NRA Going spanish...

[johnharris]

[buford tune]

[SomeGuy]

[lassante]

[Anonymous]

Hey All!

I have mixed feelings on this topic.

I want folks who are not citizens and living in the states to learn the language. There is no question and no backtracking on this. But by the same token, there are literaly millions of Spanish-speaking, natural-born American citizens in Puerto Rico who deserve their 2nd amendment rights every bit as much as those of us living in the mainland. While a large percentage of Puerto Rico's population speaks English, the island's official language is Spanish, although English is required for federal government issues. Should these American citizens not have the same access to the most comprehensive firearm information available just because they speak Spanish? Also, millions of Puerto Ricans have joined several American organizations with pride: The Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and the Coast Guard. Many of them got invitations they could not refuse! So, while money may or may not be the driving issue behind the NRA providing their material in Spanish, I've always taken pride in my American citizenship, even before I could speak English!

Some may assume that this move by the NRA might be aimed at somehow getting "non-Americans" to join, and it may very well be the case. After all, few organizations out there beg for money better than the NRA, and a larger membership base would provide more funding. But it does provide millions of Spanish-speaking American citizens access to the materials, which is a good thing.

Thank you TFA for all you do!

Freddie Rivera

[bufordtune]

You know I do agree with what everone is saying about getting the more members, BUT, if we are just taking members to get members and we do not know who these people are; this could be dangerous!!
I agree that some have a hard time reading and or understanding English, BUT, that is a problem we all have in any country!!
I still say if they are legal no matter where they are from OK with me but to just let anyone in for money and membership!!!!!
Any ID that someone has will reflect on the organization that issued it. This is why the Tennessee Drivers License is not take as a form of ID in many states, but some realized it to late and to many are already out there.
Get the members but be careful, who knows maybe the middle east will be next and join.
I see to many ways that we are letting ourselves be take in by political correctness and it will hurt us in the long run!!!

[Tim Nunan]

As far as I know only U.S. citizens can legally own firearms in the USA (and perhaps some legal aliens - not sure about that). All citizens are required to have a working knowledge of English so no foreign language documentation should be required for official documents.

That said the NRA is not an official arm of the U.S. government and like any private organization will market its product the best it can for full salability. Of course most range rules are probably in English.

While I can appreciate the NRA marketing I too am disappointed that they have done so like this.

[The Pragmatist]

[wileecoyote]

I am totally against illegal immigration and I fully believe that people who move to America should learn to speak English. Having said that, the gun ban effort is a global war on our God-given rights which is fought in every country including Mexico, Spain, and dozens of other countries where Spanish is the primary language. While the NRA was originally founded in America and is primarily an American organization, there is no requirement for members to be American citizens and I am sure we have many existing members that are from other countries. Also, the foreign membership base probably offers the largest audience for future growth so it makes sense to leverage this potential and not restrict membership or participation to Americans only. I for one would be thrilled to see the NRA become a global organization with 50 million members or more!

Given the above, I believe it is totally logical and highly beneficial for the NRA to do whatever it can to spread the pro-gun word and tap new channels of support for the second amendment, not just in America but around the world as well. Since a Spanish version of the NRA website or other pro-gun materials would offer significant support in this area then I believe this concept should be fully supported by all pro-gun organizations. Would we be upset if a Spanish organization was created to support pro-gun efforts in Mexico or Spain in a manner similar to the NRA? Would we protest if fully legal US citizens that just happen to speak Spanish decided to contribute to the pro-gun cause? Keep in mind that many of these people do speak English as well, although perhaps not as fluently due to fewer years of experience or education in the language.

The illegal immigrants are the true root of the problem which most people that voted No are concerned about. They are the group which accounts for the majority of non-English-speaking residents in America. Is the NRA catering to them? I don’t think so. Spanish does not equal illegal immigrant, just like English does not equal American, and American does not equal pro-gun.

Illegal immigration is bad and people here illegally should not be given IDs, benefits, or any other services other than deportation. Legal citizens of the USA or any other country are not bad simply because they speak Spanish and this is why I believe there is no harm in the NRA publishing a website or other materials in Spanish. Hell, I wish they would publish all of the material in every language possible to help get the word out and thwart the global effort to remove our rights. My only point was to draw a distinction between Spanish speaking people and illegal immigrants. They are not the same and thus we shouldn’t boycott things just because they are Spanish, Mexican, or any other nationality. When I travel to another country I don’t want the locals to treat me like a democrat, liberal, Clinton supporter, etc. simply because I am an American or because I speak English. We should remember this and not treat Spanish or Mexicans badly since many of them are legal citizens. Hell if you go back to the early 1900s then 90% of the people in the heart of America’s biggest cities were immigrants including most of our families which came over from European countries. Just look at New York with China Town, Harlem, Little Italy, Asian Market, Irish Pubs, etc. which are still largely segmented to this day.

We will only succeed globally by growing our support base in all directions without regard to race, sex, creed, nationality, or language.

[lassante]

[The Rabbi]

I cannot understand any reason not to do it.

I do not know nor can think of any organization or any business that would accept an NRA membership card as valid identification for anything worthwhile. It is just a worthless argument. The NRA has millions of members. It is inconceivable that some of them are not convicted felons and other assorted evil doers. That isnt a reflection on the organization, merely a statement of odds.
There are millions of legal immigrants here who do speak Spanish. They represent an excellent potential market for the NRA. If they are not citizens, then their children and grandchildren are or will be. Where will these kids learn about guns? Hollywood?
People think that Hispanics represent potential votes for liberal Democrats. Nothing could be further from the truth. Immigrants in general come here to work hard and often start businesses. Anyone doing this immediately sees government intrusion, fees, licenses, and taxes making their jobs more difficult.
Further, many immigrants come from repressive governments where owning guns was not a right of citizenship. If we can associate gun ownership with the right of free citizens more, then we will have more constituents for RKBA.
Finally, the demographics of gun ownership and hunting are not promising. We are an aging bunch of mostly white Christian men (OK, I'm not ). If we do not reach out beyond traditional constituencies, we will lose the war on demographics alone.