Global InformationNational Rifle Association information
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| Founded | November 17, 1871 |
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| Founder |
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| Founded at | New York City |
| Type | 501(c)(4)[1] |
Tax ID no. | 53-0116130 |
| Focus |
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| Location |
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Area served | United States |
| Services |
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| Method |
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Members | Approximately 5.5 million (self-reported)[a][citation needed] |
Key people |
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| Subsidiaries |
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Revenue (2018) | $412,233,508[citation needed] |
| Expenses (2018) | $423,034,158[citation needed] |
| Website | NRA.org |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
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The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States.[2][3][b] Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while continuing to teach firearm safety and competency. The organization also publishes several magazines and sponsors competitive marksmanship events.[4] According to the NRA, it had nearly 5 million members as of December 2018,[update] though that figure has not been independently confirmed.[5][6][7]
The NRA is among the most influential advocacy groups in U.S. politics.[8][9][10] The NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) is its lobbying division, which manages its political action committee (PAC), the Political Victory Fund (PVF). Over its history, the organization has influenced legislation, participated in or initiated lawsuits, and endorsed or opposed various candidates at local, state, and federal levels. Some notable lobbying efforts by the NRA-ILA are the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which lessened restrictions of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the Dickey Amendment, which blocks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from using federal funds to advocate for gun control.
Starting in the mid-to-late 1970s, the NRA has been increasingly criticized by gun control and gun rights advocacy groups, political commentators, and politicians. This criticism began following changes in the NRA's organizational policies, following what is now referred to as the Revolt at Cincinnati at the 1977 NRA annual convention. The changes, which deposed former NRA executive vice president Maxwell Rich and included new organizational bylaws, have been described as moving the organization away from its previous focuses of "hunting, conservation, and marksmanship" and toward a focus on the defense of the right to bear arms.[11][12][13] The organization has been the focus of intense criticism in the aftermath of high-profile shootings, such as the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and the Parkland High School shooting, after both of which they suggested adding armed security guards to schools.[14]
- ^ "National Rifle Association". ProPublica. May 9, 2013.
- ^ Korte, Gregory (May 4, 2013). "Post-Newtown, NRA membership surges to 5 million". USA Today.
- ^ Carter, Gregg Lee, ed. (2012). "National Rifle Association (NRA)". Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 616–20. ISBN 978-0313386701. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) is the nation's largest, oldest, and most politically powerful interest group that opposes gun laws and favors gun rights.
- ^ "A Brief History of NRA". National Rifle Association of America. Archived from the original on July 3, 2013. Retrieved July 19, 2013.
- ^ "Analysis | Nobody knows how many members the NRA has, but its tax returns offer some clues". The Washington Post.
- ^ Sit, Ryan (March 30, 2018). "How big is the NRA? Gun group's membership might not be as powerful as it says". Newsweek. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ "About the NRA". home.nra.org. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
- ^ Lacombe, Matthew J. (2021). Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-20746-9.
- ^ "FORTUNE Releases Annual Survey of Most Powerful Lobbying Organizations" (Press release). Time Warner. November 15, 1999. Retrieved November 21, 2010.
- ^ Wilson, James Q.; et al. (2011). American Government: Institutions & Policies. Cengage Learning. p. 264. ISBN 978-0495802815.
- ^ LaPierre, Wayne. "Media Rage Against Trump And His Promise Of A Better Nation". America's 1st Freedom. NRA.
- ^ Davidson, Osha Gray (1998). Under Fire: the NRA and the Battle for Gun Control. University Of Iowa Press. pp. 28–36. ISBN 0877456461.
- ^ "Gun violence research: History of the federal funding freeze". apa.org. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
- ^ "Transcript of remarks from the NRA press conference on Sandy Hook school shooting". The Washington Post. December 21, 2012.
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