The NRA’s house mag recently portrayed MDA jefe Shannon Watts as a 50’s hausfrau. The image was meant ironically. Or was it? The NRA recruitment ad above (which looks more like a spot for the Mormons) paints a nostalgic picture of a morally upright, two-parent, 2.4-member American family who talked instead of texted and never “forced their values upon us.” Huh? Single parents have more than tripled as a share of American households since 1960. According to singlemotherguide.com, some 12 million families in the U.S. are headed by a single parent, the majority of which (83.3%) are single mothers. If the NRA wants to remain relevant, it needs to move on from the Leave it to Beaver archetype and appeal to today’s families, blended, wired and [supposedly] dysfunctional as they are. Just sayin’ . . .

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127 COMMENTS

    • +2 RF

      Now queue all the judgmental folks who haven’t had a serious day of real controversy in their lives to get on here and give their .02.

      • I grew up with a single right wing dyed in the wool gun toting Republican mom. I spent 22 years in the military. I have probably seen more conflict and strife than a lot of people in here. I have walked into bars in the Philippines and broke up fights, had aircraft shot out from underneath me, had to go to the morgue and identify dead drunk Airmen. I have survived assignation attempts, coupe attempts, terrorist bombings, Scud attacks, and Peace Protestors who spit on my vehicle when I would drive through the main gate. I have stepped over dead bodies just to get to work in the morning. Not sure where you are directing your notions but let me explain something, I have my own opinion and my own thoughts. While I believe a lot of non gun owners are totally lost and confused, I also believe that leaving them in confusion or failing to educate them is counter productive. Not listening to their fears and concerns is a really big mistake, one that can make them vote to remove our gun rights. A lot of supposedly responsible gun owners need to stop stomping there feet and going “Boo!” to the civillians.

        • I obviously was not talking to you then, was I?

          My post was directed at the fat and angry types who live in small minded, small town USA and hate everyone different than themselves.

          These type of people tend to be very “Christian” or (insert other religion here) all while not actually having a good fundamental understanding of their religion. These are the people who will cluck and shake their head about someone having tattoos all while ignoring the fact that they themselves are obese, or alcoholics, or envious of others. When I lived in WV, I met /hoards/ of these types of people.

          I don’t know how much time you spend on these boards, but there are an awful lot of posters who say, “Respect my 2nd amendment rights and don’t touch it, but if I have my way, I’ll erode all the other rights of every group that doesn’t look and live exactly like me.”

          I am a constitutionalist, I served my country too, and the type of behavior/belief structure I outlined above turns my stomach.

          I believe in freedom with all my heart and soul – the Constitution and the amendments exemplify this for me. As such, I can’t stand folks who pick and choose from it the same as I can’t stand folks who pick and choose from holy books just to give validity to their own bigotry.

          • Well in that case I have to agree with you to a point. I still believe even if they are completely wrong, it is important that we listen and let them speak. Even a broken watch is right two times a day. I have been saying the same thing for quite a while. The biggest threat to our second amendment rights comes from gun owners. Like I said earlier, it is not what we own, the amount of ammo or how may magazines or guns we have. It is how we conduct ourselves while in possession of these items. Right now a lot of gun owners are acing like total fools and frankly, it pisses me off, because it is my gun rights they are placing in jeopardy. And no they really could give a big rats bottom about the future of the Second Amendment. All they care about is that they get to play with their toys right here and now.

        • Well, it sounds to me like we’re on the same general page then.

          I don’t need to agree with every fine point another person believes in to feel like they stand shoulder to shoulder with me as long as they believe in freedom too.

          It sounds a bit corny but it’s true.

          • When people all start speaking the same tune I get a bit aprehencive. We are citizens who own guns I certanly hope we are indivduals and not robots.

      • ….says the judgmental jackwagon who raced in to post his own little preemptive passive-aggressive remark to gin up phony controversy….

  2. Puh-leese. Why would anyone WANT to appeal to the dysfunctional society. Stick to your guns, NRA, and stand for what is right.

    • What is right is that all Americans have a natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms – no matter what kind of family they have or electronics they use or how they raise their children.

      • Separate an related point. MOST “single parent” recognize that it is not the “best way” to raise kids. That “you” (whomever the single parent might be) screwed up is not the fault of the kid. IN all things set a target that is an achievement not mediocracy.

        Defining deviancy down is the province of the libtards.

        • I am a single father. No deviancy. Think of other avenues that may lead to being a single parent before you speak.

          Death, disease does not equal deviancy.

        • Did a woman that divorced her hubby for screwing a 12 year old around the corner, or worse, marrying an ammosexual “screw up”??

