I was extremely disappointed by your editorial cartoon linking NRA members with Nazis. While the 5 million dues-paying members of the NRA certainly have a variety of political opinions, the organization as a whole is focused on protecting the rights of everyone to have effective means of self defense.
Many laws restricting firearms rights were introduced after the Civil War as a means of controlling the black population and the NRA has fought to remove them. During the early '60s, black Americans formed NRA clubs and purchased firearms through the Civilian Marksmanship Program. An example is Robert Williams' Black Armed Guard which drove off a KKK attack on the NAACP leader in Monroe, N.C., with rifle fire.
The NRA is a single-issue civil rights organization. In other areas they do not take a position. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action supported Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada, a liberal Democrat, because he opposed laws restricting gun rights. Similarly the ACLU has defended the free-speech rights of some very offensive organizations, because they realize that everyone has rights.
We can't control who wears an NRA ball cap, but the organization will continue to support the right of all honest people to keep and bear arms, regardless of color or political opinion. You owe them an apology.
Mike Finkbiner
Moscow
