Andrew Cuomo is Winning

Opinion

New York/United States – -(AmmoLand.com)- When I first noted Andrew Cuomo’s efforts to misuse financial regulations against the National Rifle Association, I had hope that it would fail. I had hope that it would be like a last, desperate throw of the dice for one of the worst anti-Second Amendment extremists in the country. Furthermore, I had hope that its failure would be assured by the fact that Second Amendment supporters would unite against the abuses.

To my sorrow and anger, I was wrong.

Instead, over a year after this started, Andrew Cuomo is winning. An anti-Second Amendment extremist who has, for all intents and purposes, lost the arguments on Second Amendment issues, is now winning with an abuse of power on par with Operation Chokepoint and the IRS targeting of the Tea Party.

How?

Well, in the year since those abuses came to light when the NRA filed suit, instead of uniting against the existential threat Cuomo’s abuses against one pro-Second Amendment group posed to the entire community, far too many Second Amendment supporters have instead been fighting amongst themselves.

What was needed in the wake was a modified version of the principle of NATO: An abuse of power against one pro-Second Amendment group needed to be viewed as an abuse of power against all. Because, when it comes to abuses like Cuomo’s, someone is always the first to feel the brunt of them. And keep in mind, Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James want the NRA destroyed.

I know the NRA is not beloved by all Ammoland readers, but let me ask you all a question: Does anyone seriously think that if Cuomo successfully kills NRA Carry Guard that the United States Concealed Carry Association will be safe from similar attacks on their ability to provide services to their membership? Heck, even an ultimately unsuccessful attack on NRA Carry Guard has the potential to kill others without any action from Cuomo through a simple chilling effect on the financial services companies needed to make those ventures work.

By a similar token, if the Andrew Cuomo-Letitia James regime in New York takes down the NRA, what is to stop Jay Inslee and Bob Ferguson in Washington from killing the Second Amendment Foundation? Will GOA be safe form similar attacks, be they from Virginia’s Ralph Northam or California’s Gavin Newsom? Even NAGR, which Ammoland is no fan of, would be  at risk.

Even with its internal chaos, the NRA is the largest pro-Second Amendment organization with the most resources for this sort of fight. If the NRA can be taken down, NO PRO-SECOND AMENDENT GROUP IS SAFE FROM A SIMILAR ATTACK FROM THE LIKES OF ANDREW CUOMO AND LETITIA JAMES.

If the Cuomo-James regime succeeds in their attack, the NRA will be dissolved. The assets will be sold off at auction – likely to those with lots of money – and it could very well be Michael Bloomberg, George Soros, and/or Tom Steyer lined up to make the purchase of those assets. The collections of firearms in the NRA’s museums would be dispersed – if some weren’t just melted down on the spot. What is left would likely be used for anti-Second Amendment propaganda.

The accumulated knowledge from 1871 would also be gone. Firearms training would be drastically and negatively affected. So would competitive shooting. Cops would have it worse, too, as they’d lose the NRA as a source for training. All the good NRA does (and contrary to haters, it does a lot of good).

But the worst effect would be what would happen to the membership lists, records of donations beyond membership dues, and the names and addresses of not just those who donated, but those who volunteered. What do you think Bloomberg will do with that information when it falls into his hands?

If you think the social stigmatization is bad now, what happens when Bloomberg, Soros, or Steyer gets their mitts on that data? Imagine your neighborhood being covered in flyers listing you and other Second Amendment supporters as “domestic terrorists” – even listing how much you donated.

They won’t stop at NRA. They’ll go after any other pro-Second Amendment organization. It will be much easier to take them down as well, because those groups won’t have the size or resources the NRA had. Their membership and donation lists will be exposed, too. And do you think financial services companies will be willing to provide services to any replacement once confronted with the specter of “reputational risk” by the likes of Cuomo? The only way to stop that from happening is to save the NRA from the Cuomo-James regime.

There is enough blame to go around for everyone, in the failures to see what Cuomo would do in a combination of vindictiveness and desperation, the failure to address corporate gun control and social stigmatization, the botched execution of programs and ideas like NRA Carry Guard and NRA TV, the failure to make sacrifices necessary to winning the battle against Cuomo and James, and the whole NRA/AckMac relationship. While a housecleaning is in order and needs to happen, finger-pointing does no good at this point. First stop the bleeding, then deal with the heart failure.

The harsh reality is this: If the NRA is to be reformed, it must first survive this assault from the Cuomo-James regime. Before the survival is assured, talk of reform is academic, and those carrying it out now are just those who would be President, EVP, Executive Director, and Board of Directors of ashes. There will be a time to hold those accountable for the mess who need to be held accountable for this mess, and that must happen. However, assuring the NRA’s survival must be the first priority.

It means swallowing pride. It means putting aside grudges. It ultimately means putting aside your dislike of Wayne LaPierre and the NRA for the time being. If we do not stop the Cuomo-James regime’s effort to destroy the NRA, the haters of NRA and LaPierre will get their way, but we will lose everything.

About Harold Hutchison

Writer Harold Hutchison has more than a dozen years of experience covering military affairs, international events, U.S. politics and Second Amendment issues. Harold was consulting senior editor at Soldier of Fortune magazine and is the author of the novel Strike Group Reagan. He has also written for the Daily Caller, National Review, Patriot Post, Strategypage.com, and other national websites.