        • So a woman who divorces her abusive husband so that she and the kids can have a better life “screwed up” and is a “deviant”?

          • The perversion is thinking that it is perfectly okay to impose individual morals on a populous as a whole. When we start down that road then soon we will insist that women wear berkas and that any religion or belief that does not follow ours is a prerequisite to a death sentence. Next we will start thinking that breast feeding is a perverted act. Oh wait!

      • Yes, and the group of people that hates those natural rights are also the group that eschews traditional values and hates anything to do with keeping a strong family.

        • Generally, IMHO, somebody lied. I have friends who separated after 3 kids because he was (always) gay. He was not allowed by society to acknowledge that until after marrying and having the kids. So, he lied. What did you expect? Single parents come from all rationales, all backgrounds. They should be allowed to do what is necessary to raise their children, but my tax dollars do not need to be involved.

          And, if deviancy is involved, in the huge majority of cases it is the NON-deviant parent who ends up as the single parent.

    • Mine is a Leave it to Beaver house and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. The wish, naturally, is that someday my kids have their own LITB families complete with responsible gun ownership, nightly family dinners, and involved parents helping with homework. I know it’s a longshot but I’ve got to believe.

    • Bull Dung! That’s nothing but a bunch of macho nonsense. Something I have been telling people all along. The Second Amendment is not protected. It can be amended or repealed. And if we don’t start reaching out to the “Dysfunctional” population then we are going to lose our guns. And frankly I like my guns and I plan on keeping them. So if I have to go around or through people like you to make sure that I get to keep my weapons then expect to see me in your face and shaking you around until that small pea that rattles around in your head wakes up. Right now it isn’t about how many guns we have, what kind of magazines we carry, or the type of weapon we use. It is all about attitude and how we approach the uneducated people around us. From what I see we are not doing ourselves any favors by acting like a bunch of immature 12 year olds.

      • Dude, it’s an unalienable right. It is intransient and exists whether or not the Ammendment exists. It is not for man to grant or revoke. Read the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution itself, the Federalist Papers, etc. for clarification.

        • I have read it. It and for all of its glorious sound and great thunder, it is still just a bunch of wriging on a peice of paper and it can be taken away. Don’t delude yourself into thinking that it is some sacred right that is carved in stone and untouchable. Thinking like that, that will usher our rights straight out the back door and into the dumpster. I have heard the old saying. “They can have my gun when they pri it out of my cold dead hand.” Well buddy, when they start going after our guns, the perferred method will be to hand them over, but the alternative will be to pry them out of your cold dead hand. And it will all be on the 9 o’clock news and they will not be herolding you as a defendor of the Constitution but as a criminal and a threat to the peaceful people of the nation. Nothing and I mean nothing is sacred if you think for one moment that we can’t lose our gun rights then you are not part of the solution but part of the problem. .

        • Thomas, you are correct. If the time ever comes, those who show up for the party will decide what means what. There will be zero grabbers, their mercenaries will fold quickly if challenged, the question is whether they will be challenged. I have seen and heard lots of chest-thumping promises, mostly disappearing with the least effort, never mind risk, involved. We will see, I’m afraid.

    • Ya know what? Even when there are both parents, it is a disfunctunal mess. Becasue they are both working and both ignoring thier children.

      • Yeah but if you talk about the problems we have here in America then someone is bound to jump up and call you anti-American or labeled ‘You hate America’.

        • Then call me Don Quijote, put a piss pot on my head and I’ll ride out on my broken down horse and joust with wind mills. If you don’t stand up, expect to fall. If you think it is a lost cause, then pack up your guns, take them to the nearest police station and turn them in. You have already lost. They are your guns, and if you don’t speak up and speak out, expect to lose them. Believe me the anti gun faction is not going to lobby to keep your rights. This, “I have my guns, I don’t care what happens to the next generation.” attitude is starting to piss me off. We need to start thinking a hell of a lot smarter than we have been if we plan on keeping our second amendment rights.

      • Robert, I so wish I could get you to swallow or at least consider a Red Pill.

        Those blues you’re taking every day have got to be killing you.

      • RF,

        I get your point and agree with you up to a point. But if we think that the American family can continue to be destroyed and the 2A (or indeed any of the other 9) can be preserved, then I’d encourage you to go visit the sections of the USA where the family has already been obliterated and see how the BoR is faring. I don’t recommend visiting after dark.

        • The family is undergoing a radical transformation, triggered by two unprecedented developments.

