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National Rifle Association

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, though that figure has not been independently confirmed.[5][6][7]

"NRA" redirects here. For other uses, see NRA (disambiguation) and National Rifle Association (disambiguation).

Founded

November 17, 1871 (1871-11-17)

New York City

501(c)(4)[1]

53-0116130

United States

  • Lobbying
  • Membership organization
  • Magazine publisher
  • Education/certification

Approximately 5.5 million (self-reported)[a]

$412,233,508

$423,034,158

NRA.org

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]

Non-profit organizations in Northern Virginia

Overview of gun laws by nation

(1996). Inside the NRA: Armed and Dangerous: An Exposé. Beverly Hills, CA: Dove. p. 180. ISBN 978-0787106775. OCLC 34235436.

Anderson, Jack

(1998). Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control. University of Iowa Press. p. 338. ISBN 978-0877456469.

Davidson, Osha Gray

Feldman, Richard (2011). . John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1118130995.

Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist

(1994). Guns, Crime, and Freedom. Regnery. ISBN 978-0895264770. OCLC 246629786.

LaPierre, Wayne R.

Melzer, Scott (2009). . New York University Press. p. 336. ISBN 978-0814795972.

Gun Crusaders: The NRA's Culture War

Patrick, Brian Anse (2002). . New York: Peter Lang. ISBN 978-0820451220. OCLC 316870710.

The National Rifle Association and the Media: The Motivating Force of Negative Coverage

Raymond, Emilie (2006). . University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0813124087. OCLC 77125677.

From My Cold, Dead Hands: Charlton Heston and American Politics

Smyth, Frank (March 31, 2020). (First ed.). New York: Flatiron Books. ISBN 978-1250210296. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2020.

The NRA: the Unauthorized History

(1992). National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower, and Fear. Washington, D.C.: Violence Policy Center. p. 258. ISBN 978-1451500226. OCLC 773292764.

Sugarmann, Josh

Trefethen, James B.; Serven, James E. (1967). . Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books. p. 320. OCLC 1361329.

Americans and Their Guns: The National Rifle Association Story Through Nearly a Century of Service to the Nation

(2011). Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 361. ISBN 978-0393082296.

Winkler, Adam

Official NRA website

at OpenSecrets

Lobbyist profile

. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer.

"National Rifle Association Internal Revenue Service filings"