NRA finally wakes up, sues over NSA snooping program.

Strange bedfellows, the NRA joins an ACLU lawsuit against the NSA supersnoopers. Interesting reason too.

In a brief filed in federal court, the NRA argues that the National Security Agency's database of phone records amounts to a "national gun registry". "It would be absurd to think that the Congress would adopt and maintain a web of statutes intended to protect against the creation of a national gun registry, while simultaneously authorizing the FBI and the NSA to gather records that could effectively create just such a registry," the group writes.

Well, yeah. That's why they're doing it.

"Under the government's reading of Section 215, the government could simply demand the periodic submission of all firearms dealers' transaction records, then centralize them in a database indexed by the buyers' names for later searching," the NRA writes.

The group claims that Congress could never have meant to authorize such a vast surveillance operation because it has repeatedly rejected proposals to create a national gun registry.

The NRA's brief also claims that the phone record program violates its members' First Amendment rights to associate and communicate freely. The group argues that people could fear retribution for associating with the gun-rights group if they knew the government was monitoring their phone records. 

Of course the truth about the NSA effort is that they can create a registry of -anything-. They don't just have phone call records, they also have credid card transactions, email, IP activity, all of it. If they want to know who bought a couch in a certain floral upholstery pattern on any Sunday in 2004, they can find out. Like, find out in under an hour and have a picture for every name on the list..

If they want to know exactly where every single person on that list is right now, as in right this second, if the people have a cell phone the NSA can do that too. Then turn on that cell phone and listen in to what's going on. Maybe even shut your car off and lock you inside if you have OnStar or a similar service installed.

So yeah, they can and I fully expect DO have a complete surveillance of everybody in the NRA, and everybody who's bought a gun in the last ten years. Plus, does anyone really, really believe that the FBI doesn't keep a complete record of every transaction on their NICS (National Instant Background Check System) even though they -promise- not to? The NSA for sure does, and even if the FBI purges ever bit on the NICS servers, with just a phone call I'm sure they can get the whole enchilada from NSA.

Nice to see the dog finally barking.