with gay marriage. And there are some that are strong advocates of being able to own firearms for personal protection, target shooting, and hunting, and may even be NRA members. It is ok to have a few divergent views. That is DEMOCRACY. That is LIBERTY. That is AMERICA.

I am a Democrat because we are the BROAD party. We are the DIVERSE party. When I go to party meetings, there is a lot of deliberation, a lot of healthy disagreement, and a lot of work to reach consensus around many issues and the business at hand. This is HEALTHY. This is GOOD. We must not allow ourselves to go down a DANGEROUS road of INTOLERANCE and CENSORSHIP. That is much WORSE than allowing an NRA member to express a divergent viewpoint. The best route to take is to politely REFUTE views you disagree with, but we should not get into this kind of censorship and blanket intolerance. I know the Sandy Hook School tragedy has people in shock, including myself. But this is just when to take a deep breath and stay as calm as possible. Censorship and intolerance are not the answer. If you are opposed to the NRA, work politically with groups in favor of added gun control to oppose the positions of the NRA. Work through the political process. Contact your reps. Write letters to the editor and OP EDs. Etc. But censorship and banning the views of people with divergent views such as supporting the NRA? No. Not the way to go. Thanks.