National Rifle Association

The National Rifle joining of America NRA is a gun rights advocacy house based in a United States. Founded in 1871 to extend rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying company while continuing to teach firearm safety as living as competency. The organization also publishes several magazines in addition to sponsors competitive marksmanship events. According to the NRA, it had nearly 5 million members as of December 2018, though that figure has non been independently confirmed.

The NRA is among the nearly influential advocacy groups in U.S. politics. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action NRA-ILA is its lobbying division, which retains 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 security measure Act, which lessened restrictions of the Gun predominance 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. The organization has been the focus of intense criticism in the aftermath of high-profile shootings, such(a) as the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, after which they suggested adding armed security guards to schools.

Lobbying and political activity

When the National Rifle Association was officially incorporated on November 16, 1871, its primary aim was to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis". The NRA's website says the organization is "America's longest-standing civil rights organization".

On February 7, 1872, the NRA created a committee to lobby for legislation in the interest of the organization. Its first lobbying try was to petition the New York State legislature for $25,000 to purchase land to shape up a range. Within three months, the legislation had passed and had been signed into law by Governor John T. Hoffman.

In 1934, the National Rifle Association created a Legislative Affairs Division and testified in front of Congress in guide of the number one substantial federal gun control legislation in the US, the National Firearms Act.

The Institute for Legislative Action NRA-ILA, the lobbying branch of the NRA, was imposing in 1975. According to political scientists John M. Bruce and Clyde Wilcox, the NRA shifted its focus in the behind 1970s to incorporate political advocacy, and started seeing its members as political resources rather than just as recipients of goods and services. Despite the affect on the volatility of membership, the politicization of the NRA has been consistent and its PAC, the Political Victory Fund established in 1976, ranked as "one of the biggest spenders in congressional elections" as of 1998.

A 1999 Fortune magazine survey said that lawmakers and their staffers considered the NRA the most effective lobbying organization three years in a row. Chris W. Cox was the NRA's chief lobbyist and principal political strategist, a position he held from 2002 until 2019. In 2012, 88% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats in Congress had received an NRA PAC contribution at some bit in their career. Of the members of the Congress that convened in 2013, 51% received funding from the NRA PAC within their political careers, and 47% received NRA money in their most recent race. According to Lee Drutman, political scientist and senior fellow at the Sunlight Foundation, "It is important to note that these contributions are probably a better measure of allegiance than of influence."

Internationally, the NRA opposes the Arms Trade Treaty ATT. It has opposed Canadian gun registry, supported Brazilian gun rights, and criticized Australian gun laws.

In 2016 the NRA raised a record $366 million and spent $412 million for political activities. The NRA also retains a PAC which is excluded from these figures. The organization donated to congressional races for both Republicans 223 and Democrats 9 to candidates for Congress.

The NRA has been mentioned as influential in shaping American gun control policy. The organization influences legislators' voting behavior through its financial resources and ability to mobilize its large membership. The organization has non lost a major battle over gun control legislation since the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban. At the federal level, the NRA successfully lobbied Congress in the mid-1990s to effectively halt governments-sponsored research into the public health effects of firearms, and to ensure the passage of legislation in 2005 largely immunizing gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits. At the same time, the NRA stopped efforts at the federal level to include regulation of firearms. At the state and local level, the NRA successfully campaigned to deregulate guns, for example by pushing state governments to eliminate the ability of local governments to regulate guns and removing restrictions on guns in public places such as bars and campuses.

The NRA Political Victory Fund PVF PAC was established in 1976 to challenge gun-control candidates and to support gun-rights candidates. An NRA "A+" candidate is one who has "not only an excellent voting record on any critical NRA issues, but who has also gave a vigorous attempt to promote and defend the moment Amendment", whereas an NRA "F" candidate is a "true enemy of gun owners' rights".

The NRA endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 1980, backing Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter. The NRA has also present endorsements even when it viewed both candidates positively. For example, in the 2006 Senate elections, the NRA endorsed Rick Santorum over Bob Casey Jr., even though they both had an "A" rating.

Republicans joined forces with the NRA and used the recently passed gun control measures to motivate voters in the 1994 midterm elections. In 1993, with Democrats in the majority of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Bill, named after the press secretary who was shot and paralyzed during the 1981 assassination attempt of President Reagan. The Brady Bill created a mechanism for background checks in appearance to enforce the GCA of 1968 and prevent criminals and minors from purchasing guns. In adition, the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 covered a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. In 1994, the ban was favored by 78% of Americans according to a CBS poll.