The Untold Truth Of The NRA

During the 2020 election season, Robert J. Spitzer opined in The Washington Post that the National Rifle Association was doomed. Financial issues dating back over a decade came to a head with serious accusations of mismanagement and fraud leveled by then-president Oliver North in 2019. The legal challenges against the NRA and its CEO, Wayne LaPierre, remain ongoing as of 2022. Splinter groups have claimed a share of loyalty from firearms enthusiasts, while the NRA's shady money dealings and hard-line against even popular gun safety measures have alienated longtime members and allies (per The Guardian).

But if the NRA as an organization is in a weakened position now compared to just a few years ago, its dark legacy on American politics seems secure. The same inflexibility that's turned some of its members against it has become so ingrained in Republican political life that the ideology arguably carries more strength than the group itself, per The Washington Post. And it may be premature to dismiss the NRA and its clout within Republican circles — Politico notes the high-profile conservative figures attending its annual leadership forum in 2022.

That clear partisan connection, the rigid attitude toward gun control, and its money woes put the modern NRA well at odds with its beginnings. In fact, the group's early identity is unknown even to many of its own members.

The actual care and operation of firearms often seems a secondary concern to the NRA these days. Its political lobbying arm commands much more attention from the press and from lawmakers. But politics and advocacy were not part of the organization's originally intended scope. Its founding members were very much preoccupied with the proper use of firearms, having ample opportunity to observe poor marksmanship during the Civil War (via Vox). They were also concerned with the good training and advancements in weaponry happening in Europe, particularly in Prussia's victories over Austria and France. The NRA, as initially conceived, was meant to help the U.S. military and potential volunteer forces to measure up to those high Prussian standards.

According to Michael Waldman of Bill Moyers, this narrow focus began to shift before the turn of the century, but not toward political lobbying. In the absence of a major war, the need for an auxiliary marksmanship group was less obvious, though the federal government still provided rifles at cost to NRA-approved clubs. Membership within the NRA came to be dominated by recreational hunters, and by the end of World War II, its primary focus in its publications and outreach was sporting activities. In a rare instance where a lobbyist from the organization was asked by Congress to weigh in on a proposed gun control measure from a constitutional perspective, the man offered no opinion.

The NRA's hard-line against gun control measures, no matter the number of gun tragedies that strike America or the tide of public sentiment, was not always so unyielding. While Michael Waldman of Bill Moyers states that the NRA has always been hesitant about restrictions on gun ownership, it did not oppose such measures as the National Firearms Act of 1934. The rise of violent crime during Prohibition and the association of such weapons as the Tommy gun with mobsters and bank robbers inspired the law, which mandated gun manufacturers to register with the government and placed restrictions on the ownership of certain classes of firearms (per NPR).

Speaking before Congress at the time of the act's passage, an NRA lobbyist avowed (per NPR): "I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses." Decades later, when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated (with a weapon purchased through an ad in the NRA's American Rifleman magazine), another official for the organization spoke out in favor of proposed gun control measures. This time, however, the bill considered did not become law, as pressure from gun-owning constituents made Congress reconsider. In addition, the spike in violence during the 1960s ultimately played a key role in the NRA's turn toward unflinching opposition to gun control.

One of the NRA's favorite descriptions of itself is as "America's longest-standing civil rights organization." It's a boast that can be found on its website, and it is a go-to line for NRA officials and legal counsel (via the San Francisco Examiner). According to Salon, the organization made liberal use of the phrase when promoting its annual convention in 2015, highlighting the link between the NRA's supposed championing of civil rights and its host city of Atlanta, Georgia. There was even a well-circulated (and false) online claim in 2021 that the NRA was formed to help fight the Ku Klux Klan after the Civil War (per AP).

The title of America's oldest civil rights group is not uncontested, however, and the facts do not support the NRA's claim. Both the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Association of the Deaf have described themselves the same way, with the NAD devoting a page of its website to the matter. While the NRA is technically older than the NAACP and NAD, i's initial founding in 1871 as a group dedicated to marksmanship is well-documented. There was no expressed concern for civil rights or gun rights in its stated aims. The earliest public statement in defense of gun rights from the NRA comes from 1934, and it was only after the rise of Harlon Carter in 1977 (per The Washington Post) that such issues became the NRA's primary focus.

The NRA's decision to press forward with its 2022 convention in Houston, Texas, so soon after the Uvalde shootings (only four hours away, per The Washington Post) invited unfavorable comparisons with its actions after the Columbine High School massacre of 1999. There as well, the organization pressed forward with its convention, which was hosted in Denver that year, very close to the town of Columbine. Significant public rebuke came from state and local officials, including then-mayor Wellington Webb. The NRA shortened the convention and canceled its gun shows for the year, but its response to criticism was defiant.

It was a deliberate strategy, more focused on the NRA than the tragedy, and one the group considered rejecting. In 2021, NPR acquired over two hours of recordings of deliberations by NRA strategists after the Columbine shooting. Those involved in the talks were under no illusions about their situation. "We are in deep s*** on this deal," said official Kayne Robinson, who went on to describe any decision made as "the best of a whole bunch of very, very bad choices." On the table were canceling the convention, providing sympathetic statements to members of Congress, and creating a victims fund for up to $1 million. There was also an expressed fear that any decision would be painted in a negative light by the press, and this perceived hostility was ultimately highlighted in the NRA's response to its critics when it pressed ahead with the convention.

The NRA's recent legal woes don't have anything to do with gun rights or interpretations of the Second Amendment but with money. In 2019, its president, Oliver North, became concerned with possible improprieties that would jeopardize the NRA's nonprofit status. According to The Wall Street Journal, these included over $542,000 billed to Ackerman McQueen — the NRA's public relations firm — by CEO Wayne LaPierre. North moved to establish an independent review of the situation in April of that year, but he was preempted by a letter from LaPierre to the board of directors (via The Washington Post), claiming North wanted to intimidate him into resigning.

Ultimately, it was North who lost his role within the NRA. It was made clear to him that he could not seek a second term as president. In an effective resignation letter read out to the 2019 convention in Indianapolis, North repeated his calls for an investigation and insisted he acted in the organization's best interest. He felt that LaPierre's actions and the financial straits of the NRA threatened its viability. North was not the only one to take an interest in what might be happening with the NRA's money, either. As the conflict between North and LaPierre spilled into the public light, New York State Attorney general Letitia James announced an investigation into the group's finances (per ABC News).