4 Facts About The NRA Hardly Anyone Knows

The National Rifle Association is a polarizing organization. People tend to have very strong opinions that either favor or demonize it. However, there are a number of things that both supporters and detractors do not know about the NRA. Read on for four NRA facts that are likely to surprise you no matter where your own politics lie.

The NRA Has a History of Supporting Gun Control

The NRA backed the first two major federal initiatives on gun control, the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1938 Federal Firearms Act. Both were efforts to stop gangsters like Al Capone. Following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, the NRA supported a ban on mail-order rifles like the one Lee Harvey Oswald used. In 1968, the year Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King were assassinated, some groups criticized the NRA for not defending gun rights strongly enough in the wake of the killings.

Most of its Membership Favors Gun Control Today

Even today, most gun owners and NRA members support some measure of gun control. A significant majority of NRA members support background checks on employees of gun stores and on gun purchasers. Three-quarters of members believe that gun safety training should be a requirement for anyone who wishes to purchase a gun and that anyone who receives a concealed carry permit should have no violent offenses on record.

The NRA Has a Strong Wildlife Conservation Program

Throughout its history, the NRA has lent significant support to wildlife conservation. Since 1937, the NRA has supported the Pittman-Robertson act which uses tax on guns and ammunition for hunting to put toward managed hunting areas and wildlife conservation. This has led to a significant increase in wildlife in many areas where stock was depleted.

Most NRA Revenue Comes from Voluntary Donations

There is a general belief particularly among those who oppose the NRA that the organization is largely funded by special interest groups and gun manufacturers rather than the general populace. But this simply isn’t the case. The NRA gets some funding from its membership dues, but it also gets funding from consumers who have the opportunity to “round up” during a gun purchase and donate the difference to the NRA. While it is true to some degree that the sale of assault rifles funds the NRA, but the whole truth is a bit more complicated. Furthermore, a significant amount of the funds raised by rounding up go toward education and the previously mentioned wildlife conservation programs which are administered by the NRA Foundation. The NRA Foundation has no employees and does not pay any salaries.

What emerges in looking over these facts is a subtler picture of the NRA than many of its members or those who disapprove of the organization are aware of. In many ways, the organization itself is considerably more moderate than some of its more vocal and prominent members. The unfortunate result of this is that Americans talking on both sides of the gun debate ultimately do not realize that the opposing points of view may be less entrenched than imagined and not nearly as far apart as many think.

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As a gunsmith, Robert Farley stays current with his knowledge of firearms, affiliated organizations, as well as the laws surrounding the weapons he crafts. He enjoys writing about his profession and has contributed to finding some of the best online gunsmith training programs available for those interested in learning the craft.