These observations are strictly personal and the responsibility of the writer David G. Coy. They are adapted from reports he gave as the Second Vice President reports at the NRA Board of Directors meetings on January 15, 2022 and May 30, 2022. The original reports are published as part of the official proceedings of these meetings.
NRA Second Vice President – Freedom and the NRA
My first recollection/awareness of a President of the United States was when I heard my grandfather talking about “Ike” in a conversation with others at a barbershop on the East Side of Detroit. I was (quietly) in the barber’s chair getting my hair cut and I was maybe five years old at the time. Since that time, I have learned substantially more about General Eisenhower’s military career in addition to the accomplishments of his presidency. And I learned that he was a sportsman and an NRA Member. As a part of this learning process, there are some quotations of his regarding freedom that I believe apply to the NRA and its membership. I share three of them here, together with some personal observations.
History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.
The NRA both individually and collectively is most certainly neither weak nor timid. We stand strong and tall both as individuals and collectively as an organization in defense of freedom. Freedom’s care is entrusted to us, and we are most certainly up to this task.
NRA members and volunteers are the tip of the spear. YOU are warriors for freedom. You all take care of freedom with every fiber of you being and purpose. Together, YOU are the NRA.
The NRA Foundation proclaims, “We Teach Freedom.”
The NRA’s Whittington Center is freedom’s playground – a haven for the safe exercise of all of the shooting sports.
The NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund supports defenders of freedom who are pursuing litigation in the defense of freedom.
The NRA Office of Development, the Freedom Action Foundation, and all their donors generously supply monetary munitions for the arsenal of freedom.
NRA three Museums showcase a proud and meaningful history of freedom.
NRA General Operations and all their volunteers teach and promote the safe and responsible exercise of freedom through the marksmanship, firearms safety, school safety and numerous other programs taught my NRA’s more than 120,000 Certified Instructors of all types.
All of these things together represent why NRA is indeed freedom’s safest place. And there’s no doubt in my mind that the NRA Board, its leadership, and all of NRA’s wonderful and dedicated employees will do everything that is humanly possible to continue to take care of freedom.
Those who oppose freedom and everything that NRA stands for and holds dear may think they have us cornered and on the ropes. They have made a grave miscalculation. We are not weak. We are not timid. We have proven that many times over the years, and we will continue to do so.
The proudest human that walks the earth is a free American citizen
All of us most certainly know these words to be true. We also know that the Second Amendment is indispensably and absolutely vital to keeping these words true. And the 2024 incarnation of “the Bolsheviks” who wish to destroy the greatest nation on earth know this.
These adversaries of freedom know that the NRA and our vigorous and unapologetic defense of the right of the people to keep and bear the private arms of our choice is a formidable roadblock to the implementation of their nefarious schemes and their efforts to subjugate all those in the USA.
This is why the enemies of freedom resort to the tactics of intimidation and thuggery. They have got nothing else. They have no reasonable arguments. They attempt to bully law-abiding gun owners into giving up.
To advance their agenda, they exploit a lack of knowledge about firearms among non-gun owners to create a climate of fear based on half-truths and outright lies. And these goons are willingly assisted by the fourth estate in creating this climate of fear. And sadly, there are more than a few people at all levels of government who look the other way when government agencies are weaponized to attack the private ownership of firearms and assault the existence of organizations such as the NRA who defend this right.
In the face of this coordinated onslaught against private ownership of any type of firearm and the freedom they defend there can be no appeasement or compromise. This is an alley fight. The antis will give us no quarter. We must do the same; no quarter.
The history of free men is never really written by chance but by choice; their choice.
The choice of the NRA has been and will continue to be to stand and fight. Facts and reason are on our side. The preservation of freedom is a just and righteous cause.
We will prevail.
Please vote for David G. Coy on your ballot in the March 2024 NRA official journal
I’m honored to be serving as your second Vice President of the Board of Directors. I humbly and respectfully ask for your support and your vote so I can continue the on-going and never-ending fight to keep and bear the arms of our personal choice. Thank you for your consideration.
Only 7 percent of eligible members vote. If you’re a fully paid NRA Life Member or you’ve been an NRA member for 5 consecutive years, then you’re an NRA voting member. You should have received the annual Board of Directors ballot in the mail, with your magazine subscription or separately. It is sent to voting members in February.
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