This is directly related to my earlier post about the Brady Campaign's apparent surrender on the issue of whether or not the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a "collective" one, but the point is one I believe worthy of its own post.
Indefatigable gun rights advocate and Constitutional scholar David Hardy pointed out in a comment responding to my earlier post that this retreat on the Brady Campaign's part isn't likely to do much to rally support for forcible citizen disarmament.
Wonder how Brady is going to fundraise now. I doubt anyone gave to them in hopes of getting, oh, one gun a month or private sale background checks, and then going home. The draw for contributors was that after those things they'd move on to more, and more, and more.I hadn't considered that, but it's a compelling argument. It's also not as if they're in a very good spot to weather a cash flow bottleneck.
Mr. Hardy goes into more detail here.
Leaving aside whether those would pass muster ... how does the Brady Campaign hope to survive on them? I'd wager that a LOT of its contributors give only because they believe those are stepping stones to things more significant, a "good start" rather than an end. If they faced a reality in which everything would stop with background checks, an AW ban, and one gun a month -- that they'd never get beyond that -- they might well bail out.I would love to see what the VPC has to say about Helmke's new position--I certainly don't think Tom Diaz would like it.
Diaz is known for his public policy stances that eschew the incremental political approach taken by others in the gun control community, such as Americans for Gun Safety and the American Hunters and Shooters Association.Potential trouble in gun banner paradise?
Stumble it!
2 comments:
I don't think any appreciable amount of their funding comes from member donations anyway.
Most of their funding comes from the Joyce Foundation and other deep pocketed organizations that will never stop because that's simply what they do. They aren't going to change their worldview and goals just because of a minor little detail like public opinion or a court ruling.
David may be right about individual contributions, but I really don't see that having a huge impact on their operations.
That's a valid point, too, Sailor--but if their retreat hurts even their ability to maintain the illusion of grassroots support, it's good news for us.
Post a Comment