It’s a question I get all the time: What happened to the National Rifle Association?

It’s a question that hunters ask all the time. First, there’s an important distinction. The problem is with the NRA's leadership, not their members. As friends of mine like to say, the NRA has a "Field and Stream" membership, but a "Soldier of Fortune" leadership.

Over the past several years, the leadership’s hard core, confrontational approach to policy has undermined our hunting heritage. I firmly believe the declining number of hunters is directly related to the unpopularity of the NRA. That’s unfortunate – and if hunting is going to be preserved in the U.S., it has to change.

The NRA used to care about hunters – and, just as importantly, about the lands on which we hunt. Now, the NRA leadership has adopted a conservative, right wing orthodoxy, that ignores the true interests of American hunters and shooters. As hunters, we care about our guns and are deeply committed to the Second Amendment, there is no question about that. But hunting is about more than guns, it's about our environment, public access, climate change and safe communities.

The "Soldier of Fortune" NRA leaders have become tools of conservative politicians who care more about raising money and fostering the right-wing agenda than hunting and shooting. Does anyone honestly think that NRA Board Member Grover Norquist cares about the needs of hunters or about public lands and public access? Hardly.

Over the years, I’ve asked – and was often asked -- who speaks for the moderate and progressive gun owners? No one has til now.

I’ve had enough. That’s why I started the American Hunters and Shooters Association. I want to take back the voice of hunters and shooters. We believe in the right of every law-abiding American to own firearms, however, unlike those who run the NRA, we believe all Americans have a civic responsibility to our communities. We also support law enforcement and keeping our families and neighborhoods safe. Most hunters gladly accept that responsibility. Of course, that’s heresy to the NRA honchos. Just think of it: a conservation, gun rights organization that is committed to keeping your communities safe. We think this is an approach that makes us all proud again.

The good news is we're making some headway. In a recent column in New West, outdoor journalist Wild Bill Schneider made his "Predictions for 2008". One of his top ten forecasts for the year was:

I couldn’t have said it better myself. And, with your help, the American Hunters and Shooters Association will reclaim our proud American hunting heritage.

This is my fourth diary on Daily Kos. A big thanks to all who have made me feel very comfortable in the community. When I told people I, as a gun owner, was going to start a diary on a progressive blog, they were skeptical. But I knew from reading this blog that there were like-minded readers who didn’t take knee-jerk reactions to guns – on either side of the spectrum.

Since I founded the American Hunters and Shooters Association (AHSA), I’ve been asked repeatedly why I wanted to start a group that would compete with the National Rifle Association. A lot has to do with the NRA leaders, with their extreme positions, claiming to represent all gun owners. They feel that everyone should have unfettered access to guns -- which goes against the majority of all gun owners. But no one from the gun rights community has been willing to take them on. As a lifelong hunter and as someone who cares deeply about the environment, I’ve long felt that the NRA leadership has chosen the power of lobbying and politics over the needs of the hunting and shooting community.

I have a profound and deep respect for the Second Amendment. And, as I wrote last week, AHSA is filing an amicus brief based on our belief that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to keep and bear arms. This stems from the challenge to the DC gun ban – the first Second Amendment case to reach the Supreme Court in almost 70 years.

I’ll put my hunting credentials up against those of NRA Executive VP Wayne LaPierre any day. I got my first gun (a .22 rifle) at age 10 and my first shotgun at 11. I still have both of them today. In addition to owning a 300-acre hunting preserve on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, I’ve hunted throughout the United States.

Now, I am on a quest to improve policies and programs for gun owners, especially of those of us who hunt and shoot and love the outdoors. I’ve had a long involvement with firearm policies. I was appointed by the Secretary of Army to assist in the transition of The Civilian Marksmanship Program to civilian control through a new private non-profit corporation. During the 90s, I served on Maryland Governor Parris Glendening’s committee on gun violence. I do think gun owners can have an important role in reducing gun violence. However, there are limits. I didn’t win any fans from the gun control advocates on that panel when I voted against their handgun licensing plan.

My wife doesn’t hunt. She doesn’t even like guns. In fact, she’s served on the board of various gun control groups, which has resulted in interesting conversations in our home. My two daughters do hunt and I know there are many female hunters and shooters. However, over the years, I’ve also learned that my family’s marital division on guns is not uncommon.

But again, I think that’s due to the negative image of guns that has been generated over the past several decades. The intransigence of the NRA leadership to engage in a discussion about making communities safer has had a detrimental effect on the hunting and shooting tradition.

It’s time to begin rebuilding respect for our hunting and shooting heritage, so I started AHSA. Over the last thirty years, our reputation has been tarnished by gun rights extremists. That negativity has to end so that our traditions don’t end. And that’s what I’ll be working on.

Thanks again for reading the posts.

As Adam B noted here on DailyKos last November, this year, for the first time in seventy years, the United States Supreme Court will examine the meaning of the Second Amendment. The case stems a challenge to Washington D.C.’s ban on private ownership of handguns and onerous restrictions on the private ownership of rifles and shotguns. Last Friday, the District of Columbia filed its brief in the case.

At the American Hunters and Shooters Assocation (AHSA), which I founded, we’ll be filing an amicus brief supporting the position that the Second Amendment provides an individual right to own firearms. That, we believe, was the original intent of the Founding Fathers. However, we also support reasonable public policies, so that all Americans can enjoy the benefits of this crucial and historic liberty.

I, like most gun owners, look forward to a resolution of this case and believe the Court will support our view. You can join me in this effort by signing our petition.

We think getting the Second Amendment clarified will allow us to focus on more important issues, such as preserving our environment and keeping guns out of the hands of terrorists and criminals. It’s time to end the political games and move forward

At AHSA, we want to solve problems, not perpetuate an endless debate.
What I’ve found is that most hunters know that their gun rights aren’t going to be taken away. Just won’t happen. The fear of government, pushed by the National Rifle Association leadership and other so-called gun rights groups, is not pervasive among real hunters. We actually work closely with state governments.

We buy our hunting licenses knowing the funds go to wildlife management and we need effective management of our public lands. The kinds of guns we can carry and the times of year we can use them to hunt are all regulated and this helps keep us safe as well as ensure that our children and their children can enjoy the same hunting experiences that we love.

Unfortunately, too much time is taken up in the debate over firearms arguing the extremes. AHSA’s legislative policy will always promote the common sense interests of hunters and shooters. And, as I’ve written here on Daily Kos, hunters are environmentalists, first and foremost.

By faithful adherence to basic Second Amendment principles, while balancing the needs of our sport and the needs of our community, AHSA will promote rational and practical firearms policies that will benefit the hunters and shooters in this country while keeping our communities safe. That’s too logical for the NRA leadership, but it works for us.