          1. DNA testing – Paternity tests – once difficult and expensive – have gone mainstream. They’re now simple and cheap. A woman can now have multiple biological fathers for multiple children and tie each to the financial support of the relevant child or children. That pattern’s a new way of gathering resources, usually – but hardly exclusively – at the lower end of the economic strata. Whether or not the lack of social stigma for a woman with multiple “baby daddies” came before or after the DNA sampling technology doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new ballgame.

          2. Viagra – And now the ballgame’s going into extra innings. “Erectile dysfunction” is (was?) mother nature’s way of stopping men from reproducing, conserving their resources for existing children and taking these men out of the gene pool. They’re baaaaaack! And so you see men having not one not two but three families, the later ones late in life.

          We can argue about the morality of all this but why bother? The fact of the matter is that the blended family is ascendent. The nuclear family is not dead. It is, after all, a successful genetic strategy. But holding it up as the ultimate indeed best path for society is to ignore the fact – fact – that there are new, successful alternatives. And trumpeting it as “the way” alienates those who don’t fit the template.

          More to the point, ALL people have a natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, regardless of their family structure or lack thereof. In that we are all equal. And should be treated as such by any organization that realizes the truth about guns.

        • RF,

          You are begging the question to call the broken family “successful.” If we won’t discuss morality (or families) as a people, then we simply won’t have a Republic much longer.

          Again, I encourage you to visit the parts of the US where broken homes predominate and let us know how the BoR is faring in those places. I seem to recall one of them on the news lately. Something about a riot, if I recall.

  4. According to singlemotherguide.com, some 12 million families in the U.S. are headed by a single parent, the majority of which (83.3%) are single mothers.

    No wonder we’re going down the drain.

  6. The key to NRA’s success moving forward will indeed be this: diversity.

    It needs more than one token black man with a blog. It needs to bring groups of diverse individuals together for its meetings, shows, et cetera.

    Its important than everyone take part in enjoying the Second Amendment.

    Hell, even this white guy knows- if it looks like the party of old white guys, that’s what it will remain. Old white guys.

    There’s no luster for the new generation to join if its a house divided.

    The Second Amendment spans all ethnicities. Its important that we strive for, and relay, this.

      • Comedian Wanda Sykes once said:

        “The United States of America. A country founded by white slave owners who wanted to be free.”

        Wanda Sykes was once employed by the NSA.

      • @ Ralph- agreed!

        But you’ve missed the point, Sir. It’s going to take more than just US to keep 2A alive and well.

        If anything, a complete lack of diversity in the NRA will fuel the anti-gunner’s agenda. Let’s just say its current image isn’t pushing as hard as it could.

        • The NRA can’t make itself “diverse.” Any appeal that the NRA might have to minority groups is completely outweighed by the anti-gun, pro-Democrat propaganda forces within their own communities. Don’t blame the NRA for that.

          The NRA has (IIRC) nine black board members. Compare the NRA’s record to any single-issue advocacy group around and you will find that the NRA is well ahead of the curve.

      • And old white guys and gals fund run and administer every philanthropic group from the NRA to the ACLU to your local museum hospitals and library’s and everything in between.

        Thank god for old white people.

        • You know, brenton… here we are trying to think of better ways to gain further support for our God-given Second Amendment.

          Here’s your response: white people are good, white people are good.

          Can you tighten up that thinkin’ cap just a bit?

        • I accept the push back. But the people that have the most time and money to be involved in and run just about any Org you can name are older and whiter on average.

          It is what it is for the time being.

  7. Understood. However, one could easily suggest that you change your “natural, civil, constitutionally protected” approach, in order to appeal to those who are not convinced that we have rights based on something other than a politician’s whim.

    Clearly, the historical family unit is the ideal for the health and well being of the progeny generation. NRA is simply sticking and appealing to that ideal, as TTAG sticks to the inflexible (justifiably!) assertion that we have a natural, civil, constitutional right to KBA, and that ZERO infringement is tolerable.

    Or…what Peter said!

    • This. Not a child from a single parent household, myself, but this is how I run my household. This from a married YSBG (young skinny brown guy) with a kid.

      What I can’t fathom is the offense at being considered a woman that can cook, clean, and raise (really raise) children and manage a household. That’s a compliment. Even more so if doing it alone. Not ideal, but admirable. We have plenty of adult-age people in this country, not as many actual real men and women.

  8. The NRA has always been slow to catch up to the rest of us. They took forever to catch up to the fact that the AR-15 was a really popular rifle and that most of us were kinda pixxed about the AWB stupidity.

