I took concealed-carry, and I won't join the NRA

A few weeks ago, I took a concealed carry course. I wasn’t sure exactly why at the time, except I wanted to learn the rules — laws — and see if it might be something I wanted.

The course was very good. The instructor was very competent. The materials were relevant and complete. Shooting is fun, and I learned a lot. However, despite the instructor’s effort to stay non-political, there was an undercurrent to the class: the National Rifle Association (NRA). Though I have become more independent in my political thinking year by year, I still find reasons why I cannot support the NRA.

First off, the NRA is the big supporter of the Second Amendment to the Constitution, the right to bear arms. The problem is, that’s it. Just the Second. I have to think, “What about all the other amendments?” Freedom of speech? Assembly? Habeas corpus? Jury trial? Don’t they count? I guess to support all the other rights, we have to go to the “liberal” American Civil Liberties Union.

Then, there is the NRA’s absolutism in resistance to the slightest modification on the Second Amendment. Guess what boys and girls, no right is absolute. I am so bored with the “slippery-slope” argument. I love the freedom of speech, but that does not give me the right to yell “Fire!” in a crowded theater or shout obscenities in front of your children. There are limits to everything, even our freedoms. No one needs a M134 mini gun for home defense.

Next is the part of the Second Amendment that guarantees the right to “a well-regulated militia.” Well regulated? Where’s that? I heard repeated gunfire at 1 a.m. last night. Is this the Land of Enchantment or Chicago? A popular local sport is shooting up road signs. Is that “well regulated”? How about the shooting range west of the Santa Fe airport? It has to be the trashiest place in Santa Fe. If filmmakers wanted a location for the apocalypse, that’s it. I don’t know a place that’s less regulated.

Finally, and most importantly, the NRA is not addressing the problem of mass shootings. They don’t even acknowledge a problem exists. If anyone should be getting out in front of this problem, they should. We all know that something has to be done. The NRA, being the self-proclaimed authority, should be coming up with ideas instead of poo-pooing everything everyone else suggests. But after hundreds of deaths every year, they are still in denial.

By the end of my concealed carry class, I figured out why I took it: to keep from doing something stupid. I think I’ve learned what my limits are. Now, the NRA has to own up to reality and admit where our limits as a society have to be.