NRA Needs to Show More Heart

Currently much debate over gun violence, gun registation, the second amendment of the Constitution, and fire arms in-general is dominating the public airwaves. Not surprisingly, the National Rifle Association is one of the louder voices in this debate that has been triggered by the tragic and heart-breaking multiple killings at a number locations throughout the country, including an elementary school, shopping malls, a movie theater, a military base, college campuses and public gatherings. With thousands and and thousands of members and close ties to the firearm industry, it makes sense the NRA is front and center in the debate over what steps, if any, the country should take to address the mindless slayings caused by deranged individuals.

As the debate revolves around the murder and maiming of innocent men and women, including children, it is highly-charged and emotional.  Though not a member of the NRA, I can appreciate the organization's dilemma: they feel a need to defend the second amendment and a person's right to own a firearm without restriction, yet are doing so in a climate of outrage and distress over what seems ever-increasing acts of violence. People are dieing and the overall citizenry is understandably upset and wants the country's leaders to do something - anything - about it. From a public relations perspective, this scenario places the NRA at a crossroad.

For the NRA, the challenge is how best to put forth its argument. Presently, it is falling short because it is not being sensitive or sympatheitc enough to the legitimate outrage being expressed by gun owers and non-gun owners alike over the recent gut-wrenching violence. In short, the NRA, in the form of its top leaders and leading proponents, is coming across as not caring and insensitive to the pain and anguish so many are feeling. Consequently, people are becoming as turned-off to the NRA as they are to the violence itself. The NRA and its leaders need to show more of their heart and less of their heads if they want to generate wider spread support for their position.