Is the NRA really against national registry?

A few days ago I got a letter from the NRA. This was a letter specifically addressed to me, by name. The letter was set up as a survey, asking a lot of silly questions that 99% of gun owner's would respond positively to, such as "Do you support the Second Amendment?" It went on like this for about 20 questions, then finally asked "Will you show your support for the NRA and American Freedoms by becoming a member of the NRA today?"

I do own firearms and I am a firm believer in the 2nd. However, I have always had a problem with the NRA and how they conduct themselves. In many cases they are very extreme, but I absolutely agree with them that there should be no national registry.

It took me a couple of days, but I started wondering how/where they'd gotten my information.

About 10 minutes ago I got off the phone with the NRA. The following is a transcript of our conversation. I record all the calls on my cell phone, but I recently got a new phone and apparently the app I use to record calls doesn't work with it. I was going to include the recording but it's very distorted and painful to the ears. Instead I will do my best to provide an accurate transcript of my conversation with the NRA representative, Jeff.

"Hello, this is Jeff with the NRA. Can I get your membership ID please?"

"Actually, I don't have a membership. I had a question about a letter I received from the NRA."

"Ok, what's your question?"

"Well - I've never been a member of the NRA. I am a gun owner and I do believe in a lot of the things the NRA publicly supports, but I have issues with the way the NRA conducts itself over some matters. Because of this I have always made a point to distance myself from the NRA. I have never had any communication with you, I've never been a member, and I've never contacted the NRA for any reason. A few days ago I received a letter asking for me to join the NRA - and I'm wondering how you got my information."

"Well, sir, I'm not sure how we got it.."

"How does the NRA know I own firearms?"

"I'm nor sure, sir, but that is a good question. Can I put you on hold while I research that?"

"Sure"

(During this time I was on hold for about 2 minutes. To Jeff's credit he was polite and professional and seemed to empathize with my concern.)

"Sir? Have you ever registered a firearm?"

"No, you don't have to register firearms in my state. But I do have my CCW and of course have to go through the verification any time I purchase a firearm."

"Well, sir, that's how we got your information."

"But.. Jeff... If the NRA is publicly against any type of national registry or gun-owner list, how do they justify using the very same lists to garner support for gun ownership!?"

"I.. uh.. I don't really know.. But that is where we got your information."

"Do you understand why I'm concerned about this, Jeff?"

"Absolutely sir. I agree with you but I can't tell you why we do that."

"Can you please delete me from your mailing list?

"Yes sir, we'll do that immediately."

At this point we wished one another a good day and ended our conversation.


So now I wonder, how legit exactly is the NRA? Why do they argue against a list that they use to increase revenue/membership? How does the NRA manage it's money - what does their budget look like?

I've never been a huge fan of the NRA and this seals the deal for me. Why the hell is the NRA using the same lists they claim to be against to target new members!?

I'm beginning to believe that the NRA is all a scam. It's a very clever way to get gun owners names compiled without objection; in fact - NRA members are fervently proud of their membership.

What do you think, ATS? Am I missing something? Am I crazy?

They have been casting a pretty wide net, we don't have registration in my area either but they sent me some stuff a while back. I suspect that a lot of their leads on where to hit up people come from places that cater to gun owners such as Cabelas, Gander Mtn, etc and they work from there to come up with the data however if they are using CCW holder lists for what amounts to marketing then someone needs to raise the alarm over this as its all kinds of wrong.

The NRA does whatever their gun corporation overlords tells them to do....I mean pays them to do.

i believe if we have a gun lisence we should not have to register our guns, but thats just me

reply to post by TinkerHaus


They get their mailer info the same way every other company does, buying it from an aggregator.

At some point in the past you ordered from a company like Cabelas, Sportsmans Guide, Cheaper Than Dirt, etc....

Or you signed up for a gun or ammo raffle ticket or sweepstakes.

Or you bought a hunting license one year.

Or you filled out a rebate or registration card for a gun related product.

All of those things and more put you on a list that gets sold and passed around.

Oh, voter registries too. If you're registered (R) or (L) they'll likely hit you up with a "join" letter.

That's shady.

It's purely political.
The NRA are desperately trying to may hay
while this president is in office till 2016.
He's a lightning rod for some reason?

Here's a prediction...
The lighter stance the NRA will take on a registry in 2016
will most likely coincide with the lighter skin of the next president.

