Shooting Times & Country – 21 August 2019

Asitsleadinglobbyistresignsanditsonlinestreamingservicecloses,

the US’s NRA has provided us with a blueprint of how not to behave

T

heAmericanNationalRifle

Association(NRA)isoneofthe

mostpowerfulcampaigning

organisationsintheworld.

Yetit iscurrentlybesetbytroubles.This

comesata sensitivetimeintheUS,where

therehavebeena stringofappalling

massshootingsandthenextpresidential

electoralcycleiscrankingup.

TheNRA’swoeseruptedintoa failed

coupagainstthelong-standingchief

executiveWayneLaPierreearlierthisyear.

Inthewakeofa dipinmembershipand

fundraisingrevenues,theNRAhadtomake

cutstohaulitsfinancesoutofthered.Yet

atthesametime,criticsclaim,MrLaPierrie

wasindulginginlavishpersonalspending.

Heissaidtousea privatejetfortraveland

tohaverunuphugehotelbills,despite

beingpaida whoppingsalary.MrLaPierreis

notsuspectedofanywrongdoingandboth

heandtheNRAhavedeclinedtocomment.

Severalseniorfiguresofthe

organisationdeparted—includingitschief

lobbyist.Naturally,theNRAturmoilhas

beenwelcomedbytheguncontrollobby.

It hasalsoemergedthattheNRAis

embroiledina handfuloflawsuitsrelating

toitsdecisiontocloseitsliveprogramming

arm,NRATV.ThiswasrunbytheNRA’s

formeradvertisingfirm,Ackerman

shouldemulate.Someoftherantsposted

oncertainUK-basedshootingwebsites

lashoutatourownshootingorganisations

forbeingtoo‘soft’.Keyboardwarriors

seemtothinkthatthey,personally,have

a uniqueinsightintohowshootingshould

bedefended.Yettheyneveractuallydo

anythingpositiveorhelpful.Andjudging

bytheirself-importantproclamations,they

haven’ta clueaboutthepoliticalcontextwe

livein,letalonethewaythemediaworks.

Ican’tfaulttheirenergy.I justwish

theywoulddirecta bitmoreofit towards

ourrealenemies—providingtheydoso

ina factuallyaccurate,logicalmanner.It

mustbedemoralisingfortheoverworked

staffofourshootingorganisationstosee

theirhonesteffortsbeingderidedbysocial

mediaobsessiveswho have too much time

ontheirhands.

Fortunately,thereareplentyofother

membersoftheshootingcommunitywho

offerrealsupportforthecause,notleast

byjoininganorganisationandactually

gettinginvolved. They are the true voice

of shooting.

McQueen,whichhadheldtheNRAaccount

for 40 yearsbeforerecentlybeingsacked.

TheNRAanditsformeradagencyare now

filinglawsuitsagainsteachother.

It isallegedthatNRATV’scontent

strayedbeyondtheNRA’scoremessage,

becomingtooovertly‘political’.Some

criticshavequotedexamplesofcoverage

theyconsiderinflammatoryinexpressing

hard-corepositionsona rangeofcultural

andsocialissues.This,theyclaim,

unnecessarilyalienatesmoremoderate

ormainstreamelementsofsociety,who

areoffendedbythestridentrhetoric.

It isneverwisetocommentonanother

country’spolitics.I amwaryabouttrying

tointerprettheNRA’scurrentissuesin

relationtoourownsituationhereinthe

UK.ButI dowonderwhethertheremight

besomemoregenerallessonsaboutthe

toneofvoiceweshouldusewhendefending

shootingsports.It seemstomethatpeople

withgunsshouldgenerallyavoidappearing

tobeaggressive.It doesusnofavours.

TheNRA’straditionalhardlineapproach

is sometimes held up as something we

AlasdairMitchell

Sharpshooter

DOG BY KEITH REYNOLDS

“Theremightbelessonsaboutthetoneof

voice we use when we defend shooting”

58 • SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE

SHOOTINGTIMES&COUNTRYMAGAZINE,ISSN0037-4164,ispublishedweekly,incorporatingShootingMagazine,ShootingLife,BritishSportsman,TheAngler’sNews&SeaFisher’sJournalandFieldSport,byTIMediaLtd,

3rdfloor, 161 MarshWall,London,EnglandE149AP,UnitedKingdom.© 2019 TIMediaLtd.Contributionsarewelcomebutmustbeaccompaniedbya suitablestampedaddressedenvelope.Publicationofacceptedarticlesis

notguaranteed,andthepublisherswillnotbeheldliableforanymanuscripts,photographsorothermaterialslostordamagedwhileintheirpossession,thougheverycarewillbetaken.TheEditorreservestherighttoamend

anysucharticlesasnecessary.ShootingTimes&CountryMagazine,aspartofTIMediaLtd,iscommittedtosupportingtheeditorialstandardsofIndependentPressStandardsOrganisation(IPSO).DistributedbyMarketforce(UK)Ltd,a TIMedia

Ltdcompany,2ndFloor,5 ChurchillPlace,CanaryWharf,LondonE145HUTel:+44(0)20 378 79001.PrintedbyWalsteadUKLtd.Registeredasa newspaperfortransmissionintheUnitedKingdom.Subscriptionratesfor 52 issues:UK—£143.

PriorityService(5-7days):Europe—¤234,ROW—£199.TheUSannualsubscriptionpriceis$305.AirfreightandmailingintheUSAbyagentnamedWorldnetShippingInc.,156-15,146thAvenue,2ndFloor,Jamaica,NY11434,USA.Periodicals

postagepaidatJamaicaNY11431.USPostmaster:SendaddresschangestoSHOOTINGTIMES&COUNTRYMAGAZINE,WorldnetShippingInc.,156-15,146thAvenue,2ndFloor,Jamaica,NY11434,USA.SubscriptionrecordsaremaintainedatTI

MediaLtd,3rdfloor, 161 MarshWall,London,EnglandE149AP.AirBusinessLtdisactingasourmailing agent. All prices include postage and packing. Enquiries and subscription orders: TI Media Ltd, PO Box 272, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16

3FS. Cheques payable to TI Media Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)845 845 123 1231, fax +44 (0) 1444 445599.