...come in all sorts. Today I fulfilled two of my obligations. One was to renew my membership with the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, the other was to renew my membership with the West-Side Rifle and Pistol Range. These may seem like less than obligations to some of you, but allow me to assure you that they are indeed obligations, firearms obligations, that I take seriously.
As for the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association I find it important to join organizations that help support and protect my right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. Said right is being assailed from every direction and has been chipped away at little by little until it has reached the point that my liberties and rights no longer are what is defined in our Constitution. I would much rather that this be corrected through debate, elections, and other peaceful means rather than it coming down to that which said right assures us all - the ability to overthrow a tyranny. So I have joined the NYSRPA on a yearly basis, and I am a life member of the NRA.
Support of groups that try to protect our 2nd Amendment rights is not enough. Active participation in what that right conveys is an absolute must. Therefore I am an avid firearms enthusiast, not only because I like to shoot, but because I want to be able to stand ready and join a militia if ever called upon to defend our constitution against tyranny. Many seem to have forgotten that the 2nd Amendment is the one that allows us to keep all of the others, and without it, we surely would have been overcome by they who seek power in government in any way that they can achieve it. Politicians, and other power hungry sorts, need reminders that we are actively taking part in our right to keep and bear arms, and are not merely paper tigers who join clubs or associations that are mere mouthpieces to help promote our cause.
By joining and keeping your memberships in such organizations active, and by actually participating in firearms related activities, you are contributing to the economy of the firearms industry. Without that financial support our right to keep and bear arms would likely fade away out in short order.
So yes, I see both of these as obligations, and I carry them out faithfully year after year.
All the best,
Glenn B
...not for the presidency - that is for sure as I see it. Of course, maybe no one is perfect for the presidency, at least not the current crop of the three major candidates running for that job, but one is better than the rest in my opinion, and he is not saying absolutely stupid things like the following:"“Now I am the first to admit that some of the words I chose I chose badly, because as my wife reminds me, I’m not perfect. She reminds me of this frequently, and events often remind me as well,” Obama said, reiterating his regret for his choice of words. “So I’m not a perfect man and the words I chose, I chose badly. They were subject to misinterpretation, they were subject to be twisted, and I regret that. I regret that deeply. But. But. But. When people suggest that somehow I was demeaning religion. When I know that I’m a man of deep faith, somebody who in my own life has held on to faith, held onto my confidence in God during times of trial and tribulation, then it sounds like there’s some politics being played.
“When people suggest I was somehow being elitist and demeaning hunters when I have repeatedly talked about the tradition that people pass on from generation to generation, hunters and sportsmen, and how I have consistently spoken about my respect for the Second Amendment. When people try to suggest that I was demeaning those traditions, then it sounds like there’s some politics being played. And what really burns me up is when people suggest that me saying that folks are mad, they are angry, they are bitter after 25, 30 years of seeing jobs shipped out, pensions not fulfilled, health care lost. The notion that people are surprised, and are suggesting that I’m out of touch because I spoke honestly about people’s frustrations, that tells me there’s some politics going on,” he said." (from FoxNews.com @ http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/04/13/obama-im-not-perfect-mocks-clinton-support-for-gun-rights/Does Mr. Obama really believe that this piss poor backpedalling is going to get him in good with the millions of people in this country who own firearms, who hunt, or who are frustrated because they don't have great jobs? Does he really think that his claiming to have been a supporter of the 2nd Amendment is going to hold water or votes after those who really hold that right sacred have shot his bucket full of holes? He went onto say, about Mrs. Clinton:“She is running around talking about how this is an insult to sportsmen, how she values the Second Amendment. She’s talking like she’s Annie Oakley,” Obama told an audience at a union hall here, invoking the famed female sharpshooter immortalized in the musical “Annie Get Your Gun.” Does he truly believe that his attack on Hillary Clinton for her flip flopping current support of 2nd Amendment lover and the like will do anything to elevate him in the eyes of those same folks after he first demeaned and castigated them? Does he think that insulting the memory of Annie Oakley will help him? Heck, does Mrs. Clinton really think what she is doing now is going to help her.Well I guess it is going to help one or the other of them to win the Democratic nomination for the run for the presidency; but I can only hope that voters in November do not have short memories when it comes to this absolute hypocrisy on the parts of either Obama or Clinton. I for one will be voting for the man who is running against them because both Clinton and Obama seem to come from another planet when it comes down to the realities of the USA, they are that much out of touch.All the best,Glenn B
As for the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association I find it important to join organizations that help support and protect my right to keep and bear arms under the U.S. Constitution. Said right is being assailed from every direction and has been chipped away at little by little until it has reached the point that my liberties and rights no longer are what is defined in our Constitution. I would much rather that this be corrected through debate, elections, and other peaceful means rather than it coming down to that which said right assures us all - the ability to overthrow a tyranny. So I have joined the NYSRPA on a yearly basis, and I am a life member of the NRA.
