Found: One Troll

Saturday afternoon bloggers had a chance to sit and chat with several leaders of state-level organizations. It was a great opportunity for us to learn what exactly they do, what challenges each organization is facing, and where they see themselves in the future. On the panel were Landis Aden, president of the Arizona State Rifle and Pistol Association, Daniel Pehrson, founder of the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association, and a fellow from the California Rifle and Pistol Association^[1]. ASRPA and CRPA are both traditional NRA-affiliated state-level organizations, while PAFOA began in 2006 as a discussion board which has since branched into other areas of political action and new media.

One of the interesting contrasts between the traditional associations and PAFOA was that both organizations reported difficulty in reaching new members, while PAFOA signs up approximately 1000 new members per month. However, there is no fee associated with an account at PAFOA, whereas membership in the other orgs costs ~$20 per year. PAFOA has been working with established gun-rights organizations in Pennsylvania to harness the potential for activism from its members. As Daniel related at the forum, if you can send a message that reaches 100,000 people, if even 0.01% of the recipients call their representatives you can affect significant policy changes.

ASRPA’s situation was of particular concern to me, as a member. There are currently only about 1700 ASRPA members and they are aging rapidly. ASRPA made a step into the new century last year when they significantly overhauled their website, but partly due to the lack of an internet-savvy core of members they are not reaching as many young shooters as they would like. I want to encourage everyone in Arizona who loves liberty and the Second Amendment to join the ASRPA. As Arizona grows we are attracting transplants from California, New York, Illinois, and other less-than-free jurisdictions. We’re going to have a fight ahead of us to keep a culture of individual freedom and individual responsibility alive in Arizona and we need to be as strong as possible now rather than later. I encourage everyone to join and contribute to state-level organizations because these are the folks fighting the battles at home so that the NRA can focus its attention on the big fights.

Another state-level org in Arizona worth looking at is the Arizona Citizens Defense League. Their legislative alerts list can help you keep up-to-date on the progress of pro-gun and other pro-rights bills in the Arizona legislature. AzCDL has an impressive list of legislative accomplishments.

1. I can’t recall his name, and CRPA doesn’t have their officers listed on their website [↩]