Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Standing Guard | More Americans Stand By The NRA As Liberal Elites Try To Foist Their Values On Everyone

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Standing Guard | More Americans Stand By The NRA As Liberal Elites Try To Foist Their Values On Everyone

This feature appears in the November ‘17 issue of NRA America’s 1st Freedom, one of the official journals of the National Rifle Association.  

The heart and soul of America is at stake.

We have an epic battle on our hands, a titanic struggle over not just our Second Amendment-protected freedom, but for all of the freedoms and values that define our great country.

You know what I’m talking about. You feel it in your heart. The liberal elites from Hollywood to New York City, to the political elites of Washington, D.C., are doing everything they can to impose their utopian and, frankly, un-American vision upon us all. And they’re not one bit interested in our vision of our great nation of personal freedom and constitutional liberty. In all my years of leading the NRA, I’ve never seen a national news media as hateful and poisonous as it is today. Every single day, they spew venomous lies to denigrate NRA members, demonize law-abiding gun owners, and rip apart the fabric of the America we all cherish and hold dear.

All while most Americans have lost faith in the institutions we used to be able to count on, except for one—the National Rifle Association of America. Today, more Americans trust the NRA than either national political party, and more than almost all of our political leaders and institutions. And Americans sure don’t trust the news media! But they do trust the NRA. They trust the NRA to tell the truth, to say what we mean, and to stand and fight for what we believe. More than anything, we stand and fight for the right of every law-abiding citizen to exercise his or her Second Amendment-protected freedom—unfettered by government intrusion—to defend and protect themselves, their families and their communities.

We have an epic battle on our hands, a titanic struggle over not just our Second Amendment-protected freedom, but for all of the freedoms and values that define our great country.

The majority of Americans, like never before, have embraced that simple, God-given right to keep and bear arms for personal protection. They know that at the scene of the crime there is only the criminal and the victim. Despite all their best intentions, the police arrive in the aftermath of the violence.

It is a battle between good and evil, and the NRA and the Second Amendment stand on the side of the good guys … and most Americans stand with us. Facing 25,000 violent crimes committed per week in this country, and outraged by a catch-and-release criminal justice system that fails to arrest, prosecute and imprison repeat violent offenders, Americans have come to realize the hard truth that government has abdicated its responsibility to protect us. Worse, the anti-Second Amendment elites are working hard to strip away our freedom … to deny our very right to survive the violence they have failed to prevent.

From gun bans to licensing and registration schemes, even calls to abolish the Second Amendment forever, the political elites, media elites and celebrity elites don’t believe you have the fundamental right to defend yourself … and they’ll stop at nothing to remove your freedom from their vision of America. But their vision for our country, and our freedom, is dead wrong. History proves it.

Just look at Paris or Boston or Brussels or San Bernardino, Calif.—where all the gun laws the elites dream about were on the books and completely failed to protect innocent people from the terrorists and violent criminals bent on destruction. In all the world, disarmed citizens are reduced to innocent, easy prey. We cannot and we will not allow that to happen, not here in the United States of America.

The hypocrisy of the elites is sickening. They will always have their guns, their security systems behind their walled neighborhoods and their armed personal security details. If you’re a celebrity or a friend of the mayor … if you are among the wealthy and connected … you can get your permit.

But honest folks like you and me? No permit for you … no freedom for us to protect ourselves. The majority of Americans cut through all that hypocrisy and know that, in the end, we’re on our own. We know that when it comes to defending our families and homes, freedom is and must always be in our own hands … the freedom that can only be found in the Second Amendment.

The hypocrisy of the elites is sickening. They will always have their guns, their security systems behind their walled neighborhoods and their armed personal security details.

Americans also believe that precious, life-saving freedom should not end at the state line. That is why the NRA is fighting right now to enact national Right-to-Carry reciprocity. 

As more and more Americans embrace their firearms freedom, the time has come for Congress to enact Right-to-Carry reciprocity and for the president to immediately sign the bill. People want and deserve the ability to protect themselves from the monsters and menaces lurking among us. No one should be forced to face evil with empty hands.

That is the freedom we all fight for, and we must stand together and fight harder than ever to keep our freedom and save our nation. That is why every gun owner and patriot of freedom should join us. Join the NRA, renew your membership, and bring a friend or neighbor into our ranks.

