I am tired of working dead-end minimum wage (or close to it) jobs, while only being able to go to college part-time (2-3 classes a semester). This is to say nothing for my strong desire to fight for civil liberties and protect our constitutional rights, something which I'm sure many on this forum have noticed. What you're probably thinking is what I could bring to the table and what my qualifications are?
Let me start by saying that I have been a volunteer for the National Rifle Association for over a year, through their Frontlines program. With that being said, however, there hasn't been much activity with the Missouri branch of the organization, as our Second Amendment (and Article I, Section 23 rights under the Missouri Constitution) rights are fairly well respected in Missouri. In addition to being a Frontlines member, I have spent years studying gun laws and violent crime statistics, from both the United States and the world.
I have engaged in regular dialogue with my representatives and have even received phone calls from Senator Roy Blunt's aides, where we discussed the proposals for national concealed carry reciprocity; in fact, I even pointed out some potential flaws in the bill that could have backfired, namely in dealing with states which don't require a license to concealed carry, and how some of the wording of the proposed bill could have backfired on those states. Outside of gun rights work, I have letters of recommendation from my previous employers and charities I have volunteered for; plus I could probably get one from my college, given all of the volunteer work I've done for the college.
I really think that I could bring a different perspective to the National Rifle Association. I have done something that seemingly nobody else has done, in that I have analyzed laws and crime statistics within dozens of countries and analyzed the affects that those laws have had (both positive and negative) within that country. This data is incredibly valuable when defending gun rights, as the data from both other countries and the United States largely supports the National Rifle Association's position. I would be an invaluable asset in arming the NRA's civil liberties debaters, lawyers and journalists with facts from a unique perspective. While my formal writing skills could use slight improvement, I am a fairly proficient when it comes to writing.
In addition, I hope to bring a new mission to the National Rifle Association, and indeed to the United States, and that is to promote the right to bear arms around the world. We could start by working with people in other countries to form NRA branches in other countries. We also need to distance the gun rights movement from people like Alex Jones and Ted Nugent, as these people are generally perceived to be crazy (and rightly so) and they make the gun rights movement look bad. I'd even go a step further and remove the whole "left-right" dynamic of gun rights. I wrote an essay two years ago about how the National Rifle Association has been moving further to the right, and I'm not just talking about rhetoric; I am talking about campaign endorsements and donations. The NRA had previously been much more non-partisan and had send a great deal of aid to pro-gun rights Democrats, however this aid has seen a decline over the past few years.
I don't believe the NRA should to become a wing of the Republican Party. I believe the NRA should stand for our civil liberties, namely our right to bear arms, and remain non-partisan. Besides, I think we can all accept that the Republican Party (in it's current form at least) is dying, whereas the gun rights movement is coming out on top; but what good are all of the victories and public support that we have today, if we latch ourselves onto this sinking husk (the GOP) and go down with them a few decades from now? Would all of our accomplishments have been for nothing?
I believe the NRA should transform into a force to an entity that uses empirical data to completely end the gun control debate in America (and eventually the world) once in for all. Rather than focusing on winning victories against anti-gun opponents, we should focus on winning over our opponents. While many of our opponents are too far gone and oppose guns for purely emotional reasons (like Dianne Feinstein and Michael Bloomberg), I believe that most anti-Second Amendment people are merely misinformed and misguided; largely because our political/societal system promotes polarization (and hive-mind behavior) and suppresses independent thinking, but that's another topic altogether.
Anyway, I think I've gotten a bit too off-topic here. What I would like to do is work for the National Rifle Association, in any capacity, as a paid staff member. Right now I can't even afford to become a NRA member or even go to college full time. My parents make too much money for me to qualify for financial aid, but not enough money to fully fund my college education. I really want to work for the NRA and I definitely need more money to pay for college, despite working two jobs. I know that he NRA cares about their people and would do good for me, as I would do good for them, so it would be mutually beneficial. If anyone has any idea as to how I could fulfill this goal of mine, please give any advice or recommendations that you might have, I could really use it.
