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1. The NRA was originally not a civil rights organization.

The NRA was founded in 1871 after the Civil War by Army and Navy Journal editor William Conant Church and General George Wood Wingate of the Union Army, who were both dismayed at the horrible accuracy of Union soldiers during the Civil War. The original purpose of the organization was for rifle marksmanship training. However despite this, the NRA is the oldest civil rights organization in the United States.

2. The NRA has a history of being for gun control.

In 1934, the NRA supported the National Firearms Act, which served to regulate and tax firearms that were considered used by gangsters at the time. They also supported the Gun Control Act of 1968, which expanded on the system to license firearm dealers and prohibit criminals and those with mental impairments from owning firearms.

3. The NRA has a history of supporting the Civil Rights Movement.

While African Americans were being terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan, where the Klan were sometimes aided by local law enforcement, the NRA setup charters to help train local African American communities to be able protect themselves. The most prominent case being in 1960 in Monroe, N.C. where the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People head Robert Williams also chartered an NRA Rifle Club that successfully defended an assault on one of their leader's homes by the KKK without casualties.


4. The NRA is active in wildlife conservation.

The NRA supports wildlife conservation through efforts to open lands up to managed hunting. For example, under the Pittman-Robertson Act of 1937, proceeds obtained through a tax on hunting firearms and ammo were used specifically to research and rebuild a vast array of wildlife species and habitats. Today, the NRA continues to seek expansion on these measures. It's worth noting that the proceeds from taxes and licensing go to support the governmental agencies charged with environmental research and conservation management, as "little funding comes from taxes paid by the general public."

5. The NRA offers extensive firearms training programs.

The organization offers training programs for civilians as well as law enforcement. The training programs offered are even recognized by law enforcement as acceptable to fulfill the training requirement for concealed carry licenses (CCW). Today, the NRA has trained over 10,000 police and security firearm instructors and 55,000 certified instructors who in turn train roughly 750,000 people a year. (This is now much higher at over 11,000 police and security firearm instructors and 93,000 certified instructors.)

6. The Eddie Eagle GunSafe program is used to promote gun safety to minors.

To date, the organization's Eddie Eagle GunSafe program has reached over 25 million kids. The main message of the program is to teach kids that should they find a firearm that they should "stop, don't touch, leave the area, and tell an adult." Despite the program's message, gun control advocates (such as the Violence Policy Center) liken the program to the late cigarette mascot "Joe Camel."

7. A majority of Americans have a favorable image of the NRA.

According to a recent Gallup poll, 54% of Americans hold a favorable view of the NRA, while 38% have an unfavorable view. Putting this in perspective, a more recent Gallup poll shows President Obama holds a 51% approval rating, while 43% disapprove.

8. The NRA has 3 separate organizations.

The NRA has three separate bodies. The NRA of America is mainly concerned with promoting training, education, and safety. The NRA-ILA is the lobbying arm of the organization. And the NRA Foundation is the the charitable arm of the organization.

9. Funding for the NRA might surprise you

According to FactCheck.org, nearly half of the funding for the NRA comes from membership dues alone. Voluntary donations to the NRA, however, still account for a majority portion of the remaining funding. This includes voluntary donations made during gun purchases at the point of sale as well as programs like the "round-up" campaign, operated by the NRA-ILA and retailers, where consumers can round a purchase up to the nearest dollar for donation to support lobbying efforts. With that said, gun manufacturers do donate to the NRA as well. For example, Sturm, Ruger, and Co., ran the "Million Gun Challenge" in 2011, which directly ties gun sales to donations with the target being one million dollars.

10. Current stance on gun Control

The NRA's current stance on gun control is to enforce existing laws more aggressively. In 2008, in response to the Virgina Tech shooting, the NRA helped to pass the "NICS Improvement Act," which would provide increased funding and grants to states to report vital information to the National Instant Background Check System (NICS), such as mental health. The NICS is used for background checks of potential gun buyers. Unfortunately, the system has been woefully underfunded (receiving only 5.3% of the authorized funding) and reporting has been lackluster. In addition, the NRA has pointed out that those who lie on their background checks when purchasing firearms are for the most part not prosecuted. In response to this, Vice President Biden claimed that they "don't have the time" to prosecute such violations, which, by the way, carries a minimum 5 year federal sentence, if convicted under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

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Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
"Defender of Freedom" award
NRA Recruiter
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member


"Having a gun is like a parachute, if you need one and don't have it you may never need it again"
 
this was not to be a lesson on the origins of the NRA, just a show of support from a group of people. what they stated might not been the whole truth, just great to see that there are alot of folks that support the right to defend the 2nd amendment.
 
Actually it is because the NRA DID defend blacks against the KKK.


