The National Rifle Association has long been the boogieman for anti-gunners. They’re perpetually convinced that if the NRA were gone, or at least countered, they could usher in their anti-gun Utopia and all would be right with the world.

That’s not remotely likely, of course, but they’re free to dream.

It’s to that end that Gabby Giffords unveiled her latest effort.

Giffords, the gun control advocacy organization founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) after her attempted assassination, is set to launch a new national firearms group intended to take on the power and influence of the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Gun Owners for Safety will be launched off of a coalition that was founded in 2018 with chapters in Colorado, Minnesota and Texas. It seeks to offer gun owners an alternative to the NRA, which remains stringently opposed to most anti-gun violence proposals.

“I think whether you’re talking about politics, whether you’re talking about lobbying, whether you’re talking about culture change, what’s vitally important is that we focus on the millions of Americans at the center of our politics. If we’re going to have long-term durable change in this country, it can’t just be the activists on the left and the activists on the right. We really have to move the center,” Giffords Executive Director Peter Ambler said.

…

Organizers have already connected with nearly 50,000 gun owners in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C., and some serving abroad “who are fed up with the NRA,” Ambler said. Members include hunters, collectors, veterans, former law enforcement and others who value firearm ownership but also want to reduce gun violence.

“These men and women were eager, at a time when our values of our country are being debated, to raise their hand and show politicians, show the country, that the vast majority of gun owners support safer gun laws,” Ambler said, calling expanded background checks a main focus of the group.

Oh, wow, a whole 50,000?

I’m sure the NRA and their five million members are shaking in their boots.

Of course, the timing of this is intended so as to take advantage of an embattled NRA as the group takes criticism from both the left and even other pro-gun folks who don’t agree with decisions made by the organization’s leadership.

However, it’s important to note that none of these 50,000 people are remotely likely to be members of the NRA or other pro-gun group in the first place. After all, Gun Owners for Safety isn’t about firearm safety at all. It’s about gun control, plain and simple, and those who have already joined his anti-gun jihadist group are in it for the gun control. Everyone can see through the euphemisms, after all.

The thing that gets me, though, is that Giffords was supposedly started to push for gun control, but they’ve been so damn ineffective that now they’re starting another group to try and push for gun control. It’s a little ironic to me.

Regardless, I don’t think this group will have the impact Giffords is hoping for. After all, most gun owners are either luke warm on politics in general or are vehemently pro-gun. Don’t be surprised if those membership numbers never go up.