1. The Texas State Rifle Association is the Official State Association of the National Rifle Association and a premier firearms organization in the State of Texas that seeks to acquire the necessary resources in support of a number of public activities that engage the use of firearms as well as to serve the residents of Texas who use firearms (Utter 115). This association mainly seeks to protect the rights of lawful citizens to keep and bear arms according to the constitution with the greater good of promoting hunting and firearms safety (Utter 117).
2. One of the main groups competing with the Texas State Rifle Association in terms of both resources and issues is The Second Amendment Foundation which is equally committed to promotion and enhancement of a better understanding of the rights and privileges regarding the use and possession of firearms as stated within the constitution (Huntington 72). This organization carries out numerous legal and educative programs that are suitably designed to better illuminate the public on the same. This organization has proven to be very effective in the course and have a number of published books and materials that are of interest to gun owners (Huntington 74).
3. The Second Amendment Foundation is significantly doing better than the Texas State Rifle Association in its bid to secure the necessary resources and accomplish their goal. This can be clearly seen in the difference in the membership as well as the higher number of high-profile gun cases that they have handled in their bid to protect the lawful gun owners and users (Jacobs " Haberman 138). This shows that the Second Amendment Foundation is doing better to secure the required resources.
4. The Second Amendment Foundation is distinctively in a better position with respect to the number of educative and legal programs which they conduct to educate the public and inform them about the use and ownership of guns as prescribed by the constitution (Jacobs " Haberman 141). Moreover, the Second Amendment Foundation also finances leadership training conferences for other grassroots-related activities at both the national and regional levels.
Knowledge of Civic Responsibility
5. The Texas State Rifle Association, however, asks its members for a number of things that one should accomplish to continue being a part of the group. One is that a fully registered member should first learn and understand the basic rules of gun safety through their training program (Phillips 89). Also, they demand that all their members fully follow the law in the course of their use and ownership of firearms and should avoid taking part in unlawful activities with their guns (Phillips 91). Members should only use their firearms in constitutional ways because that is the only way they can protect them.
6. The Texas State Rifle Association gives its members a number of selective incentives depending on the type of membership to encourage them to be a part of their efforts towards achieving gun safety and ownership. One of the incentives offered to the members is the lifetime subscription to the Texas State Rifle Association Sportsman (Wilson 33). Lifetime members above 65 years of age are also offered discounted rates which are also offered to the three-year members. Generally, membership cards, certificates, decals, as well as label pins are some of the incentives given to selected members (Wilson 34).
7. If I were a believer in this issue, it would be important to be part of the group because the group train me on gun safety, teach me the rights and privileges of the same, and fight for the rights on my behalf so as to enable me live an enjoyable and free life according to the heritage of the American constitution (Kahn 113).
Engaging Effectively in Regional, National, and Global Communities
8. In the course of their local, regional, and national operations, the Texas States of Rifle Association faces a number of challenges and issues some of which even threaten to challenge their existence. One of the issues the group affecting the group is the incompetence of the government which has allowed criminals carry out illegal gun-related activities that have resulted in incidences where the association has been widely criticized and blamed for such killings and shootings, hence, raising questions about the credibility of the movement (Brown " Daniel 102). An example of this is the Texas shootings which led to mass demonstrations and opposition against the gun protecting groups, thus, increasing doubts about their objectives and mission (Brown " Daniel 103). Another issue facing the Texas State Rifle Association is the constant opposition from certain quarters of the leaders against the gun laws which has made many people restrain from joining the group (Cothran 57).
9. The Texas State Rifle Association is a social group because it seeks to serve as a strong voice on behalf of the gun owners in the bid to ensure they enjoy their gun-related constitutional rights (Pérez 143). Through this, the group promotes a number of social activities such as youth shooting sports, competitive shooting, hunting, cowboy action shooting, as well as self-defense among others. The association is a political group because it is a group registered under the law as stated by the government and also works on the basis of the constitution (Kincaid 530). Furthermore, the group seeks to protect the gun owners against the unlawful political effect.
10. If people don’t get involved in the activities and issues related to this group, the group automatically seizes to exist (Cothran 57). This is because the association is basically designed to protect people’s rights and the non-involvement of people means that the group will be rendered functionless because it will lack a target.
Works Cited
Brown, Peter H, and Daniel G. Abel. Outgunned: Up against the Nra : the First Complete Insider Account of the Battle Over Gun Control. New York: Free Press, 2003. Print.
Cothran, Helen. Gun Control: Opposing Viewpoints. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Print.
Huntington, Roy. S"W Teams with Second Amendment Foundation. vol. 33, Publishers' Development Corporation, 2009.
Jacobs, James B., and Alex Haberman. "3D-Printed Firearms, do-it-Yourself Guns, and the Second Amendment." Law and Contemporary Problems, vol. 80, no. 2, 2017, pp. 129-147.
Kahn, Conrad. "Challenging the Federal Prohibition on Gun Possession by Nonviolent Felons." South Texas Law Review, vol. 55, no. 1, 2013, pp. 113.
Kincaid, John D. "The Rational Basis of Irrational Politics: Examining the Great Texas Political Shift to the Right." Politics " Society, vol. 44, no. 4, 2016, pp. 525-550.
Pérez, Michelle S. "God Bless Texas. God Bless the NRA: Problematizing Texas Teachers as Armed Protectors in the Aftermath of Sandy Hook." Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, vol. 17, no. 2, 2017, pp. 140-146.
Phillips, Charles D., et al. "When Concealed Handgun Licensees Break Bad: Criminal Convictions of Concealed Handgun Licensees in Texas, 2001-2009." American Journal of Public Health, vol. 103, no. 1, 2013, pp. 86-91.
Utter, Glenn H, and Robert J. Spitzer. The Gun Debate: An Encyclopedia of Gun Control " Gun Rights in the United States. , 2016. Internet resource.
Wilson, Harry L. Gun Politics in America: Historical and Modern Documents in Context. Westport: ABC-CLIO, LLC, 2016. Internet resource.
