In order to understand the National Rifle Association (NRA), one must first understand special interest groups. These are groups of citizens that share a common belief. Their goal is to influence policy through political participation for the benefit of themselves and their members. They accomplish these goals through campaigning, voting initiatives, influencing those running for office or having members run for office themselves. Look up any number of issues and you will find competing views on either, usually on different sides of the spectrum. Views such as traditional marriage v.s. marriage equality, immigration v.s. anti-immigration and of course, gun rights v.s. gun control (to name a few) are all serviced by special interest groups.
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They started out as an advocate for rifle marksmanship, while also teaching firearm safety. In the early days of the organization they published magazines, held competitions, informed the public and lobbied legislators in matters pertaining to their members. These are all things that a good special interest group is supposed to do for its members, the NRA does this very well. Today the organization’s list of responsibilities is about the same, they train local police departments, conduct firearm safety and marksmanship proficiency and many members are also a huge hunting enthusiasts (LaPierre). At the same time, he organization has changed over the past several years. The NRA is putting a great deal of time and effort into lobbying, they have transformed into a front group for the firearms industry. It should be noted that the NRA itself is a tax-exempt organization that is not allowed to lobby or campaign party/candidate. They are an over four and a half million member strong special interest organization and growing. With members the likes of Chuck Norris, Sarah Palin and Whoopi Goldberg, who wouldn’t want to join? Also, it doesn’t hurt that the organization’s President for some time was Charlton Heston. Yes, …show more content…
The NRA, lobbies for or against legislation that will benefit or hurt their members through one of their subsidiaries (and there are many) like the Institute for Legislative Action (Cooper, pg 2). They have taken up numerous cases against the Federal Government and other agencies and won. In the wake of the Columbine massacre, lawmakers attempted to close gaps in the Brady Bill that allowed firearms sold at gun shows to be sold without background checks or the mandatory waiting period. They lost overwhelmingly and those gaps were never closed. The NRA took on the Center for Disease Control (CDC), stating that research done by the CDC was biased in favor of gun control. John Ashcroft, a favorite among executive officers in the NRA, was a political appointee as attorney general during the Bush administration. Under Ashcroft’s watch of the Justice Department, he facilitated the adopted of individual right, as opposed to a collective right, when it came to the Second Amendment. They took on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, forbidding the agency from being able to release data on what kinds of firearms are being used for what crimes. They willfully fought to keep this information from the public and won (Diaz). Probably the fiercest fight that the organization has had was one reminiscent of one the tobacco industry had, where individuals could sue the industry for damages if
They started out as an advocate for rifle marksmanship, while also teaching firearm safety. In the early days of the organization they published magazines, held competitions, informed the public and lobbied legislators in matters pertaining to their members. These are all things that a good special interest group is supposed to do for its members, the NRA does this very well. Today the organization’s list of responsibilities is about the same, they train local police departments, conduct firearm safety and marksmanship proficiency and many members are also a huge hunting enthusiasts (LaPierre). At the same time, he organization has changed over the past several years. The NRA is putting a great deal of time and effort into lobbying, they have transformed into a front group for the firearms industry. It should be noted that the NRA itself is a tax-exempt organization that is not allowed to lobby or campaign party/candidate. They are an over four and a half million member strong special interest organization and growing. With members the likes of Chuck Norris, Sarah Palin and Whoopi Goldberg, who wouldn’t want to join? Also, it doesn’t hurt that the organization’s President for some time was Charlton Heston. Yes, …show more content…
The NRA, lobbies for or against legislation that will benefit or hurt their members through one of their subsidiaries (and there are many) like the Institute for Legislative Action (Cooper, pg 2). They have taken up numerous cases against the Federal Government and other agencies and won. In the wake of the Columbine massacre, lawmakers attempted to close gaps in the Brady Bill that allowed firearms sold at gun shows to be sold without background checks or the mandatory waiting period. They lost overwhelmingly and those gaps were never closed. The NRA took on the Center for Disease Control (CDC), stating that research done by the CDC was biased in favor of gun control. John Ashcroft, a favorite among executive officers in the NRA, was a political appointee as attorney general during the Bush administration. Under Ashcroft’s watch of the Justice Department, he facilitated the adopted of individual right, as opposed to a collective right, when it came to the Second Amendment. They took on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, forbidding the agency from being able to release data on what kinds of firearms are being used for what crimes. They willfully fought to keep this information from the public and won (Diaz). Probably the fiercest fight that the organization has had was one reminiscent of one the tobacco industry had, where individuals could sue the industry for damages if