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The American Hunters & Shooters Association has returned. Last week they made an appearance at the annual conference of the Outdoor Writers Association of America. Taking swings at the NRA is their hook into publicity. Bob Ricker, AHSA executive director, didn't pull any punches. He came out swinging and claiming, "our hunting heritage has been destroyed by the most powerful lobby in Washington, D.C."Austin Dorr, an AHSA board member, joined in the NRA roast. "The NRA has lost its way," Dorr insisted. "It's too focused on forwarding a political agenda and not concentrating enough on things that matter to me like conservation."(Dorr fails to recognize that conservation IS a political agenda. His real complaint is that the NRA does not push his agenda. But this is a distraction.)
Proclaiming they would save America's hunting heritage with less than $500k in the bank and almost no members, they were looking for free PR. And they got it: Saving Hunters From the NRA. Update: Add BAYOU DISPATCH: Pro Gun, Anti-NRA and SHOOTS AND LADDERS.... in the Washington Monthly. One thing is readily apparent. Where the NRA is the 'gun lobby', the AHSA presents itself as the 'hunting lobby'. The AHSA has no problem with gun control as long as no one goes after 'their guns'. And actually, the individuals in the AHSA leadership have a long history of pushing gun control. That is conveniently missing from AHSA materials. Using the standards about getting guns out of the hands of criminals and saying that hunters don't need machine guns, they sound increasingly like Chuck Schumer. It is obvious that they don't consider defense of the Constitution or freedom to be anywhere in their charter. Looking at the people behind the AHSA, you can only conclude that the AHSA's real purpose is to provide a comfort zone to Democratic, gun owning voters and give gun grabbing candidates a 'hunting lobby' endorsement. They do not need to beat the NRA. They only need to confuse voters.
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