From: PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu (David Veal)
Subject: Re: Can dishonorably discharged gays stay in the NRA?
Organization: The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 19:42:25 GMT

In article <1in118INNsgl@flash.pax.tpa.com.au>
anon.526@pax.tpa.com.au writes:

>I thank Kirk Hays for a very informative posting which nevertheless
>leads me farther away from his view.
>
>>Politics makes strange bed fellows.  In case you hadn't noticed,
>>anti-gunners in Congress aren't exactly buddy-buddy with the gay
>>populace, either.
>
>Actually, when I mentally list the Congresscritters who support gay
>rights, the NRA is angry with every one of them.  Barbara Boxer.
>Ted Kennedy.  Paul Simon.  Who are the others?

       Recognizing those names, I suggest you look at their voting records
on things the NRA considers important.  Their stance on gay rights has
little or nothing to do with the NRA's position.  I've never seen any
indication the NRA took anything but voting record on gun issues into
account.

>>Well, since I've never seen any other National organization, like the
>>AMA, ADA, NEA, ACLU, or even HCI announce that "gays are welcome," I
>>see no reason the NRA should be held to a higher standard.
>
>A standard type of disclaimer for an organization that wants to
>convey tolerance reads:
>
>Bowling Green Screen Door and Tent Pole does not discriminate on
>the basis of age, sex, sexual orientation, race, or religion.

       I gotta wonder where we're going when you have to *say*
you don't discriminate, and that's considered more important than
any evidence as to whether you do or not.
       It's getting to the point where every single subset of the
population in this country wants to be their own little persectued
group.
        All well and good, I suppose, but it doesn't seem to be
*doing* any good.

>However, when I read what you quote...
>
>>First and foremost, the NRA is you -- its members.  Millions of Americans
>>representating a diverse contrast of age, sex, race and religion.
>
>Obviously they're trying to be PC, but something is missing.
>They welcome a diverse constrast of age, sex, dah-dah dah-dah, race,
>and religion.  This type of phrase was one of the first vibrations that
>my political antannae picked up when thinking about the NRA and gay
>tolerance.
>
>This is proof of nothing, but my antannae have good reception.

        Hunches and innuendo rarely are.  It's tough to argue with
someone who has refused, and seems almost proud of refusing, to produce
anything beyond, "They haven't proclaimed their lack of discrimination,"
to support their opinion.

>>The only persons excluded from membership are felons, ex-felons, and
>>persons with a dishonorable discharge from the armed forces.
>
>This is a lead worth pursuing and one I didn't think of.  You can be
>dishonorably discharged from the armed forces solely for being gay.
>Isn't it interesting that you might then find that the NRA has revoked
>your membership.  If I were you I'd send a letter to the NRA asking
>them to make exceptions in these cases.  I predict that the experience
>will be as informative as it is unproductive.

       Why doesn't *he*?

>Of course I'm not you.  You want me to stop my moaning and send you
>e-mail non-anonymously so that I can do something about it.  I suspect
>that it will cost me money and it won't work.

      You suspect.  You think.  You believe.  You shout that you have
no proof, but why should that stop you?

>Besides, I don't like
>the NRA.

      I'm not particularly surprised.  You have a "hunch" and make a
deicision supported on that hunch, then, based on your decision, refuse
to make any effort to check into evidence, boasting about it no less,
because you *suspect* it won't do any good and will cost you money.
      No, you'd rather spend *other* people's money here without
producing anything but vague insinuations, subjective "evidence," and
conincidences that aren't.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Veal     Division of Continuing Education Information Services Group
               University of Tennessee, Knoxville
               PA146008@utkvm1.utk.edu
Newsgroups: talk.politics.guns