I came across this article on Slate just yesterday: It’s Not Just the Second Amendment Anymore, How the NRA is larding state constitutions with frivolous, redundant “right to hunt” amendments.

The subtitle is a pretty good synopsis. The NRA seems to be trying to erect a sort of "fortification in-depth" to preempt attempts at gun control. The Second Amendment might be the castle keep, but just to be sure, the NRA is erecting a network of moats and minefields on all the state-level approaches to it.

In less flowery terms, it's pretty obvious that whenever there's skullduggery at the state level to promote gun ownership and head off gun control efforts, you can be damn sure that the NRA is behind it. Their specialty is getting compliant legislators to pass whatever laws and amendments they dictate.

You can go to the horse's er, mouth, the NRA Institute for Legislative Action.. They're already hard at work poisoning the public discourse with shrill complaints and accusations. They're quite proud of their tireless efforts at the state level, too.

I think the main obstacle to being able to have a useful discussion of gun violence is the NRA. The NRA exists to divide us. Take them out of the equation, and everybody, "even" gun owners, would be able to think clearly and find common ground.