Month: September 2009

Florida politicians have been weighing in on some very serious issues lately. They had a budget to pass with severely depressed revenues, they have severe economic problems stemming from some of the highest foreclosure rates in the nation, and they had to debate on a new state bird. Oddly enough, NRA’s name is being dragged into this fight even though they aren’t actually taking a position on it at all.

Marion Hammer, NRA board member & Florida lobbyist, is leading the charge to keep the state bird as the mockingbird. Surveys were done, school children voted, and hearings were held to determine a good state bird to better represent Florida, but Marion Hammer likes mockingbirds. Due to the rather novel and odd debate over the issue, her NRA ties are being touted as NRA throwing around legislative muscle to bully school kids who voted for the osprey. Though she tries to clarify that she is not representing NRA in the matter, her connection to NRA as their primary lobbyist on the ground in Florida, as well as a regular spokeswoman for Florida legislative issues means there is little disconnect from NRA regardless of how much she tries to claim there is.

This is a tough situation for the staff in Fairfax, and one that staff and fellow board members must deal with in just about any non-profit organization. When leaders of the organization do have personal opinions, any effort to speak out will often be tied to the organization. Ideally, these leaders will weigh the benefits and risks to using an organization’s political capital to act on the matter. The risk is only appropriate if the perceived reward is worth it.

Take another example that made headlines earlier this summer. Sandy Froman organized a letter separate from NRA asking the Senate to vote against Sotomayor, and she testified while not representing the organization. She made it clear that she was not representing the official NRA position in her testimony, but that did not stop the reports from saying that she was the former president and a current board member. On an issue such as SCOTUS appointments, the risk of wasting political capital of NRA is exceptionally high. But the reward was that a full grilling of a nominee’s position of the Second Amendment is not only appropriate, but will likely be included in every future confirmation hearing.

The Second Amendment is now relevant in a way it never was before. Though Sotomayor essentially dodged the questions and gave terrible answers when she did say anything close to substantive, it was clear that there will never be room on the Court for a nominee who is not willing to agree that the Second Amendment is an individual right. That’s a pretty big payoff. It also forced NRA’s hand into deciding how much they would tolerate for a justice before deciding to grade a vote. The staff in Fairfax may not like that very much, but it’s a conversation that reasonable people can have as we find that the courts will help define our gun laws almost as much as the legislature.

Now, the question is whether the rewards of keeping the mockingbird as Florida’s state bird is worth the risk of using any of NRA’s political capital. For that, I would suggest it is not. Let the school kids have their way.