Posted: 9/24/2008 7:08:06 PM EDT
| Is the Georgia Sport Shooting Association a good club? Are any of you members? I am gonna join a club for the CMP, and thought I would join this one and was trying to get some opinions. Thanks |
details man... |
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I got tired of dealing with Bob Thornton. My wife and I joined the GSSA in 1996 and helped out with Georgia Games shooting events for several years, in addition to attending the annual meetings. During that time, I tried to recruit people to the GSSA, as well as trying to push for improvements in Georgia's carry laws. Bob Thornton was a sheriff's deputy at the time, and he was the number one barrier to efforts to improve the carry laws. He even went so far as to tell me that I should carry in restaurants anyway, and trust the cops to know I was a good guy. He had the proxy votes for a number of gun clubs in his part of the state, so he pretty much had the power to run the entire organization how he wanted to. He pissed off most of the people I tried to recruit, in fact, I'd continually mention the GSSA to people and get asked "Is Bob Thornton still an asshole?" His opposition to efforts to improve our carry laws is fairly ironic since he was one of the people who was holding up maps at the GCO rally... Oh, and when I was the webmaster for the GSSA, Bob reprimanded me for linking to Georgia Carry, since they advocated changes that the Board, under Bob's influence, had rejected... Bob was, and as far as I know, still is, extremely abusive to people who disagreed with him. My wife had quit attending meetings several years before I resigned from the board, because she didn't want to have to deal with him. The GSSA is the state NRA affiliate, but there are a number of YouTube videos featuring Bob ranting about the NRA, the Brady Campaign even has Bob quoted in opposition to the bill allowing guns in employee cars. Which was the final impetus for my resignation - I'd joined the GSSA to work on gun rights, not property rights. Apparently, since I resigned from the GSSA, Bob has become even MORE dictatorial, he replaced Paul Broun as GSSA President when Paul was elected to Congress, and at the annual meeting in 2007, replaced a number of longtime directors who had opposed him, when a large number of directors were unable to attend due to the ice storm. He derailed a discussion about funding repairs to AR-15's used for our junior program to the point that the person who was taking care of them wound up with unreimbursed out-of-pocket expenses, and that person resigned from the board not long after. I find it interesting that Bob insists on having his former Marine rank of Captain listed, when he did not stay in until retirement, and, in fact, his more RECENT grade was as a Sergeant in the Army Guard. Last I heard, that was a violation of the protocols regarding the use of officer rank. |
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LoneWolf545, Thank-you. By letting everyone know what's up, then maybe a few of us can send e-mails to GSSA expressing our dis-satisfaction with the current leadership/president and that we will not recommend for people to join until things change for the better. The more people that write and spread the word, then we can change things. I need to e-mail Steve also, since I haven't talked to him in a few years. |
LoneWolf545, GSSA was one of the groups that publicly endorsed HB 915 in 2008 even when the NRA adamantly refused to do so. Isn't this correct? GSSA risked its association with the NRA to support HB 915. It is HB 915 that made it possible for restaurants, state parks, and public transportation to become a part of HB 89. I do not want to start an argument with you, since I do not know anything about internal politics over at GSSA, but I was under the impression that GSSA has generally supported what GCO is doing. If I had to venture a guess, I would say that most of the members of GSSA are also GCO members (although this is only a guess). I have met Bob Thornton once or twice and corresponded with him, and I am unaware of any major philosophical disagreements over GCO's goals for Georgia. I do not have any further information, but I just wanted to get what little I do know onto the thread so that people can make an assessment. |
| I agree with Malum-Prohibitum that we should hold off on judgement until we find out more details. I know one of the board members, just have not had time to talk to him in a long time. Still meaning to e-mail him once I get a chance to write a thought out inquiry. |
GSSA has had issues with NRA national for years, Bob Thornton, while wearing an NRA cap and putting an NRA sticker on his M240 in Iraq, is in several videos on YouTube denigrating the NRA, so any "risk" to the GSSA LONG predates HB915. If anything, his public efforts against the NRA-backed "guns in parking lots" bill is more likely to jeapordize GSSA's affiliation with the NRA. That and his personal attacks on the NRA regional representative who attends GSSA meetings. I can't speak to current events at the GSSA, other than the limited amount I've been sent about the 2008 annual meeting and removal of board members who disagreed with Bob and Bob's refusal to admit the minutes from the September 2007 BoD meeting into the record, but I've still got the email where I was chastised for linking to the GCO webpage after the BoD had voted not to push for any modifications to Georgia's restrictions on where one can carry. Maybe they've changed their minds after I resigned, but I'd been active with the GSSA for a decade and had gotten tired of beating my head against Bob's intransigence on the subject. I've been approached by at least one other former Board member and asked if I would return, and I told them I would if Bob wasn't in a position to dictate policy. |
| In case others are reading this thread and wanting to join a club for CMP, what is the Beerslayer's club in Alabama. I'd join that one if I was looking to join one if I were looking to buy a rifle right now. I know a lot join the GCA, but I am very hesitant to recommend joining GCA due to reasons dating back to when GCA had a couple of volunteer days at the CMP long ago. Basically, I had a great Winchester that had obviously had parts removed from it. It was a Springfield rebuild (Winchester receiver that Springfield rebuilt in WWII with all Springfield parts) and the whole rifle was pretty much stuck together with grease/cosmo and the parkerizing matched on every part, except for three parts that had been replaced. These three parts did not match (little to no finish) and had no grease on them being the only parts not stuck together with grease. This was during the timeframe that GCA volunteers were inspecting rifles (they were the ones inspecting Winchesters and posted pics, ect... on Jouster at the time.There were others that noticed the same thing. This led to complaints and the reason volunteers aren't allowed anymore. |
| There were a lot of CMP volunteer problems there also was a guy who posted the he low graded nice matching number guns then bought them when he worked there. there have been guys who bragged about buying 10 a year when the limit was 6. I joined the gssa but did so just for my cmp gun $15 is just part of the cost . |