It’s hard to come up with a more appealing or contribution-worthy charitable organization than the Wounded Warrior Project. Maybe a charity specifically for abused Labrador puppies or one that feeds malnourished doe-eyed little girls who wear pink ribbons in their hair would generate more good feeling, but it’s hard not to earmark a little disposable income for those who have volunteered to fight for our country and were wounded in the process. As their site describes their raison d’être, “Wounded Warrior Project® (WWP) takes a holistic approach when serving warriors and their families to nurture the mind and body, and encourage economic empowerment and engagement. Through a high-touch and interactive approach, WWP hopes to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded service members in our nation’s history.” Who could argue with that? Not us. But . . .
But the Daily Caller’s running a story revealing that WWP doesn’t want to be associated with just anyone. And one of the groups they’d just as soon stay away from is anyone who has anything to do with guns. Well most of the time, anyway.
Tom Gresham’s the sonorous voice behind Gun Talk Radio. And with Veterans Day being last weekend, he apparently figured he’d do a mitzvah and pump up the WWP cause a little. You know, direct some cash their way. But they declined his invitation to go on the air saying,
WWP does not co-brand, create cause marketing campaigns or receive a percentage or a portion of proceeds from companies in which the product or message is sexual, political or religious in nature, or from alcohol or firearms companies.
Gobsmacked by WWP’s thanks-but-no-thanks, Gresham exchanged emails with the org’s spokesnoid, Leslie Coleman. She added this:
This policy is not a judgment on those who own and use firearms – clearly every member of our armed forces has been trained in the use of firearms and then called on to use them in the course of their service to this country.
Our position regarding firearms and alcohol is in response to the struggles that many injured service members face with substance abuse and suicide and the roles those items often play in those issues.
Hey, it’s a free country, right? WWP doesn’t have to take money from anyone with whom they don’t want to associate. Except sometimes they do.
The Daily Caller piece detailed contributions WWP had received from Kahr Arms. Not to mention the Lea County Action Shooters of Hobbs, New Mexico. And the NSSF touted a WWP benefit shoot organized by 18-year-old Ashley Butcher of Lockport, N.Y. to raise some coin. All of which WWP apparently accepted.
So what gives with the Gun Talk snub?
