The NRA is and continues to be something of a boogieman for the anti-gun left. They don’t like the NRA and are constantly trying to paint it as evil and a good organization that once supported gun control but has lost its way. They can’t seem to make up their minds.

It doesn’t particularly matter, really. After all, the NRA is a gun rights group in the here and now, and it’s not going to get support from anti-gunners no matter what it does short of selling out the Second Amendment completely and supporting mandatory confiscation.

That’s not likely to happen in our lifetimes.

In Louisiana, the Republican Party decided to celebrate the NRA’s efforts.

The Republican Party of Louisiana (LAGOP) unanimously passed on Saturday a resolution in support of the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) defense of Second Amendment rights.

The resolution begins by pointing to LAGOP’s “[commitment] to defend and promote the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as memorialized in the Platform of the Republican Party, for all law-abiding Americans and Permanent Resident Aliens.”

It then points to the “more than 130,000,000 firearms owners in the United States” and emphasizes Democrat efforts to “exploit and weaponize horrific mass murders to diminish and systematically  destroy our Second Amendment rights through introducing more gun-control legislation.”

The resolution suggests Democrat policies make it harder for low-income families to acquire the firearms they need for self-defense while subsequently endangering those families via support for Antifa and BLM:

Leftists’ encouragement and financing of Antifa and BLM riots and violence in 2020 and 2021 was a major contributing factor to 13.8 million first-time firearm owners determined to protect themselves and their families. Of the more than 22,000,000 firearms sold, 40% were female buyers, and firearm sales increased in minority communities such as – black (58%), Hispanic (49%), and Asian (43%).

The LAGOP resolution then praises the NRA for fighting the Democrats’ gun grabs and other freedom-crushing policies.

So, I have mixed feelings about this.

First, let’s understand that this is just a party resolution. It’s a pat on the back that has no legal ramifications or anything else.

With that in mind, part of me wants to celebrate this and give the Louisiana GOP a high-five for acknowledging the role the NRA has played in defending gun rights. It’s the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the fight, and even with everything going on, it can’t be dismissed in any debate over any gun control law.

That said, the NRA isn’t alone in defending our rights. In fact, a lot of gun owners aren’t happy with the NRA and haven’t been for a while for a variety of reasons. They support groups like the Second Amendment Foundation, Gun Owners of America, and others.

Those organizations also deserve some appreciation from those who claim to support gun rights. Singling out the NRA when it’s the one that also is able to donate the most money to politicians isn’t exactly going to convince anti-gunners that this is about our Second Amendment rights.

Don’t get me wrong, the NRA does a lot of work politically, as well as works to expand shooting education, shooting sports, and create the next generation of gun owners.

Hence my mixed feelings.

Luckily for everyone involved, the Louisiana GOP doesn’t care about my feelings, nor should they, really. I do sincerely hope that they come to acknowledge the other fine groups who work hard to defend our right to keep and bear arms.