Reason posted an article asking of the NRA is too Republican. Here’s where I have to do some prep work to properly discuss this topic. First, yes, I am a member of the NRA and donate to the NRA-ILA (the political wing of the organization). It’s also important to remember that the NRA is not some monolith out of 2001. There are six million dues-paying members. They represent a wide variety of views, including on the Second Amendment. For this post, if I’m saying NRA, I’m going to be talking about the current executive leadership. The one that makes the day-to-day decisions.

Because, the NRA may not be too Republican, but it’s definitely too conservative. I don’t mind that when fighting for my Second Amendment rights, but the NRA has been stepping out into the wider debate on societal issues. (I despise using the term culture war.) To be fair, some of it was foisted on the NRA by the media and political players, but some of it appears to be playing to the large part of the base.

Except, I’m not in that base. I’m too liberal on social issues, too atheist, and too indoorsy. Or at least it seems that way when I look at who the NRA chooses to put in front of the cameras.

Here’s why I’m bitching. We exhort the vast majority of gun owners to join the NRA. Why should they when the NRA refuses to represent them? We castigate anti-gunners for lumping all gun owners with criminals, but then the NRA goes and does the same thing to anyone on the left of the political spectrum.

And can the NRA please just shut the fuck up about violent video games? There’s no good evidence that such a popular medium drives people to murder. What it does is alienate many of the people who would join us.

I am an NRA member, but there are days when I wonder if my limited money would be better spent.