The Great American Gun Fetish

[UltimateApathy]

Yes, because cars are specifically manufactured to kill people, and that is their only intended use. Your stupidity is very clearly showing, son, and to be honest, at this point even I feel embarrassed for you and your poor little empty, illogical brain.

 

[The Ozzman]

Yes, because cars are specifically manufactured to kill people, and that is their only intended use.

You're right. I totally went out driving around in my car today to find someone to run over. Too bad I was unsuccessful. You missed my point.

Your stupidity is very clearly showing, son, and to be honest, at this point even I feel embarrassed for you and your poor little empty, illogical brain.

Says the guy who thinks the constitution is irrelevant

 

[UltimateApathy]

Yep.

 

[UltimateApathy]

Duh.

 

[Carpe Mortem]

Guns are more of a hobby than a weapon for most people. Going to the range and increasing skill certainly helps with self defense, but it's more about the thrill of proper grouping and being good at something fun. It's an enjoyable hobby that's only dangerous if you're stupid. Not to mention, like duh, hunting. A lot of people use guns for that.

 

[Nate Skalman]

I see you're from Oregon. Must be one of the guys behind this:

What..? I think you're confused...I would've been on the opposite side of the malheur standoff had we been called in...? it was a isolated standoff with no threat to the general public, we were just waiting them out...no need to bring out tanks, or medium range ballistics for a couple angry farmers...ps nice photoshopped fires in the background lol!!!!

 

[Nate Skalman]

Yes, because cars are specifically manufactured to kill people, and that is their only intended use. Your stupidity is very clearly showing, son, and to be honest, at this point even I feel embarrassed for you and your poor little empty, illogical brain.

Look how angry these people get!...hilarious!!. I'm following the firearm (and driving lol) laws in my state so your opinion means nothing. The law and constitution favors legal gun owners at this point...you're the one who's boiling with anger because you and others can't simply take that right away based on your self proclaimed "logic".

 

[Nate Skalman]

How do people who DON'T own guns think they're going to confiscate guns from people who DO own them??...even the Vatican has custom engraved Glocks. I find the hypocrisy entertaining because they're REALLY suggesting using GUNS to confiscate peoples' guns...they just don't want to say it.

 

[The Ozzman]

Hey @UltimateApathy u mad bro?

 

[Nate Skalman]

Yep.

This guy IS an idiot straight from the chocolate factory...want proof? He LIVES IN ASIA and denounces the American constitution- who cares what he thinks- HE DOESNT EVEN LIVE HERE!!...Wow! "Infinite idiocy" says it all.

 

[CiG]

Yep.

How on earth are vaginas regulated?

 

[HamburgerBoy]

Bernie Sanders is not a "truly fringe leftist" or communist. Dude is just a SocDem.

He's as much fringe as the fringe right-wing in America.

 

[Nate Skalman]

How on earth are vaginas regulated?

How are guns regulating vaginas?

 

[The Ozzman]

How on earth are vaginas regulated?

I think he's talking about abortion

 

[Nate Skalman]

First of all, his meme insinuates that all gun owners are religious (presumably Christian) which is butt-fucking incorrect. Second, pro-choicers are the ones wanting to "regulate" vaginas through birth control and abortion (not getting into that). This guy couldn't make a point if it were jackhammered up his ass!!

 

[Nate Skalman]

...and because some people don't seem to understand the US Constitution, here we go...the constitution has nothing to do with defense against Britain, It's an outline on all judicial branches and duties, term limits, etc. The Declaration of Independence outlined those specifics. Then there's the bill of rights, and amendments to the constitution...amendments have been an ongoing "penciling in" of rights to reflect changes in societal movement. The fucking constitution is just a draft of the new government. The British were far from our only threat...fucking pay attention!!

 

[CiG]

I think he's talking about abortion

This guy really is a fucking moron.

 

[Onder]

It would be cool if abortion clinics were called Vagina Regulation Cenres. VRCs in short. I can see the teenage girl coming in "hey I jumped on my uncle again I need a vag regulation can't have a retard".

 

[UltimateApathy]

Turns out that most of the N.R.A.'s funding (millions of dollars) comes directly from gun corporations themselves, which they then use to brainwash lots of nonsense into gullible American fools, thereby making their country the most dangerous developed country in the whole fucking world. It's always amusing trying to have a conversation with brainwashed people: they mechanically parrot the illogical phrases that have been meticulously hammered into their poor little brains, flagrantly disregarding any and all statistics, facts, figures, and even logical common sense that you might serve up to them that contradicts their poor, little closed-minded world view. I would expect very much the same kind of mindless parroting we've seen in this topic so far to appear in conversations with North Koreans regarding Kim Jong Un, or ISIS followers regarding religion. Basically, brainwashed bullshit looks the same all over the world.

And now for the article:

 

[UltimateApathy]

http://www.businessinsider.com/gun-industry-funds-nra-2013-1

In its early days, the National Rifle Association was a grassroots social club that prided itself on independence from corporate influence.

While that is still part of the organization's core function, today less than half of the NRA's revenues come from program fees and membership dues.



The bulk of the group's money now comes in the form of contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources.

Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedomsponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala's, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.

The NRA also made $20.9 million - about 10 percent of its revenue - from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.

Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.

The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, which it then gives to local-level organizations for training and equipment purchases.

This shift is key to understanding why a coalition of hunters, collectors and firearm enthusiasts takes the heat for incidents of gun violence, like the shooting massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, rather than the companies that manufacture and market assault weapons.



The chief trade association for gun manufacturers is the National Shooting Sports Federation, which is, incidentally, located in Newtown, Conn. But the NRA takes front and center after each and every shooting.

"Today's NRA is a virtual subsidiary of the gun industry," said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center. "While the NRA portrays itself as protecting the 'freedom' of individual gun owners, it's actually working to protect the freedom of the gun industry to manufacture and sell virtually any weapon or accessory."

There are two reasons for the industry support for the NRA. The first is that the organization develops and maintains a market for their products. The second, less direct function, is to absorb criticism in the event of PR crises for the gun industry.

It's possible that without the NRA, people would be protesting outside of Glock, SIG Sauer and Freedom Group - the makers of the guns used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre - and dragging the CEOs in front of cameras and Congress. That is certainly what happened to tobacco executives when their products continued killing people.

Notoriously, tobacco executives even attempted to form their own version of the NRA in 1993, seeing the inherent benefit to the industry that such an effort would have. Philip Morrisbankrolled the National Smokers Alliance, a group that never quite had the groundswell of support the industry wanted.

Notably, the tide has shifted slightly in the wake of Sandy Hook, with Cerberus Capital Management's decision to sell Freedom Group, the company that makes the Bushmaster rifle.

But if history is any indication, the NRA will be front and center of the new gun control debate, while gun manufacturers remain safely out of the spotlight.