  9. RF you are so right. I really want to give money to an organization that hates traditional values and everything that shaped our country. Bring on those transgender lesbian Islamic baby killing doctors to relace Wayne !! Maybe have them smoke some dope to connect with the young crowd !! And get a porn star to replace Chris Cox at the ILA. He has a porn star sounding name anyway. Wow here is an idea ! Al Sharpton could help us out with those minority folks too. !!!!

      • This would be opposed to the Dope Smoking Vietnam vets or the red neck wife beaters? So okay he only has to beat her ever so often just to keep her in line. I just happen to know a Vietnam Vet who carries a Medical Marajuana card, a CCW card and a Disabled Vet card that states that he is mentally disabled. BUt hey he is an outstanding member of the NRA. So is the red neck that beats up on his wife, well make that ex wife. Actually she is the NRA member she also got most of the guns in the divorce.

  10. I pay the nra to fight for the second amendment if the most effective way to get more support is to appeal to single mom’s than that is what they need to do. We must remember that that is the single most important thing is the fight for our rights. Solving the(perceived?) moral breakdown is not the NRAs job we must keep the focus. on guns and the second amendment

    • So now a single ad is going to derail the NRA and drive them into overnight obscurity? Doubt it. Just look at MDA/MAIG/Everytown.

  11. Good points. I’d love to be a fly on the wall during NRA P/R meetings. sometimes they seem to do smart things, other times they do brain dead stuff. We also need to stay on message, the NRA is not about “traditional values” marriage, gays vs. hetero, healthcare, a chicken in every pot, whatever. It’s about the Second Amendment and those specific natural and civil rights.

    • While I agree for the most part, they also need to avoid hypocrisy. The message should be uniform so far as “the government needs to leave our rights and freedoms alone. All of them.” This message contradicts some others being pushed here, as in who marries who is not the government’s business, nor is what happens between a woman and her doctor. ALL freedoms, this country is about freedom, not government control over every facet of our lives. In both directions, an organization which is all fanatic about enforcement of one freedom while nonchalant about maintaining another simply loses all credibility concerning either. While not the NRA’s focus, other freedoms need to be left alone by them, if all they do is refuse to take a position, “let’s discuss 2A/RKBA.” and drop it. IOW, just don’t shoot yourself in the foot by attacking someone else’s freedom and encouraging legislative interference in someone else’s life.

  12. If traditional parents are the “best part” of the NRA, everyone else must be somehow less worthy. All members are worthy of constant requests for more contributions, though. And those contributions go to…ads like this.

    NRA leaders, if you’re listening–and you’re probably not–please keep the focus on promoting gun rights.

    • The NRA lost sight a long time ago. Today I had 4e-mails from them for wine club, holster sale etc…
      2 regular mail renewing my nd my sons membership . Only problem is both life members. More money is spent to raise money for fundraising crap than spent on protection of rights. Happens @ least 30 times a year. I asked for a finacial statement of what went where last year, I was told it’s confidential & I did not need it and by the way while your on the phone would you like to renew your membership or donate to the ILA.

      • Call the number on the back of your NRA card and tell them to stop sending request for donations, simple as that. The NRA operates off membership dues & donations from their members not from the Govts money tit. Remember that the next time you piss & moan about the NRA wanting a $25 donation to defend our 2A rights.

        • He’s right, all you have to do is call the number, then write them, then threaten them and it only took two years to finally get the NRA to stop sending me junk mail. Well, mostly.

        • I have no idea where an “NRA card” might be, I imagine they sent me one since I’m 2 steps beyond Life (don’t even know what that is anymore, Benefactor? Endowment? something like that) but it does seem every nickel I’ve sent them has been converted into postage to send me requests for more money. I did get them to stop calling. Of course, now that I think of it, I don’t answer the phone for numbers I’m not familiar with any more, that might have something to do with it.

          • You can call a thousand times you still get the mailings. They outsource them all. I have personally called 15-20 times in the last 3 years & they say sure no problem then ask for a donation before you get off the phone.

  14. I think Robert is missing the point here, they are talking about heroes and heroes are rare. Obviously this is striking a nerve because there is good portion of people out there who are single parents but they are spot on, the GOOD GUYS are the parents that stick through the good and the bad to ensure their children grow up with the best chance of success. It may be common these days to hook up, have a kid and split the responsibility every other week but it is not right and more often than not leads to failure.

    People who choose to bring a child into this world have a responsibility to put that child on top of any other priorities they have. A child needs the balance of a mom AND a dad, a child also NEEDS a mom and a dad not friends who “created” them.

