It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about one of my favorite topics and villains, the National Rifle Association. As you all know, this group is extremely outspoken in their “view” that only gun ownership keeps this nation safe, only gun ownership keeps the tyranny of government at bay, only gun ownership makes you a man, etc.  Of course when they make the ads portraying the attacks on the 2^nd Amendment, how guns in schools would’ve of protected the children at Columbine and Sandy Hook, how an “armed society is a safe society” they cite no validated facts to support their positions. When confronted with real peer reviewed studies about the dangers of gun ownership, they move straight to their paid “researchers and historians and their bought off conspirators attacking the 2^nd Amendment. We’ve all seen this.

Last week the NRA released a new ad which in my opinion clearly illustrates what I’ve always believed to be true about the NRA and their paid trolls, it’s not about public safety, it’s not about home safety, it’s not about constitutional rights, it’s not about holding tyranny at bay, it’s about sales. Here’s the ad of which I speak:

This ad actually contradicts many of the talking points the NRA has used in recent years to inspire gun owners to buy more guns. Note I said “inspire gun owners to buy more guns” not people to buy guns. Studies (something the NRA hates) clearly show that despite growing number of gun sales, the percentile of the nation who own guns in this country is essentially unchanged. In fact, it’s been shown in some studies to have been dropping. So in effect, only those who only buy guns are buying more guns. Why? Well NRA advertising was focused on one talking point: “President Obama wants to take your guns away!” coupled with the old tired lines about government tyranny and attacks on the 2^nd Amendment. So avid gun users went out and bought even more guns. However, few people who never had a gun before decided to go out to get a gun for the first time. This didn’t matter to the NRA as long as they sell more guns. It’s like car dealerships contacting you a couple of years after a sale telling you how you can upgrade to another care with just a few buck more than what you’re already paying for the one you just  bought.

President Obama was the best thing that ever happened to the Gun Industry and their NRA Lobbyists. Despite President Obama expressing his outrage at senseless gun violence across the country, he did little to nothing to curb gun ownership or sales. He commissioned studies, issued meaningless and unenforceable executive orders and had conversations with an unreceptive Congress about acting, but nothing was done. In fact, he allowed firearms to be permitted in National Parks. In reality, President Obama expanded gun rights in this country.

But the NRA told people through their advertising the opposite was true and gun sales skyrocketed during the Obama administration. Gun manufacturers reported in the final year of the Obama Administration where they feared was Clinton would become president and impose the bans they said Obama would impose, gun sales reached 52,600 a day (27.5 million gun sales in 2016). They went further by predicting 2017 would continue to break all records (under a Clinton administration). Unfortunately for them and the NRA, Donald Trump was “declared” the winner.

Yes, the candidate who once favored a total ban on assault rifles and longer waiting periods for gun purchases changed his views when he hired the NRA to back his candidacy:

Well, the NRA candidate won yet gun sales in the Trump administration have continued to fall. Gun advocates now say it’s because everyone who needed to buy a gun did so under Obama. However, why then the new NRA ad? If everyone they feel has a gun already, why scare them into buying more guns?

Under an “NRA Friendly” administration and Congress, the NRA can no longer focus their sales ad on the government wanting to take your guns away, or government tyranny. No, now they have to focus on another enemy, the American People.

Per the NRA it’s the American People exercising their right of free speech, their outrage of bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia and bad cops who are the real danger in this country and only if you who support bigotry, racism, xenophobia, homophobia, Islamophobia and bad cops were to buy more guns and keep them in your “clenched fist” our nation is in danger.

And of course they use misleading video shots and infer misleading statements of our nation today to increase their gun sales. Under the NRA sales team, we’ve moved from a nation in fear of her government to a nation in fear of the majority of her people. Facts, reality and logic do not matter when it comes to increasing sales. After all, Murica!!!!

Facts remain:

2^nd Amendment had nothing to do with holding government tyranny at bay and by the way, Philando Castile was a lawful gun owner exercising his 2^nd Amendment right to own a gun when he was killed by an obviously scared cop who couldn’t equate a Black man owning a gun as being normal and overreacted.

Gun ownership in the home increases the likelihood of being killed in the home by a gun five times.

More guns on the streets always results in a proportional increase of gun violence on those same streets.

Majority of the nation fully supports bans on military style assault rifles, high capacity magazines, longer waiting times to purchase a gun, stricter enforcement of private gun sales, and restrictions on the mentally ill, domestic violence offenders, and/or those with a violent criminal record from being allowed to own a gun.

However, those facts are bad for gun sales so don’t expect the NRA to give them any credence, or you.