John Oliver Explains Why the NRA Sucks

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Call these senators ahead of todays' gun votes & ask them to break out of their @NRA duct tape! pic.twitter.com/CbBtoVu3YP
- igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) June 20, 2016

Call 1-844-USA-0234, enter your zipcode, & be connected to your 3 reps. Support universal background checks + hate crime prevention act.
- deray mckesson (@deray) June 20, 2016


It's been just over one week since the massacre in Orlando, and while there are some people fighting for change, there are others who desperately want to block it. John Oliver devoted the first part of Last Week Tonight to the issue of the National Rifle Association, comprehensively breaking down why the NRA has such power.

"Here we are again after another mass shooting with weak legislation doomed to failure," Oliver said. "And there is clearly a disconnect between public opinion, which favors to varying degrees a number of different gun-control measures, and any practical action in Washington. And it is pretty clear what is standing between those two things: And it's the National Rifle Association. Like PETA...but for guns and effective."

How effective exactly? Oliver spoke about the 1996 Dickey amendment, which was backed by the NRA and put a restriction on the Center for Disease Control's ability to research gun violence. "They don't just manage to block legislation concerning guns, they manage to block information concerning them, too." This lack of data, combined with the NRA message of no gun control whatsoever and an organized alert system that informs members of upcoming votes on important pieces of legislation, leads to loud and consistent support for the NRA agenda.

"It’s a lot easier to drum up support when you're just flatly against something,” Oliver said. “There is a reason that TLC insisted on 'No Scrubs' and not the implementation of a national registry of potential scrubs, a.k.a. 'Bustas,' that would screen for scrub-like tendencies, or affiliations with known scrubs. They knew 'No Scrubs' is a lot catchier."

Unsurprisingly, Oliver advocated for a repeal of the Dickey amendment and encouraged viewers to contact their representatives to say so. "Repealing it is not asking much," he said. "It's not gun control. It's enabling us to have an informed conversation about what that could look like."

On that note, however, Oliver reminded us that contacting representatives is not a one-time thing but something that we must do repeatedly. "If or when a proposal you like is on the table, you're going to have to make all those calls again, because remember: It doesn’t take much to outnumber the NRA. Planet Fitness members outnumber them. But it is time for us to learn what those members haven’t: If you’re going to see serious changes, you actually have to show up every fucking day."

Ultimately, it all comes down to this: "The hard truth is, NRA members seem to care more consistently about preventing gun control than most of us do about passing it," Oliver pointed out. "Because while you might be focused on gun control now, they were focused on it two weeks before Orlando, and they’ll still be focused on it two weeks from now."

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