    Parenting is the hardest thing I have ever done and I have faced many challenges, it has been a huge hurdle in a happy marriage but as a product of single family household I realize the importance of making it work. Our country is failing because we have kids making kids, we have moms that prefer to be at the bar then make dinner, dads who cut out and start new families when things get to rough. As I said before these people often create kids that will fail, breed, and repeat the cycle of failure until it is considered the norm.

    So those that stick it out, are there for their kids, help in good times and bad times, skip going to a concert to help with homework, turn off a football game to find out how their kids day was, sacrifice a good day of drinking and fishing to teach their kids to fish, sing their kids a good night song, put family first. These people truly are heroes. I am sure there are single parents out there that do a damn good job. Make sure their kids go to college become successful, sure you’re a hero too I guess…but in the grand scheme of things single parent heroes seem to be rare

    • +2.

      RF, I get that sometimes you have a bone to pick with NRA, SAF, NSA, CIA, etc etc.
      All good and your bbq, here of course…

      But, to be fair- since you asked- No, I did not see or hear one single reference to “single parenthood” here.

      I heard reference to positive values, that could be and are applied by many single parents, gay parents, black parents, liberal parents- of self-reliance, hard work, individual responsiblility, sticking by your family in hard times, no matter what your definition of “family” is, those values are good and needed.

      To cherry pick one possible interpretation, seems off point, maybe even a strawman- again- your bbq.

      All in all, I am finding these NRA videos very well done, inspirational, and like the success of more traditional value movies at the box office lately, that are appealing to traditional American values- its something that Americans want more of, and I applaud the NRA for getting some good help to produce them.

      As the late, great Andrew Breitbart observed- you can’t change the politics, until you change the culture.

      And the NRA may not be doing it perfectly, but IMHO, the effort they are putting into apprealing to women, blacks, gays, and the miliitary, is EXACTLY what is needed, if they want to counter the false narrative that the NRA is all about the FUDDs and OFWGs you would expect, based on whining COD boys and trolls who dont know the NRAs long history…

      sometimes I wonder why we 2A rights folk spend so much time in Circular Firing Squads.

  15. I honestly don’t get any kind of dig against single parents from this spot, or any other kind of family unit for that matter. It’s not particularly effective at the goal of convincing people to join, but that’s about it. If you want to get upset with them, it should probably be for hiring whatever rubbish ad agency they used to produce that spot.

  16. How should any organization appeal to the harried, overworked underpaid single mom?

    Having a gun isn’t going to fix the brakes on the car, feed the kids or miraculously change a jerky boss into an angel (maybe).

    How would that mom find the time or money to support the NRA?

    The NRA is going to appeal to the most people with time and money — family types.

    You can’t get blood (money) from a turnip.

    • The NRA should be trying to get money from any and everybody, including single mothers.

      It’s not about how much income one specific demographic earns. It needs to be about getting their share from ALL target markets, infiltrating ALL possible demographics.

      In about 50 or 100 years from now, America will- again, WILL- be even more diverse than it is now.

      NRA still stands out in most people’s minds as a bunch of silver-haired white guys with glossy Winchesters. That must be modified if it’s going to rally strong for us pro Second Amendment folks.

      Hell, I applaud NRA for trying to gain support from single moms. Now what about all of the other potential markets out there to gain $$ from?

      An organization is only as powerful as the markets it captures and the income it brings in. It needs to grow year over year, or else the growth slows, or it even potentially loses market share.

      • The NRA has nine black board members. I’d say that the NRA is more diverse in that regard than any other single-issue advocacy group.

        As for its OFWG image, that’s only because OFWGs seem to be the ones who care the most. If non-OFWGs don’t care about gun rights — which unfortunately they mostly don’t — then they won’t join.

  17. Single mothers by all rights should be the number one consumer of guns, ammo and training.

    You have no man in the house. You have kids to watch after. You most likely have one or two lunatic ex’s or a jaded baby daddy.

    If there was ever a duh gun owner it’s a single mother.

  18. You know, since everybody’s getting all butthurt over the ad, I’d like to point out that NOWHERE IN THE AD did I see expressed in it that two parents who parted ways (or died, or whatever) were incapable of jointly being good parents to the children they brought into the world. Visitation without revenge? And what about traditional two-parent families where one parent is deployed frequently? Or who works the night shift and only sees their child on weekends?

    Assuming makes… well, you all know the rest.

  19. 12 million single parent families? Ok…so this video is relevant to about 85% of US families…

    …but wait…this isn’t talking about single parents, it is talking about deadbeat parents. You know…the one’s who are never there for their children, who are SPECIFICALLY mentioned in the video. This video could apply every bit as much to a single mom or dad who takes an active role in their child’s life as it does to a traditional, two parent household. It praises being a GOOD parent, and at no point does it deride being a single parent, in any way. You are making that up.

