How can the National Rifle Association (NRA) with 4.3 million members, a nominal percentage of the U.S. population, become such a powerful and influential group in Washington?[1] Some politicians dare not criticize the NRA in fear of being criticized themselves. Are 4.3 million members all it takes to turn most policy and law makers in Washington into puppets?
For every person that complains, asks a question, writes a letter, votes for something, there is a high probability that there are ten more people out there that feel the same way but did not act on their beliefs. Most members of the NRA are avid and passionate people who stand beside each other and fight the good fight. The NRA routinely holds Writing Letter Campaigns where they ask members to express their feelings and thoughts towards a certain bill or policy awaiting approval or denial by state or federal government. Though these campaigns can carry plenty of weight in changing the outcome, they don’t always succeed.
However, looking at the former, the technically forty million people who choose not to speak out on their beliefs are missing out on a major impact they could hold in our political process. For example, in California the NRA fought rigorously to pass Assembly Bill 1663 which would repeal the revisions of AB 962 that required vendors to store handgun ammunition behind the shelf to make the ammunition inaccessible to purchasers without the assistance of the vendor.[2] Despite the NRA providing over 70,000 letters to state government, the bill was denied--the NRA is notorious for fighting for bills that would weaken gun control laws. Another bill that the NRA was supporting was Assembly Bill 2115 which would allow about two million Veterans to obtain a concealed weapons permit disregarding the Good Cause requirement. The NRA makes it easy for members and non-members to support their cause through California’s NRA webpage where people can join the cause.[3] The NRA as an organization may not be able to vote in elections, but its individual members can, and do. So do so many other voters who agree with them, but just do not bother to join. Though this bill also failed to pass, it doesn’t mean that the efforts aren’t there anymore. These bills can be brought forth to congress for a second try sometime in the future.
On the other hand, the opposition of the NRA, The Brady Organization, does what it cans to fight against what the NRA proposes with the help of their members and letter writing campaigns, similar tactics of the NRA. When an Assembly Bill is brought to their attention, they too will do what they can to rally their members. Unfortunately, there are more people who would rather protect their gun rights than weaken them, which is why the NRA has more power. So there is no doubt that the NRA has pull in Washington and in local states, like here in California.
So how much power does the NRA have at the federal government level? Well late last year and on to early this year, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), put together a plan that they thought would crumble the smuggling of American made assault firearms into Mexico. However the plan was weakened by the Department of Justice (DOJ) all because officials were worried about how the NRA would react.[4] Mexico's drug war has claimed more than 30,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on the powerful drug cartels shortly after assuming control in late 2006. ATF tracks the weapons found in Mexico and has linked tens of thousands of recovered guns to U.S. dealers.[5] Despite this information the ATF hit a road block. The NRA and their $250 million in yearly revenue is the top contributor to the force that has been shaping the nation's gun laws. The NRA in the past two decades has spent more than $100 million on political activities in the United States, according to documents and interviews, including $22 million on lobbying and nearly $75 million on campaigns.[6]
So when we take a look at the numbers and how much money the NRA spends on policies regarding control, the money invested has more influence on decisions made than does the general public opinion. In other words, money buys power, and the NRA is no exception.
[1] Web Page: NRA-ILA: Frequently Asked Questions. Visited on, April 14, 2011. http://www.nraila.org/Issues/Faq/?s =27
[2] Web Page: Legal Community Against Violence: Summary of 2010 California Firearms Legislation. Visited on, April 14, 2011. http://www.lcav.org/states/California_Legislation_2010.asp#AB1663
[3] Web Page: NRA Member’s Councils of California. Visited on April 14, 2011. http://calnra.com/legs.shtml?year=20 10&summary=ab2155
[4] Web page: “NRA-led gun lobby wields power influence over ATF, U.S. Politics”. Washington Post. Retrieved: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406045.html
[5] Web page: “Obama’s Administration New Proposed Gun Regulations for Border States Met with Bipartisan Dissent”. Fox News Channel. January 15, 2011. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/01/15/obama-administrations-new-proposed-gun-regulation-border-states-met-bipartisan/#ixzz1Jo94w8Ys
[6] Web page: “NRA-led gun lobby wields power influence over ATF, U.S. Politics”. Washington Post. Retrieved: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/14/AR2010121406045.html
