Reading the recent article in the Journal Review we were very disappointed, angry, and frankly dismayed that the Montgomery County Boys & Girls Club allowed the Crawfordsville National Rifle Association to use its building for the NRA fund raiser. Also, according to the article, the NRA event offered approximately 100 guns as prizes for the evening’s entertainment.
The leading cause of deaths of American children and youth ages 1 to 19 is gun violence, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, and yet the NRA is so presumptuous and naïve as to maintain that giving monetary support to youth organizations such as 4-H and B&G clubs, and teaching gun safety to children will “cut down on the problems we have today.”
The NRA has, and continues, to oppose every measure and protection of the law to limit the proliferation and accessibility of guns in our homes and communities. It has opposed legislation designed to require safe storage of guns to keep them out of the hands of curious children and troubled teens, and red flag laws to remove guns from the reach of those who pose a threat to themselves and others. The NRA consistently places the interests of gun purchasers, gun dealers, and gun manufacturers above the interests, needs, and rights of the public to be safe in their homes and communities, in their schools, on their streets, and in public places.
Surely NRA Crawfordsville has many other options for their event locations: American Legion? The Elks? Masonic Cornerstone? Non-profits through their board policies determine building use. By allowing the use of the building, the Boys & Girls Club, a valued and well-respected youth-serving organization, compromises its mission to provide a healthy and “safe place for children to learn and grow.”
We implore and respectfully request the Montgomery County Boys & Girls Club board of directors to rethink the club’s policy on building usage and refuse in the future to rent to the Crawfordsville NRA and other such organizations.
David and Sheridan Hadley
Crawfordsville
