Can anyone reccomend a good and effective gun advocacy group other than the NRA?

Gun control group gives Obama an ‘F’
By Michael O’Brien - 01/19/10 07:00 AM ET

President Barack Obama on Monday received a failing grade from the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence for running away from gun control.

The group, which endorsed Obama in 2008, gave him an “F” on every issue it scored, including background checks, gun trafficking, guns in public, the federal assault weapons ban, standing up to the gun lobby and leadership.

“It’s been a very disappointing year for us, especially considering what he campaigned on,” the group’s president, Paul Helmke, said during an appearance on MSNBC.
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/76717-gun-control-group-gives-obama-an-f

NRA endorses McCain
By

The Washington Times Thursday, October 9, 2008

WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association is endorsing Republican presidential nominee John McCain despite differences with the Arizona senator on gun-show rules and campaign finance restrictions.

NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and the chairman of the NRA’s political action committee planned stops Thursday in Pennsylvania, Missouri, Colorado and Nevada to talk about the move.

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The NRA doesn’t always endorse presidential candidates. It has backed President Bush but declined to endorse Bob Dole in the 1996 race or President George H.W. Bush in 1992.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/oct/09/nra-endorses-mccain/

Firearm Owners Protection Act

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Machine Gun Ban: The Hughes Amendment

As debate for FOPA was in its final stages in the House before moving on to the Senate, Rep. William J. Hughes (D-N.J.) proposed several amendments including House Amendment 777 to H.R. 4332 that would ban a civilian from ownership or transfer rights of any fully automatic weapon which was not registered as of May 19, 1986. The amendment also held that any such weapon manufactured and registered before the May 19 cutoff date could still be legally owned and transferred by civilians.

In the morning hours of April 10, 1986, the House held recorded votes on three amendments to FOPA in Record Vote No's 72, 73, and 74. Recorded Vote 72 was on H.AMDT. 776, an amendment to H.AMDT 770 involving the interstate sale of handguns; while Recorded Vote 74 was on H.AMDT 770, involving primarily the easing of interstate sales and the safe passage provision. Recorded Vote 74 was the controversial Hughes Amendment that called for the banning of machine guns. Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.), at the time presiding as Chairman over the proceedings, claimed that the "amendment in the nature of a substitute, as amended, was agreed to." However, after the voice vote on the Hughes Amendment, Rangel ignored a plea to take a recorded vote and moved on to Recorded Vote 74 where the Hughes Amendment failed. The bill, H.R. 4332, as a whole passed in Record Vote No: 75 on a motion to recommit. Despite the controversial amendment, the Senate, in S.B. 49, adopted H.R. 4332 as an amendment to the final bill. The bill was subsequently passed and signed on May 19, 1986 by President Ronald Reagan to become Public Law 99-308, the Firearms Owners' Protection Act.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firearm_Owners_Protection_Act

Is lobbying good or bad or both?

Lobbying
Lobbying has its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, it is designed to help special-interest groups (which may be a group of a certain religion, belief, industry, etc) get their voices heard by members of the law-making body. On the other hand, lobby groups with large amounts of money are able to support campaigns and sway opinions, and therefore limit the mobility of politicians by creating the sense they are owed.

Money contributions under any guise nullifies the original intent of lobbying . Instead
bribery is now the main effect of the efforts on the part of the lobbying organization. No one donates money or gifts funds without the promise of a return, swaying votes or in effect buying congressand thereby making the general electorate voiceless.

In general, Lobbying would be considered a bad thing by the middle class private sector due to their comparative lack of influence. In this day and age, Lobbying has become a way for corporations, religions, and other private and special interest groups to submit their influence over the legislature and essentially circumvent the standard law-making procedure. While all political parties and groups involved with politics have lobbyists, many Americans feel lobbying has gotten out of hand and should be outlawed, but this comes at a double standard because you have to lobby the outlawing of lobbying for it to take any effect. However the practice of lobbying is currently protected by the model of government we have and since corporations and other special interests are legally considered a singular entity, they are represented as such in Congress.

I advise you to do you own research on the practise of lobbying and how it affects us before you decide whether it is good to have around, should be reformed, or outlawed altogether.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_lobbying_good_or_bad_or_both