Cheers to you, sir.
I guess the disgust with the defeat of even modest gun reform in the Senate, where a background checks bill went down to defeat on Wednesday, has spread beyond the Twittersphere (and 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and Newtown, and Gabby Giffords) … Adolphus “August” Busch, scion of the famous beer family, and a longtime supporter of the NRA, has quit the organization over its extremist position on background checks.
He released an epic resignation letter to St. Louis TV station KDSK, writing:
“…One only has to ask why the NRA reversed its original position on background checks. Was it not the NRA position to support background checks when Mr. LaPierre himself stated in 1999 that NRA saw checks as ‘reasonable’?”
“…I fail to see how the NRA can disregard the overwhelming will of its members who see background checks as reasonable,” Busch writes.
And he added:
“I am simply unable to comprehend how assault weapons and large capacity magazines have a role in your vision,” he said. “The NRA I see today has undermined the values upon which it was established. Your current strategic focus clearly places priority on the needs of gun and ammunition manufacturers while disregarding the opinions of your 4 million individual members.”
“One only has to look at the makeup of the 75-member board of directors, dominated by manufacturing interests, to confirm my point. The NRA appears to have evolved into the lobby for gun and ammunition manufacturers rather than gun owners.”
… before directing the organization to “immediately” remove his name from its membership roles.
The letter was addressed to RA President David Keene.
So will gun extremists from the hinterlands stop drinking Anheuser-Busch beers? Will gun safety advocatesstart? If so, Bud may have just bumped up its appeal to 90 percent of the U.S. population. So cheers to you, August. A nice, cold Bud Light is suddenly sounding like an awesome idea.
You can read the full letter here.
Via my ol’ blogging colleague, Joy Reid.