That is how we save our freedom, together. The anti-freedom elites are coming after us with everything they’ve got—all the billions of dollars and anti-gun media and Hollywood celebrities they can muster.

But they don’t know you. They don’t know the heart of a freedom-loving NRA member. They don’t know how much the majority of Americans love their country and their freedom.

The NRA knows … and for those millions and millions of good, decent, honest Americans, the NRA—stronger now than ever before—will always stand and fight.

Wayne LaPierre

BY Wayne LaPierre

Executive Vice President, NRA

Since 1991, Wayne LaPierre has led the NRA through a period of unprecedented membership growth and political clout in defense of our Second Amendment rights. And that strength has been put to the good benefit of NRA members and gun owners. In large part because of Wayne's leadership, Right-to-Carry is now the law in 41 states. All 50 states have enacted laws to protect shooting ranges, and all 50 passed legislation to protect hunters from harassment.

TRENDING NOW
En Banc Third Circuit Strikes Down New Jersey’s “Assault Firearm” and “Large Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA Case

Friday, July 17, 2026

En Banc Third Circuit Strikes Down New Jersey’s “Assault Firearm” and “Large Capacity Magazine” Bans in NRA Case

In a landmark victory for the Second Amendment and the National Rifle Association, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit today held that New Jersey’s bans on commonly owned semiautomatic rifles and magazines ...

U.S. House Passes Legislation to Block Credit Card Gun Registry

News  

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

U.S. House Passes Legislation to Block Credit Card Gun Registry

On July 14, 2026, the U.S. House passed H.R. 1181, the Protecting Privacy in Purchases Act. This important legislation, sponsored by Representative Riley Moore (R-WV-02), would prohibit credit card companies from tracking the purchases of ...

Trump Reinforces Support for the Second Amendment During National AM250 Address

News  

Monday, July 13, 2026

Trump Reinforces Support for the Second Amendment During National AM250 Address

It may not need to be said, but we’ll keep saying it: Donald Trump is the most pro-Second Amendment president in the NRA’s history of protecting the right to keep and bear arms.  While the nation ...

Judge Rules Preliminary Injunction Against Virginia “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans Secured by NRA Applies Statewide

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

Judge Rules Preliminary Injunction Against Virginia “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Bans Secured by NRA Applies Statewide

In the NRA’s challenge to Virginia’s “assault firearm” and magazine bans, Santolla v. Katz, Judge Jeffrey L. Campbell of the Washington County Circuit Court issued a letter opinion yesterday making clear that the preliminary injunction ...

NRA Files Comments in Response to ATF’s Regulatory Reforms, Urges Participation!

News  

Monday, July 13, 2026

NRA Files Comments in Response to ATF’s Regulatory Reforms, Urges Participation!

Last week, NRA filed its first round of comments in response to ATF’s comprehensive regulatory overhaul. NRA’s latest input shows the Association’s efforts coming full circle.

Massachusetts: Committee of Conference Meeting Now on Hunting Reform Bill

Friday, July 17, 2026

Massachusetts: Committee of Conference Meeting Now on Hunting Reform Bill

House and Senate leadership have appointed members to the Committee of Conference for Senate Bill 3064, which includes, among other things, a lifting of the ban on Sunday hunting and expansions for archery hunting.

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Challenges to “Assault Weapon” Bans

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

SCOTUS Agrees to Hear Challenges to “Assault Weapon” Bans

Today, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in two cases challenging bans on “assault weapons.”

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Illinois’s Waiting Period Requirement for Firearm Purchases

Wednesday, July 8, 2026

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Illinois’s Waiting Period Requirement for Firearm Purchases

The National Rifle Association filed a lawsuit challenging Illinois’s 72-hour waiting period requirement for firearm purchases.

Virginia Anti-gun Lawmakers Delay “Assault Firearm” Carry and Transportation Restriction

News  

Monday, July 6, 2026

Virginia Anti-gun Lawmakers Delay “Assault Firearm” Carry and Transportation Restriction

Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) and the General Assembly’s ruling anti-gun majority have delayed the enactment of one of their most controversial pieces of legislation, a severe restriction on Virginians’ ability to move about the ...

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Sixth Circuit to Strike Down NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Monday, July 13, 2026

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging Sixth Circuit to Strike Down NFA Restrictions on Short-Barreled Rifles

Today, the National Rifle Association, joined by the Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, and American Suppressor Association, filed an amicus brief in United States v. Machamer, urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.