Deen
NRA Life Member, Benefactor Level
"Defender of Freedom" award
NRA Recruiter
Second Amendment Foundation Member
Washington Arms Collectors Member
Arms Collectors of SW Washington Member


"Having a gun is like a parachute, if you need one and don't have it you may never need it again"
 
While Robert Williams was an NRA member and did establish a local NRA rifle club, he got no help from the NRA unfortunately, or from anyone else besides local black WW2 vets. Still, he was able to back down the local murders, Klan, and cops for a while (his wife stopped a police death squad with a 12 g). Monroe NC was the home of the vile Senator Jesse Helms.
Williams was eventually forced to flee the country and go to Cuba. He came back to Monroe in the 1990's.
 
this was not to be a lesson on the origins of the NRA, just a show of support from a group of people. what they stated might not been the whole truth, just great to see that there are alot of folks that support the right to defend the 2nd amendment.

It does not make a difference whether you are white, black, yellow or green, you have a natural right to protect your life and property.
The major media outlets play the race game as do the race hustlers like Jackson and especially Sharpton and in reality none of them really care about those that they claim to be advocates for.
 
It does not make a difference whether you are white, black, yellow or green, you have a natural right to protect your life and property.
The major media outlets play the race game as do the race hustlers like Jackson and especially Sharpton and in reality none of them really care about those that they claim to be advocates for.

The question becomes if you think there are no racists among gun rights advocates, willing to accept pro-gun support from minorities
while really not caring about them.
 
you guys don't get it do you? it was just a statement to show support for the 2nd amendment.
this is not a race issue, all though it looks that way.
look at it as a victory for more support, where ever it comes from!
 
you guys don't get it do you? it was just a statement to show support for the 2nd amendment.
this is not a race issue, all though it looks that way.
look at it as a victory for more support, where ever it comes from!

Not trying to be off topic: As much as the NRA does help, I won't deny that, they not only have had a patchy history that has only been beneficial until recently.

Yes, yes, the NRA was created to help fend off the KKK. But where were they when California insisted the GCA needed to be enacted because Blacks were walking up the steps of their capital, armed and... wait for it... NOT DOING ANY HARM, BUT INSTEAD STANDING UP TO SHOW THE INEQUALITY BLACKS TRULY HAD.

Sadly, the NRA has helped craft the NFA and the GCA. A testament to what the NRA is all about.

Simply put, and this is going to offend many people, the NRA is a special interest group. And not really about the 2nd amendment. Yes, in the last 14 years they have turned into a group that has helped the 2A cause.

What caused this shift you might ask? Money. They found that a shift in creed would first and foremost help the industry more (of which many people hold stock in, not that that is a negative but a conflict of interest none the less) and second increase their member base which helps with the first premise.

You see it wasn't necessary to dive into the civil rights card when they were helping create the GCA because it was socially unacceptable for African-Americans to be privileged, or for that matter have guns, it was rather racist.

But their member base at the time didn't really care about civil rights they cared about hunting. You won't find any 2A propaganda before the 80's that is spoken from the same mentality that most of us share here on this site.

Only mid to late 90's do we really see them toot the 2A horn. Why? AGAIN MONEY!

They found that appealing to people getting pissed off my the 1994 bans increased their membership immensely.

Not that I find this repulsive, or wrong, or even to be looked down upon. But simply, in my opinion the NRA has done more bad than they could possibly do good at this point. The NFA and GCA are two of the most right restricting pieces of legislation there is on the books. Simply, the NRA will never undo that.

I would much rather support groups like OFF if anyone is getting my money. That being said, the NRA does have it's place and does help, for now.

I guarantee you Malcolm X and the Black Panthers would not say the NRA was a group worthy of your funds.

panthers.jpg


Eagle

panthers.jpg
 
...the NRA is a special interest group...

Say it ain't so!

http://www.northwestfirearms.com/legal-political/18830-why-i-dont-like-nra.html

*edit*

It's actually good for the NRA to have constant threat of gun control...it reminds me of the Afghan Police leaders caught setting up rockets and bombs directed at American forces to justify the Americans to stay in the area.

They didn't have any ties to the Talliban, they just wanted the Americans to stay in that area. But the only way to do that was to keep the threat level going (if the Talliban shifted areas, then so would major operations and forward operating bases would be torn down and re-set elsewhere).

So here you have the NRA screaming about every gun control bill- some of which they probably helped engineeer. How do I know this? Because leftists are smart enough to add gun control measures to other bills and conduct backdoor screens (like how your doctor asks if there are any guns in the home now).

If the NRA wants my support then they need to be pro-active, not re-active.



Anyhoot....you know who I would be honestly surprised to see back the NRA and the 2nd Amendment? The ACLU.
 
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