    • Great observation.

      But witness how quick our resident white knights are to come to the rescue of those poor, disadvantaged, abandoned, did-everything-right-just-had-bad-luck single moms?

      That’s just the feminist imperative, doing its dirty work in the perception of the masses.

      • I grew up with just a single mom. She worked her ass off, got into real-estate, went from worrying about how to keep the lights on in the house to a million dollar bank account. She is a died in the wool hard core republican. She raised three children on her own, put herself through collage, became a writer and speaking for my self I think she did a damn good job. She also did it without having to rely on food stamps or going on welfare. By the way she is probably one of the best shots with a rifle I have ever seen. She took a dollar bill and a .22 Walthers rifle went to the local Turkey shoot and shot out the center x. One of the shooters there thought she was just lucky. And when he challenged her on it, she told him she only had the one dollar. He put up the next five dollars and she came home with six turkeys. I went into the military and made it a career out of it. I have carried a gun for more than 40 years. As a kid I spent a lot of time exploring the desert and she insisted that I carry a gun when I went. We all had to pitch in to make things work. I bussed tables, washed dishes and mowed lawns. But I never felt the need to pick up a gun and rob a store or to settle a dispute with a gun. Hell I can remember getting in a fight with a kid while I was wearing my pistol, I never thought about pulling it out and shooting him, all I wanted to do was fatten his lip. Besides, my single mom would have let me rot behind bars for doing something stupid like that.

        • You are very lucky to have had a truly great Mom who defied the odds.

          Unfortunately happy uplifting anecdotal stories don’t trump a mountain of data that proves: Most single moms fall far short of competent & of being “innocent victims” who find themselves alone due to no fault of their own.

          • I don’t know, it must be the people I hang out with. The single parents I know vary in life styles and financial situations but none of them are afraid of guns or afraid to teach their children responsible gun handling. I have a step daughter that got off on the wrong foot and has had to pull herself up by her boot straps and put her life back together. Frankly I would trust my back to her in a fire fight, and I don’t say that about just anyone.

        • Mina, I doubt that, and notice you didn’t provide a reference. I bet you’d find (I don’t have a reference either) that single parents are far more likely to fail miserably than parents who share the job, but that the great majority of them are still far more than adequate, and working their butts off to do better. Claiming that MOST are inadequate I have not seen, nor do I believe. My mom was a single parent from the time her kids were 14 and 15, never prepared for such a situation, but jumped right in and made it work, including supporting my brother and myself until we graduated from college debt-free. The slimeball doper single parent is the exception, though there are still too many of them.

        • Single parenthood is an enormously politicized issue. If you were paying attention during the Ferguson riots, you saw some people pointing out how political correctness, and family dysfunction have increased under Progressivism v2.0, and were being covered up, deliberately, by those using the chaos to push their own agenda, instead of the obvious truths that led to multi-generations of youths like Michael Brown.

          2A rights are the canary in the coal mine of individual rights vs State Tyrranny.

          Here’s a good start to understand the effects of political correctness and Progressive policy, ie State Tyrrany, on family issues:

          http://www.city-journal.org/html/15_3_black_family.html

  20. The more these old White male conservatives keep going further and further to the extreme reactionary right, the more you push away younger generations, including the rapidly-growing non-white demographics. The less people can link racism, homophobia, and religious extremism to the 2A, the better we can defend our rights. Right now, the stereotype of gun owners being racist, backwards old white men isn’t too far off the mark. Just look at almost any “general discussion” section of most firearm boards. It’s absolutely disgusting and only serves to drive away potential gun owners.

    • If millennials and immigrants don’t care about their rights, then there’s no way to motivate them. And unfortunately, they don’t.

      • Some times I wonder if some of the more radical posters are not working for the other side. Hey wake up. It is our guns, if we don’t start reaching out to the community and convince the public we are not a bunch of gun toting yahoos and spouting “Screw you.” we are doing noting but folding up the second amendment and flying it out the window. If we keep on the track we are going, we are going to do nothing but convince the majority of the public we are irresponsible and incapable of acting in a mature manner.

        • Not for the other side, but against government of any kind – anarchists. At least that’s my hunch. Most of the time it’s liberal/democratic causes that these folk infiltrate to stir up trouble. But with the conservative backlash against law enforcement, they have found a new group sympathetic to their rhetoric.

