Gun owners, you've been had.

There is a wrestler in the WWE named “Bad News” Barrett. His gimmick involves taking the microphone and saying something like “I know you’ve all come here to see me lose, but I’ve got some Bad News for you.” Well, that’s pretty much summing up today’s blog. Gun owners, I’ve got some bad news for you….you’ve all been had.

The gun companies have played you. The NRA has played you. And the Republican Party has really played you. They played on your passion, and they played on your fears. They’ve used you for their own agenda. Gun owners, you got had.

This came to me one night, when I thought to myself, you never used to see gun stores advertise on TV. And now you do. The NRA, along with the GOP and their public relations outlet, Fox News, have stirred up such fear that President Obama is going to take away your guns, that you’ve given your hard earned money willing to stop it.

Well, President Obama doesn’t have to power to just outlaw guns. He never could just “take away your right to have a gun.”  Because exactly three-hundred and thirty-eight years ago, a little document was written called the US Constitution. The second Amendment assures the right to have a gun, but it is still debatable if it assures the right of every non-militia member to own a gun. That being said, I’m going to open the wizards curtain, and tell all of me gun owning, Second Amendment protecting friends how they’ve gotten played.

Let’s first take a quick look at the NRA. It was started in 1871 by two former civil war veterans who felt that the average farmer couldn’t shoot as well as a well-trained militia man or guerilla. The NRA’s goal was “Firearms safety, Marksmanship Training, and Shooting for recreation.” Thanks to the NRA’s first president, a rather famous man named Ambrose Burnside, the NRA even worked with the military to get second hand guns, as well as training in use of the weapon.  The goal of the NRA had nothing to do with defending your home, but to defend your home land. They wanted citizens to be trained to assist in repelling acts of rebellion, like the one committed by Daniel Shay. Despite what some ill-informed tea party members have said, the second amendment has nothing to do with staging a full on insurrection.  Then came the 1920, when the NRA became very active in authoring gun control laws. I’ll give you a second to re-read that statement. The NRA once was at the fore front of writing gun control laws. There was concern for these laws, especially in New York, which nearly saw its mayor assassinated.

The NRA even helped President Roosevelt draft the gun control laws that were a part of the “New Deal.”  Then NRA president Karl Frederick praised the law, citing that gun ownership should only occur with a valid license. When President Kennedy was assassinated, the NRA called for a ban on mail order gun sales.  However, a split would soon occur within the NRA. Gun owners felted singled out, rural cities and states felt they were being punished, and race was an issue. One of the biggest groups calling for an extension of gun owners’ right was…the Black Panther Party. Once again, take a second and re-read that.

So this all de-evolved into the mess that we have today, with the NRA now fighting pretty much all gun control laws. Which brings us to my opening statement; on how all of you second amendment supporting gun owners have been had. You’ve been told to get your guns before President Obama takes them away, which once again, he doesn’t have the power to. You know, there are those people in the Senate and Congress that would have to draft such a bill, and we know it would never survive to reach President Obama’s desk, not to mention it would be a constitutional nightmare if he were to sign such a bill.

The gun companies right now are making massive profits, as are the companies that make the ammo. They have the cash to spread around, buy the representation they know will bow to their wishes, and like a puppet on a string, these newly purchased elected officials spread the propaganda that they’ve been told to spread. They’ve preyed on your fears, and they’ve laughed all the way to the bank. The NRA has used you. Gun rights groups have used you, and your elected officials have used you.

 So, before reading this, how many of you knew that the NRA was more concerned on making sure people were properly trained with guns, and that criminal elements could not legally purchase a gun? How many of you knew that many of the current laws in place, such as waiting periods, were actually authored by the NRA?

Sounds a lot different than what exist right now, doesn’t it? Listen; let’s be clear, I’m not calling for the end of the Second Amendment. I’m just calling for a little common sense, and for the NRA to go back to its original purpose: the proper training of people to use guns, and to act as an expert to the congress when it comes to drafting gun laws. But I know that’s not going to happen.

So maybe some of you can re-think if the NRA is really here to help you, or to further their own agenda, which has changed since Harlon Carter helped corrupt the group (by the way, google the named Harlon Carter). Though Carter was dismissed in 1978 from the group, he was one of the first to call for a repeal of every gun law.

But I digress. I hope this has been educational, especially the part regarding the NRA. And I hope your eyes have been opened to how the gun industry on a whole has used your fears to take money from your pockets. You’ve been played, my friends. Maybe it’s time that the level headed, defend the home, teach about proper use of guns, sensible gun control law members of the NRA to stage a coupe , and get rid of the extremist that have no issues with guns being used to settle debates.

Time is running out for you to act. That is all.