Lawmakers have to respect NRA, positions

In response to Birgit Brun Coffman's letter (“It's time to fight back against the NRA,”, Feb. 5), it is not the 4.5 million NRA members only who help shape gun laws. It is who they represent and that is the 55 million U.S. households that have guns (over half of U.S.) households) and the 80 million people who own at least one gun. It would be great if they all were NRA members but like most organizations, the actual membership is usually far less than the number of people they actually represent.

As an example, the PTA has 6.6 million members but there are more than 55 million K-12 students. The same holds true for AARP and many others. That is why lawmakers have to respect the NRA and its positions. By the way, I am not an NRA member.

John Stratton

Cedar Rapids