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by TinkerHaus

 

They get their mailer info the same way every other company does, buying it from an aggregator.

At some point in the past you ordered from a company like Cabelas, Sportsmans Guide, Cheaper Than Dirt, etc....

Or you signed up for a gun or ammo raffle ticket or sweepstakes.

Or you bought a hunting license one year.

Or you filled out a rebate or registration card for a gun related product.

All of those things and more put you on a list that gets sold and passed around.

Oh, voter registries too. If you're registered (R) or (L) they'll likely hit you up with a "join" letter.

edit on 14-5-2013 by thisguyrighthere because: (no reason given)

That's fine, but the representative clearly said it was from making a gun purchase.

In either case - why is the NRA using the same lists they publicly scorn to market themselves?

I'll keep my guns - but no way I'm joining the NRA.

Well, maybe it's just my (slight) paranoia speaking but I tend to distrust all such entities. I think they set them up to give the false impression that someone is looking out for your rights. Because when you believe that, you are more at ease and you're more likely to just sit back, relax and not worry.

I agree that the NRA is using some very shady practices, that's for sure. However, that said, the representative that you spoke to was completely, utterly, full of it. How do I know this? Because, I shouldn't reveal this info but oh well, I work for the very call center that you spoke to.

The representatives have NO clue how the NRA obtained your info. When the rep asked you to hold while he 'researched' your question...he was asking his supervisor what to say to you. They didn't look into any database or search any type of records that the NRA has, he and the supervisor were coming up with something that would hopefully appease you as a caller. The 'member services' or 'customer service' department is tasked with ONE job by the NRA...to take your money. We sign up new members, renew expired members, and BEG BEG BEG for additional donations. If you have a legitimate question that doesn't involve giving us money, the rep does their best to b.s. the way through it. Sure, it gets the job done and does appease most people...but in your case, it was a canned response and could very well be completely untrue.

I would take any information you receive from NRA customer service with a grain of salt. Unless it is a specific membership question, the reps are just as clueless as you are. This in itself is poor practice, in my opinion. I would suggest you write the NRA directly and ask them to truly research your concern. This may, or may not, result in getting a correct answer, but it is a better bet than asking a phone rep. You may even find that the NRA actually doesn't take info from CCW records.

PS: If you do write the NRA for a better answer, try to not mention my comment here. I would like to keep my job (until I find a better one, anyway)

reply to post by Helig


I'm not a fan of the NRA because they tend to be one of the biggest spammers out there. We have actually been sent membership stuff because of how we voted. I was pretty sure that ballots were supposed to confidential, which makes me pleased as punch that they have our info now...

Originally posted by TinkerHaus

Originally posted by thisguyrighthere
reply to post by TinkerHaus

 

They get their mailer info the same way every other company does, buying it from an aggregator.

At some point in the past you ordered from a company like Cabelas, Sportsmans Guide, Cheaper Than Dirt, etc....

Or you signed up for a gun or ammo raffle ticket or sweepstakes.

Or you bought a hunting license one year.

Or you filled out a rebate or registration card for a gun related product.

All of those things and more put you on a list that gets sold and passed around.

Oh, voter registries too. If you're registered (R) or (L) they'll likely hit you up with a "join" letter.

edit on 14-5-2013 by thisguyrighthere because: (no reason given)

That's fine, but the representative clearly said it was from making a gun purchase.

In either case - why is the NRA using the same lists they publicly scorn to market themselves?

I'll keep my guns - but no way I'm joining the NRA.

The last time I bought a car I got many adverts for stuff for the car. Ditto the books I bought and the clothes and shoes. This open source marketing is neither nefarious nor uncommon.

I have also read that the NRA isn't what it appears to be. From what I can tell, the NRA is part of what is known as a "Hegelian dialectic" where first a problem is created that must be "solved" (thesis, such as gun violence), a counter argument is presented that is extreme (antithesis, such as a total gun ban), and finally, a solution is presented (the synthesis, such as stricter gun controls than what previously existed, but not a total ban).

www.thedailybell.com...

This is how governments operate with patient gradualism so that freedoms are lost incrementally.

As an example of the NRA's effectiveness, "With over 30,000 gun laws on the books, the NRA has successfully reversed (partially) 2 pieces of gun legislation."

www.thedailybell.com...