We have already posted the article itself to Facebook, but wanted to provide some context regarding the interview itself and present a couple of important items regarding it.
Recently three of our California members, including our national spokesperson, Lara Smith, were interviewed by an online news group called “The Trace”. This is the second mention we’ve gotten from The Trace, and both times we have been treated fairly and thank them for the opportunity to present some of our viewpoints to the world.
There were a couple of minor nits with the article, which happens sometimes, but it does give us a chance to make our case to our liberal and liberal leaning brethren who may not have considered our point of view when developing their personal opinions about the second amendment and gun rights. First, the article itself can be found here:
(And yes, proudly firearm geeks, thanks!)
Second, for those unfamiliar, here’s our press primer. We send this to every potential media interview so they can familiarize themselves with our organization and what we do. (And don’t do)
As to the factual correction. The members survey we did earlier this year shows overwhelming support among our members (66%) for this part of our platform:
We favor enforcement of existing regulations over the creation of new regulatory schemes.
Our membership did not indicate in the survey an overwhelming YES to Universal Background Checks. It’s a topic we’ve debated internally for years, and as is the case with many of our positions and takes on things, the answer is much more complicated than a simple yes or no, as the devil is in the details on this kind of thing.
It’s also important to point out that 48% of registered voters are on the liberal side of the fence. They are either Democrats or lean that way. Out of the 200 million registered voters out there, that puts the total at around 96 million- with 22% or more of them being gun owners. That’s 21 million voters who more align with our mission than that of one that bashes liberals. It’s not a tiny fraction of a voting bloc. And this article helps us to reach them.