    • I agree with Grindstone, and his comment does not even hint at racism to me. The kind of reactionary people he is talking about are the reason I am not a member of the VFW. When I came home from Vietnam, the members at that time were not interested in the new warriors, just us WWII guys, we’re the only real VFW, I suspect the organization will die with the last WWII vets, and good riddance. NRA needs to make sure they are not in the same boat.

  22. Say, I got an idea! How about the NRA bashers join and run for a seat at the table.. Change from within, instead of bitch at the window… If we lose the NRA, that will create a pretty big void for Bloomberg to cheer about… At your expense…

  23. and to the bottom line…………………….

    I very much like the NRA commercials. They have ensured that I will stop fooling around with yearly dues and send in my Life membership application.

    I am not sure what the problem is between TTAG and the NRA nor do iIcare because it really is none of my business.

    But I do support the NRA and am beginning to realize that the NRA supports me in return.

    Everything in these commercials, every single thing, are ideals and principles that I believe in and have spent the better part of my life supporting and fighting for.

    • Well said. I too don’t understand some of the bitterness of anti-NRA comments here, but I certainly appreciate that people speak up, and I respect their right to an opinion.

      We 2A rights believers have much more in common to agree on than to fight over. Like the signature like on Gene Hoffmans posts at Calguns, “Never ever choose not to be a member of the NRA”

      (in spite of his own disagreements in past, and given his current position as head of CalGunsFoundation, and CEO of multiple other successful business endeavors- I pay attention to what Gene writes)

      I appreciate that RF tees up articles with some “edge”- to stimulate the conversation, and I appreciate the lack of political correctness here, that only gets in the way of the Truth, too often.

      No organization is perfect, and I am NOT defending the NRA.

      But I know that if you want to change something, you have to get involved. Sometimes its best to do that from the inside, but it takes time. Another way is from the outside.

      And I’d suggest that to some extent- TTAG is a foil, a counter- a resource as a sounding board, a collection of ideas and voices that the NRA might be missing- and I’d like to think they were paying attention, post Sandy Hook- as I noticed that the calls for more younger, diverse role models, here at TTAG and elsewhere, were answered.

      Many tools in the tool box.

  24. For the haters, is that not a “natural, civil, constitutionally protected” right to be a single parent? Where in the Constitution is it prohibited to be a single parent?

    • For the trolls; You have a right to be as much of an idiot as you wish. Most (NOT ALL) single parents are in their particular boat because of poor life choices. You have a right to make poor life choices. Just don’t expect me to endorse them or pretend that they’re normal and/or good.

        • Pretty damn good, boss. Especially since I’m a millenial and see Beaver Cleaverville as a great place to be.

          • Me I grew up with Spanky and our Gang. Beavervill has always been a fantasy world. Where all the problems could be solved in a half hour, with only a short interlude while the sponsor tried to sell us Fig Newton’s from Nabisco. No wait that was “Sky King.” Suffice it to say that you can always be perfect when the writer can dictate the outcome of the good, bad and the ugly. Beavervill doesn’t exist, never did never will.

      • Exactly right. Also notice should you dare criticize single motherhood, you risk the wrath of everyone calling you a dirtbag. Not let’s look at the data, nor let’s understand your position. Just “you’re a dirtbag for hating on women.”

        Simply proving once again, that a real lot of people are buying into the notion that everything a woman does, thinks or feels is beyond reproach, examination or critique. Which was exactly the basis of the response to the referred NRA article about Shannon of MDA.

        All of which proves what I have said and continue to say: The accusation of misogyny exists in order to prevent any spotlight being placed on the actions and intent of women, no matter the topic. This is the feminist imperative.

        • Having grown up the only male in a household of women I can tell you that they are fallible and reproachful. Having heard “Men only want one thing.” for most of my young life I finally asked “What would that be? A family, a home, children, a mate?” then of course I got the “You just don’t understand.” Then I said, “I have been sitting here listing to the hens for 14 years. And from the sound of it, there is only one thing a woman wants and it sound a lot like what men want.” I suppose on that day I became one of them, no longer a sexless child void of gender. Having said this, I can tell you that this is a two way street. If women are at fault, then so are men. If women are stranded with children where is the man in all of this? If you are asking that there not be double standards then by all means step up and take your dose of blame. Don’t simply point a finger at the woman and say, “It is all her fault.” Although it does happen, for the biggest part, most women don’t get pregnant all by themselves. You had a part in the marriage, you had a part in the children, and you had a part in the events that led up to the divorce. So don’t give me the “Women are evil.” sermon. It don’t wash and for the most part when you sing that particular song it comes out like the crying of a little boy who had his toys taken away. Shut up, and man up.

