The National Rifles Association Analysis

The National Rifles Association (NRA) is a not-for-profit organization that advocates for gun rights in the United States. It was established in 1871 to govern the use of rifles and pistols in sporting activities. The organization propagates its agenda through lobbying. Throughout the 20th century, the group achieved significant progress in ensuring that gun rights are protected.

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NRA draws membership from different parts of the country. It is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. Members of this organization are gun enthusiasts who pride themselves in the ownership and use of guns for activities such as sporting, hunting, and personal protection. It publishes magazines which are distributed to influence potential new members. The organization boasts of about 5 million members spread across the US. The NRA receives dues from its members and also relies on donations from business partners.

The budge of the NRA is mostly financed by members' dues, donations, and revenue generated through the sale of its magazines. Although there are no clear statistics about the organization's expenditure, its annual budget is believed to be in the region of $250 million. The NRA raises revenue from advertisements of various companies' products through its regular publications. Further, NRA receives donations from various companies involved in the sale of guns. This means that success of gun business translates to more revenue for the NRA. The revenue raised through the said methods is then used to organize marches and lobbies in matters related to gun rights.

The NRA has employed people to handle its resources and also manage its operations. These employees work in the various departments of the organization at its headquarters located in Fairfax and even in offices found in selected cities in the country. From accountants to computer experts, NRA employees people with varied skills to carry out its operations. The organization offers insurance and retirement benefits to its employees. Sick leave, annual leave, and vacation benefits are also offered. Due to the secret nature of its operations, it may be difficult to ascertain the exact number of employees the NRA has engaged, but it is a matter of fact that the organization provides employment opportunities for many people.

NRA is a powerful body. This power comes from the huge budgets the organization allocates to lobbyists meant to influence Congress and White House in its favor. The organization mainly uses its resources on propaganda, and other public relations activities intended to sway public opinion about gun control at both the state and national levels. Despite the fact that it was founded way back in 1871, the group became more active in gun-related issues after the passage of the Gun Control Act in 1968. The organization has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to lobby against gun control successfully. Through the Institute of Legislative Action, the NRA spends huge sums of money to litigate against advocacy for the introduction of stricter gun laws. For instance, the group has used the courts to stop research about gun violence. After the publication in 1993 of a study financed by the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) suggesting that gun ownership increased homicide at home, the NRA sought legal intervention and stopped CDC from using its funds to advocate for gun control. Since then, research in this field is almost nonexistent.

NRA is partisan a group. Although it not officially acknowledged, the NRA is affiliated to the ideals of the Republication. In many public forums, many senior Republication members (including Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, among others) have taken a soft stance against gun control and also supported NRA views on gun rights and public security.

Evaluation and Analysis

In my well-considered view, lobbying directly to legislators and other senior individuals at Congress and Whitehouse is the most effective method the group can use to prevent gun control. This is because individuals at Congress and Whitehouse are at the heart of legislation and policy-making and once they support the NRA cause, stricter gun laws can be a challenging thing to implement.

The group will be successful in the future as it has been in the past as long as it controls politics in Washington. For instance, the NRA is said to have spent millions of dollars to fund politicians in the 2016 general elections. This means that these politicians will always protect the interests of their funders, including NRA. Therefore, they will always use politicians and the courts to stop legal actions against its operations.

NRA can improve its message through enhanced propaganda to influence public opinion about gun rights. Also, it needs to pump more resources into political processes to project itself as a group with wider public interests than just gun ownership.