I Attend a Meeting of the Local NRA Chapter

In my quest to experience all that is great and good in my adopted home, I recently attended my first meeting of the local National Rifle Association chapter. The fact there is an NRA chapter around here is not surprising. This is the land of God, guns, Trump and property rights. North Georgia is one of those places where, in the infamous words of our former President, people unashamedly cling to their guns and their religion. There are probably as many guns per capita in Fannin County as you’re going to find any place. I bet there are more guns here than there are people.

That’s not to say that everyone owns a gun but many do, and many of them own multiple guns on the theory that you can never have too much firepower. Actually, I think the real reason people own multiple guns is that they like them. Duh. In that sense they are like electric guitarists and bass players. I have never met a guitarist or bass player who did not want to own every electric guitar or bass ever made. The same with gun aficionados.

Given the number of gun owners in Fannin County you would expect that there would be a lot of NRA members in the county. While I don’t have the numbers, I see a lot of NRA bumper stickers and window decals as I drive around. They are usually located next to the “Make America Great Again” and “Trump/Pence” stickers. So the real surprise to me is that this area did not have an NRA chapter until six months ago.

The local NRA chapter meets once a month on a Saturday morning in the big back room of Pat’s Kountry Kitchen. I don’t think I need to describe what Pat’s Kountry Kitchen is like; the name says it all. I’ll bet there is a Pat’s Country Kitchen or something just like it in every small town in America. It’s like being in a Norman Rockwell painting.

The drill for the meeting, as I learned, is to get to Pat’s around 8:30, order breakfast and then conduct the meeting after the plates are cleared and everyone has consumed enough coffee to be bright-eyed and bushytailed.

About 30 people attended the meeting. Almost all of them were older white men though there were a couple of older white women there. The median age of the room was probably in the 60’s. If you’re of the liberal bent, you’re probably going to say that there is something stereotypical about an NRA chapter consisting of aging white men, and you’ll probably leap to the conclusion that they are angry white men at that. That’s the popular liberal stereotype of pro-gun NRA members. Hillary supporters would likely say that it was a room full of deplorables.  

As to the first point, I don’t know what the demographics are of a typical NRA chapter but I can tell you that the composition of the room reflected the demographics of Fannin County. According to 2015 census data, 26.3 percent of Fannin County is 65 and over. That’s a greater percentage of people 65 and over than in Pinellas County, Florida, and way more than in St. Petersburg, Florida, traditionally considered the elephant graveyard of retirees. Like Florida, older people retire to this area and young people move away for excitement, adventure and decent jobs.

It’s also no surprise that everyone in the room was white—96.7 percent of Fannin County is white. There’s a good reason for that, and it’s not rooted in racism or prejudice. Appalachia was settled by white people. There were few slaveholders mainly because the area was poor and is not conducive to farming with slaves. Through the Great Depression most people in Appalachia were dirt poor and lived a marginal, hardscrabble existence. There was no industry then just as there is little industry now. Jobs were scarce and remain so. Thus, there was little incentive for people, black or white, to move here. The pattern was for people to move away from Appalachia, not to it. In 1900 the population was 11,214. In 1950 it was only 15,192. In the same period of time the population of the United States almost doubled.

Population growth remained slow through of the second half of the 20th century. In fact, the 1960 census saw a 10.3 percent decline in population. In 1990 there were 15,992 residents in Fannin County, just 800 more than in 1950. Then the trend changed, and since 1990 the population has increased dramatically. In 2010 Fannin County boasted 23,682 residents. I attribute this growth to retirees moving to this area.

My point is that North Georgia remains predominantly white because other ethnic groups—at least those seeking employment—have not settled here. Thus, it is no surprise that everyone at the NRA meeting was white. I’m absolutely positive that they would have welcomed anyone, whatever his or her race, creed or national origin, as long as he or she was a staunch supporter of the Second Amendment. Gee, does that mean that belief in the right to bear arms is something that can bring us all together as a people? Wouldn’t that be a kick in the ass for the liberal, anti-gun lobby?

As to the second point—that is was a room full of deplorables—I’m afraid that’s absolutely correct. It’s safe to assume that most, if not all, the people in the room were Trump supporters. After all, 80 percent of Fannin County voted for Trump, and the room was filled with people who own guns and saw Hillary as an existential threat to the Second Amendment. Though the people in the room did not seem particularly angry, it’s fair to say that the majority of them were not very pleased with direction of the country under President Obama.

The meeting started with a prayer. That is not unusual around here—remember the “cling to their guns and religion” part? As prayers go, this one was better than most probably due to the fact it was delivered by one of the two ministers at the meeting. I don’t know whether it is worthy of note or not that there were two ministers at the meeting; it was just unexpected. I’d like to sit down one day and explore their interpretation of “turn the other cheek.”

Following the prayer, we all recited the Pledge of Allegiance. Thankfully, someone had enough foresight to bring an American Flag; otherwise we would have pledged allegiance facing a chalkboard with the day’s specials written on it. While some may disagree, I would argue that pledging allegiance to meatloaf and chicken fried steak is just as American and patriotic as pledging allegiance to the flag. Not so much for falafel, hummus and tofu.

After the pledge, they voted on new officers for the coming year. It soon became obvious that the guy they elected to be president is hard of hearing and utterly unfamiliar with Robert’s Rules of Order. The people in the room kept shouting directions to him on how to run the meeting. This only seemed to confuse him more. I predict it’s going to a long year for the local NRA chapter.

The main topic of discussion was when and where to hold an annual banquet. After several minutes of confused discussion where everyone had to throw in their two cents it was decided to form a committee to explore the options and make a recommendation. It was like just about every other informal meeting I have ever attended—disorganized and undirected—but that’s just the way people are.

For me the highlight of the meeting, and the reason I will keep attending, was the opportunity to participate in a raffle drawing where the winner gets to pick a weapon from the NRA’s wall of guns. There’s something about the phrase “wall of guns” that warms the cockles of my heart.

I plan on joining the local NRA chapter and attending regularly. What do I have to lose? At the very least I get a breakfast out of the deal and more opportunities to take a chance on winning a gun. That ain’t all bad.