William Bishop: NRA good with slogans, bad at telling the truth
“Pried from my cold, dead fingers!” “... A good guy with a gun!” It seems we can always count on the NRA to provide us with great sound-bites for those with limited attention spans. Another NRA slogan bears further scrutiny however: “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” It appears they are not telling all they know.
Around five years ago Jim Ridenour, then Modesto’s mayor, joined a national organization of mayors whose stated goal was to “Support the Second Amendment and keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals.” For this, on Sept. 4, 2009, he was declared an “Enemy of the NRA.” Clearly, keeping illegal guns out of the hands of criminals is inimical to the NRA’s agenda. It would appear the NRA believes that by arming outlaws, it can prevent guns from being outlawed. Since the rule of law has no sway over the NRA and its avowed (and unavowed) policies, for the NRA to declare themselves to be defenders of the 2nd Amendment is nothing short of a thoroughly galling exercise in hypocrisy.
William Bishop, Modesto
This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "William Bishop: NRA good with slogans, bad at telling the truth."