About the NRA
NRA stands for National Rifle Association, which was established in 1871 by Union veterans Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate, and who adopted the slogan “[to] promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis” (home.nra.org). In 1903, the NRA created “rifle clubs at all major colleges” as a means of encouraging shooting sports amongst the American youth, a tradition still upheld today with over one million members partaking in NRA shooting sports, many of whom are kids belonging to groups such as the Boy Scouts of America. Law enforcement along with civilian training are offered by the organization, in which “125,000 certified instructors…train about 1,000,000 [civilian] gun owners a year” (home.nra.org). The NRA Foundation, which in itself is a tax-exempt organization, was created in 1990 as a means of raising “millions of dollars to fund gun safety and educational projects of benefit to the general public.” Now, the association allegedly boasts a whopping five million members (bbc.com), all who fight to defend the average American citizen’s Second Amendment rights.
NRA’s Influence in Politics
The NRA first dipped its toes into political lobbying in 1934 with the mailing of information to its members regarding upcoming firearm bills (bbc.com). The National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 were both backed by the organization, yet the passing of the GCA marked the NRA’s more active involvement in politics by shaping its future political stance. The Institute of Legislative Action was formed in 1975 as a means of protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights, and the association utilized it as a lobbying agent to influence government policy directly to their benefit. In the next two years, it would establish its personal Political Action Committee, which would serve as a way to fund and ultimately influence government legislators to pass regulation in their favor. This lobbying technique is what makes the NRA so influential in the passing or stopping of bills, and how it manages to influence elections from local all the way up to national.
The ILA is a domineering entity when it comes to the passing of certain public policy; an instance of this occurred in Florida in which the legislation passed declared that doctors would be punished for asking patients if they possessed a weapon (Watkins). Another effective technique used by the organization to sway citizens towards their cause is the development of their own magazines, shops, and clubs throughout the country. These act as tools to help spread their pro-gun message across the nation, further fueling our country’s controversial gun culture. NRA propaganda also helps draw in money for the association that will eventually go towards lobbying government officials.
The NRA, when it comes to lobbying, invests around three million dollars per year towards lawmakers in an effort to endorse their pro-gun agenda (bbc.com). Other potential contributions, such as towards PACs (Political Action Committees, which are designed to privately raise funds that can influence federal elections or regulation), are not publicly recorded and thus cannot be used to estimate how much the organization spends in total to clout legislative officials. In 2016 alone, however, the NRA managed to allocate a total of $35,157,585 towards government affairs (OpenSecrets.org), making it the top-spending political nonprofit of that year (Sit). In comparison to the entire 2016 election process, it spent $51,854,687, in which $30 million went solely towards Trump’s campaign (Sit).
NRA in Relation to Mass Shootings
The NRA plays a major role when it comes to the promotion of America’s pro-gun culture and our nation’s easy access to weapons. To understand the extent of their dominion, one must consider both their political and social dominance. The association manages to garner political support through the hefty donations it provides to elected leaders while simultaneously swaying the American public through its effective advertising strategies that convince them of the organization’s power and drive in protecting their rights.
After any mass shooting, a pattern is set in motion where gun sales go up six to eight weeks after the tragedy and the organization experiences a spike in donations as well (Nedelman). One of the reasons cited for this is people’s sudden need to defend themselves (Nedelman). Potential handgun buyers may view a mass shooting as the inciting incident that finally convinces them to obtain a weapon as a means of keeping themselves and their loved ones safe. An increase in gun purchases also occurs amongst people that previously never owned one, and a survey done by the Pew Research Center concluded that around 50% of gun owners in America “cite protection as their main reason for owning a gun” (Nedelman).
The dramatic hike in NRA donations after a shooting can be attributed to people fearing stricter gun control being passed in retaliation. American citizens highly value their Second Amendment, and so when it seems the government may infringe this right in any way by passing harsher regulation, people turn to the NRA whom they see as having the ability to protect their rights. All of this promotes the gun activists’ agenda, which entails little legal regulation in the purchasing of a weapon or parts of a weapon, and which ultimately contributes to the wide accessibility of guns (Engel). By the NRA preventing additional gun regulation, it spurs the senseless killing of thousands of innocent people every year, the latest being the Parkland massacre, making it the eighth school shooting in 2018 (Beckett). While some major companies like MetLife and Symantec publicly announced they would no longer offer discounts to NRA members after the tragedy in Florida (Bomey), a rise in the organization’s membership is already under way (time.com). As Charles Cotton, a member of the NRA’s Board of Directors, claimed in a Texas forum, TexasCHLforum.com, the level of opposition pro-gun activists are currently facing can only be surpassed with the recruitment of “NRA members every single day” (time.com).
Mass Shootings 