        • @Thomas: The more you talk, the more you prove my point. Thank you!

          Indoctrination of both men and women into the feminist imperative cause this exact sort of defense of people based on their “class”: They are women, they are black, they are under-privileged, etc.

          So, to deflect any critique of the make-up of their character just Call Racism, Call Misogyny, Call Classism and suddenly this person is a victim solely of discrimination & immediately all scrutiny of their character is summarily dismissed.

          I couldn’t have described it better than for you to provide the perfect example of how the culture of misplaced moral superiority causes the decay of our society. Thanks again.

          • Mina. You will notice I never threw down the race card, never called anyone a bigot or said they were being intolerant. What I did say, and obviously you ignored was at the very end of the post. Maybe I didn’t make it clear enough so let me see if I can clarify it. It is called taking personal responsibility. You seem to be twisting and squirming in an attempt to avoid any fault and applying every effort to blame women for all the worlds problems. Not sure if you grew up a bottle fed baby or if your mother wouldn’t let you have the little red Radio Flyer. Maybe you got turned down for the senior prom by Mary lee Rotten Crotch. But what ever it is, your really need to get over it.

      • Most (NOT ALL) single parents are in their particular boat because of poor life choices.

        Bunk. A huge number of single parents are where they are because of someone else’s poor life choices. Gives them a tough row to hoe, yes, but is not cause for you or I to rag on them in addition.

  25. The great majority of single mothers are feminists who married Beta providers to get the sperm, then exit the boring marriage w/ cash & prizes.

    They look to the state as providers and provisioners for themselves & their children. They pull the lever for “Democrat” and most are Progressives, Socialists, Leftists.

    More than 95% of the single mother demographic is unreachable by the NRA, they are wise to ignore them.

    • Clearly, Mina, you don’t know many single moms. And perhaps you’ve taken too much of that red pill/blue pill nonsense.

      • In contrast the problem is too much blue pill / feminist dogma being believed by people who should know better.

        • Supposedly the personal attacks are supposed to being filtered out but Since they aren’t :

          Hey Thomas – Remember, you ignorant ass, first one to throw out insults loses.

          Enjoy your day.

          • I have had to thread the eye of the needle more than once when it came to understanding a situation. And seldom have I found one common denominator when it comes to domestic conflicts. I suppose if you approach conflict like a fire you can take away one element and the fire will go out. Unfortunately that doesn’t work when you are talking about people. If one group is not willing to accept their contribution to the conflict it will never end. Which is quite obvious when it comes to the never ending love hate relationship between men and women. So for you if it is all about winning or losing. Fine, you win.

    • Mina, the people you describe do exist. Claiming they are a majority of anything is just stupid. Post us some references, here.

  26. I’m a NRA member and I watch a lot of TV and listen to radio (talk and music). I don’t think the NRA ads help or hurt. I only see NRA ads when I pull up TTAG. Gun ads are nearly as rare as cigarette ads and I believe the latter have been made illegal for TV. I’ve seen Glock and the Henry repeating rifle ads on TV, but nothing else and no NRA – so no harm done.

  27. Did I miss the part in the ad where it said “two parents”? I just heard her say parents, plural. I took it to mean all the parents out there who respect liberty and freedom, whether single parents or not.

  28. There’s nothing wrong with the values espoused in this ad (quite the contrary, IMHO), but they have nothing to do with the second amendment or the NRA. This is an utter failure as an advertisement, and a waste of time and money that could have been put to much better use.

  29. Wife is a sub teacher and areas that are rural, conservative, have nuclear families and a strong sense of community have the best learning environment for the kids. She has taught in a lot of different social and racial environments.

  30. The problem with the NRA is that it’s bloated, risk averse and out of touch with new shooters (they’ve made efforts with Colion Noir and the like but man I can’t sit through that show). They’ve gotten too comfortable on the top while smaller orgs like Calguns, SAF (Gottlieb’s brush with Toomey-Manchin aside) and GOA are fighting on the legal front lines in pro-control states and DC and actually getting shit done. The NRA and its leadership are gradually becoming irrelevant and too easily targeted politically as part of the supposedly monolithic “corporate gun lobby” that all the lefties ceaselessly froth about while the less publically known orgs slip pretty handily under their radar. That is useful in of itself, but I can’t see that as working out well long term for the NRA.

  31. Gonna have to disagree with RF on this one. Accepting mediocrity and dysfunctional parenting/ family values as the new normal is not a recipe for the strengthening of society. I have worked real hard and swallowed a lot of pride to achieve a LITB family. I still have my 2A rights intact and will go down fighting for all that. Just sayin’…..

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