NRA uses fear to control individuals

To the editor:

There are folks I respect and among them people I call friends. They belong to the National Rifle Association and are proud and protective of the 2nd Amendment which they see as threatened by moves toward more gun control. It saddens me that these people are led, mislead and controlled by the money behind the organization to which they are so loyal.

In 1999, this statement was uttered, that it was 'reasonable to provide mandatory, instant background checks.” The speaker was none other than Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the NRA. However, in 2013 he testified to Congress that he did not support uniform background checks.

Why this change? One reason might be the $20 million to $52.6 million contributed to the NRA by Beretta, Springfield, Smith & Wesson, etc. And now any move to control guns has been whipped into the frenzied fear that, without their vigilance, government will take guns away. No mention is made of the fact that, if guns are controlled, the above entities' sales will be negatively impacted.

My friends are being controlled by fear having its roots in corporations who want bigger profits. These corporations must have an inventory surplus of silencers as silencers were included in the last Iowa gun legislation proposal.

How gripping is this fear? The confirmation of the surgeon general was fought by the NRA lobby because, though the surgeon general does not make gun policy, the surgeon general might talk about gun violence.

Anne Michael

Tama