patrick.net

bob2356 says

Straw Man says

Yeah, yeah, 5 million paying citizen members is not actually where the money comes from, it's actually comes from these eeeevil gun makers, sure.

I'm waiting for you to document how much comes from gun makers and how much from dues.

NRA 990 Form 990 Tax Return for 2010

From page 9, NRA Membership dues generated $100,531,465 of revenue. From form 990, page 9, IRA fees generated $6,552,336 of revenue. Together, that's $107,083,801 revenue from gun owners.

From page 1, the total revenue of the NRA was $227,811,279. 53% of the NRA revenue came from gun manufacturers. It's all in black and white.

Smith Wesson donates a cool million to the NRA.
Beretta Group pledges another million.
Blood Money: How the Gun Industry Bankrolls the NRA
#1. The NRA Really Represents Gun Manufacturers

How The Gun Industry Funnels Tens Of Millions Of Dollars To The NRA

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 Freedom sponsor 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.

OK, Straw Man, I can understand how you didn't know any of this. But now that you do, are you willing to accept the truth that the NRA is just a lobby for the gun manufacturers? I've given you a multitude of evidence and directly shown that most of the NRA revenue comes from the gun manufacturers. Are you going to continue down the path of willful ignorance, ignoring all facts that contradict your political position? Or will you choose the path of enlightenment and reason by accepting the facts and changing your political views of these facts you have just learned?

Dan8267 says

I've given you a multitude of evidence and directly shown that most of the NRA revenue comes from the gun manufacturers. Are you going to continue down the path of willful ignorance, ignoring all facts that contradict your political position? Or will you choose the path of enlightenment and reason by accepting the facts and changing your political views of these facts you have just learned?

That's the funniest thing I've read in months. I'm sure straw manl jump right up and say hallelua I've seen the light.

Dan8267 says

From page 9, NRA Membership dues generated $100,531,465 of revenue. From form 990, page 9, IRA fees generated $6,552,336 of revenue. Together, that's $107,083,801 revenue from gun owners.

From page 1, the total revenue of the NRA was $227,811,279. 53% of the NRA revenue came from gun manufacturers. It's all in black and white.

Where did you get the idea that the rest is "from gun manufacturers"? Simply by subtracting fees from the total revenue and assuming the rest is coming from gun manufacturers? That's incorrect. Here's what The Atlantic has to say about it:

"But membership fees don't pay the NRA's bills alone. In recent years, the group has become more aggressive about seeking donations, both from individuals and corporations, and that in turn has led it to become more deeply entwined with the gun industry. In 2010, it received $71 million in contributions, up from $46.3 million in 2004. Some of that money came from small-time donors, who've received a barrage of fundraising appeals warning of President Obama's imminent plot to gut the Second Amendment and confiscate Americans' firearms. But around 2005, the group began systematically reaching out to its richest members for bigger checks through its "Ring of Freedom" program, which also sought to corral corporate donors. Between then and 2011, the Violence Policy Center estimates that the firearms industry donated as much as $38.9 million to the NRA's coffers. The givers include 22 different gun makers, including famous names like Smith & Wesson, Beretta USA, SIGARMS, and Sturm, Ruger & Co. that also manufacture so-called assault weapons. "

See: only $39 millions in 6 years. Hardly a lion's share. NRA was doing just fine without manufacturer's contributions and will remain a formidable force if they stop donating. It's the membership that counts.

Straw Man says

Where did you get the idea that the rest is "from gun manufacturers"?

Did you see the five links I provided? Read them all.

bob2356 says

That's the funniest thing I've read in months. I'm sure straw manl jump right up and say hallelua I've seen the light.

As his response indicates, it doesn't matter what the facts are. Any fact that even threatens his political view must be irrationally denied regardless of the evidence. Yes, all evidence is the result of a conspiracy by the left to show how unbelievably stupid and gullible the right is. Ironically, this is exactly why the right is unbelievably stupid and gullible.

The belief that the NRA isn't financially motivated by the profits of gun sales is as retarded as the belief that the "studies" showing that smoking does not cause cancer backed by the Phillip Morris company were not financially motivated by the profits of cigarettes, and for the exact same reason.

Yet even something so clear and obvious must be irrationally denied when someone perceives that acknowledging the reality would weaken his political position, even if the issue of gun rights had mother-fucking-nothing to do with the NRA. The mere fact that the person perceives his political position might be weakened by acknowledging the truth will cause most people to deny that truth regardless of what evidence is presented. This is why I think that our species is stupid.

Dan8267 says

Straw Man says

Where did you get the idea that the rest is "from gun manufacturers"?

Did you see the five links I provided? Read them all.

I skimmed trough them. Sorry, but they are useless, because they are just a collection of anecdotes about which manufacturer shelled out a million or two. The article in The Atlantic is much better researched and paints a comprehensive picture on NRA's funding sources. The stuff you linked is not even in the same zipcode re quality of journalism.