I know, I know, the idea of liberal gun owners feels like a contradiction in terms. Kind of like “military intelligence” and “honest politician.” However, they exist. There aren’t many, mind you, but they exist.

And, of course, The Trace is going to present them to the world.

Despite the group’s name, politics are mostly absent from its discussion boards. Members instead use the forum to discuss reliability, accuracy, and cost of firearms, and to get advice.

Liberal Gun Club members tend to support universal background checks and other efforts intended to keep weapons out of the hands of criminals. Yet they also feel that many gun laws, especially those that single out specific types of weapons, are ineffective. Some members have concealed-carry permits, and feel that fellow progressives too often don’t recognize that there are legitimate uses of guns for sport and self-defense.

Smith said the club has seen substantial growth in the last year, driven by people who have defected from the NRA, or who are otherwise put off by what they perceive as extreme rhetoric from other gun owners. The group has nine chapters and boasts about 5,000 members in all 50 states. A membership costs $10 a year.

Behold, folks, these are the people who start gun conversations with, “I’m a gun owner, but…”

To be sure, though, even these liberals see category bans–such as Washington D.C.’s now-defunct handgun ban or Maryland and California’s assault weapon ban–are pointless. In this, they’re completely right.

And, to be clear, I actually do get where they’re coming from on universal background checks. I disagree with them on it, mostly because we know that felons aren’t buying from lawful gun owners, but are buying from black market dealers on our city streets, but I do get it. If I thought criminals were getting guns from lawful gun owners by misrepresenting themselves as law-abiding citizens, I might think universal background checks might do some good.

Buuuuuuuut, they won’t.

Still, it’s good to see that not all liberals are brain dead enough to believe that banning certain features on weapons will suddenly make our streets safer. Even with their misguided opinions on universal background checks, it’s evidence that being a liberal doesn’t automatically make you a gun grabber.

Now, if only they could convince their liberal brethren to leave our Second Amendment rights alone, we could go about our days in peace. Too bad these folks are the exception, not the rule.

Except, they’re not.

The club is expanding its ranks of certified instructors, in order to give people more options outside of classes offered by the NRA. The NRA has used its training courses to help spread its way of thinking.

“The Liberal Gun Club sees itself as one of the many groups forming to fill a niche left by the NRA’s hard-right and racist policies,” Smith said. “We anticipate rapid growth over the next two years and have no upward limit on what we’d like to achieve.”

“Hard-right and racist policies,” huh?

I’d love for those folks to name just one racist policy. Just one.

Maybe it was the racist policy of helping Otis McDonald, a black Chicago resident, take on the City of Chicago over their unconstitutional restriction of gun rights?

Or is it the racist policies that have the NRA supporting Maj Toure’s efforts with Black Guns Matter to help educate inner-city residents of their Second Amendment rights?

Look, I’m not saying that the NRA has nailed it on race relations, but to claim the organization has racist policies as absolute bunk.