Former member unloads on NRA for becoming a 'mindless ranting herd that is dividing the country'

A longtime gun owner and former member of the National Rifle Association has taken the organization to task for what he says are its lies about the debate over guns in the United States.

In a letter posted in the opinion section of local news website SeaCoastOnline, New Hampshire resident Arthur Bradbury explains that he was once proud to be an NRA member back when it was "a fine sportsman’s organization 50 years ago."

However, he says that the organization over the years has transformed into a fear-mongering group whose goal isn't to protect gun owners' rights so much as it is to foster a culture of paranoia among gun owners.

"As a gun owner for some 70 years... I find the NRA to be totally unreasonable in their entire approach," he writes. "The NRA has no thoughtful input, no attempt at any kind of reasonable contribution to the subject."

In particular, he slams the NRA's defense of the right to own an AR-15-style assault rifle, which he notes has standard magazines of 30 rounds or more.

"There is no reason to have any magazine with a capacity of more than 4 rounds," he writes.

While Bradbury is still a proud gun owner, he concludes that he no longer feels welcome by the NRA, which he says has become a "mindless ranting herd that is dividing the country."

Read the whole letter here.