Use this tool to compare the groups on some key topics and their demographics. About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. Share this link:. Kim Parker is director of social trends research at Pew Research Center. Facts are more important than ever. Wide differences on most gun policies between gun owners and non-owners, but also some agreement. A public opinion trend that matters: Priorities for gun policy.
But since the election of Donald Trump in , NRA spending on campaigns in the states has plummeted. The drop came amid the rise of pro-control groups, who have received millions of dollars from backers who oppose most NRA policies.
It was estimated that gun control groups may have outspent the NRA for the first time ever in Estimates of the NRA's membership have varied widely for decades. The association claimed that membership surged to close to five million in response to the mass shooting at Sandy Hook school in , but some analysts put the figure at closer to three million.
The organisation has been accused of inflating the figure. He resigned from the group in after Mr La Pierre referred to federal agents in the wake of a bombing attack on a government building in Oklahoma City as "jack-booted thugs". Heston famously held a rifle over his head at an NRA convention following the Columbine High School massacre in and told gun control advocates they would have to take it "from my cold, dead hands". The NRA has lobbied heavily against all forms of gun control and argued aggressively that more guns make the country safer.
It relies on, and staunchly defends, a disputed interpretation of the Second Amendment to the US Constitution, which it argues gives US citizens the rights to bear arms without any government oversight. The association faced criticism from both sides of the political spectrum in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting, when Mr La Pierre said that the lack of an armed guard at the school was to blame for the tragedy.
Voters hold the ultimate power in a democracy. Organized voters have more power than unorganized ones. Key to the power of the NRA and its affiliates is their grassroots base. While some NRA members join the organization because they support the policy goals and political advocacy, many others join for the extensive benefits and services provided — including discounted insurance, access to private clubs, a print magazine, and firearms safety classes, to name a few.
Individuals can become leaders within the NRA as firearms instructors or coaches. With , instructors 10 training 1 million people each year the NRA gives volunteers a significant role in building the organization.
But multiple surveys including from prominent Republican pollster Frank Luntz 12 have found that about three in four NRA members surveyed support universal criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun, 13 a policy the NRA vehemently opposes.
Even if a majority of NRA members demanded change, the structure and bylaws of the organization might prevent it. Only those who have been NRA members for at least five years or have signed up for a lifetime membership can vote in NRA elections.
The large media presence of the NRA seven print and online magazines, popular YouTube and other social media channels also helps it recruit new members and highlights the importance of its political activities.
Building a grassroots base of support takes significant resources. Of the groups and organizations that promote the interests of the gun industry, the NRA is by far the biggest political spender. Its spending has increased significantly in recent years. And importantly, it also can threaten to spend money for and against candidates. The threat alone can advance or stall policy because elected officials fear that the NRA will spend whatever it takes to defeat them.
Often, these take the form of paid advertisements calling for the election or defeat of candidates. The NRA greatly boosted its independent spending after the Supreme Court decided Citizens United in ; that ruling declared that corporations — including some nonprofits like the NRA — have a constitutional right to spend unlimited amounts to influence elections.
The Supreme Court has affirmed that Americans have a right to know who is spending money to influence their votes and their views. Eight justices endorsed the importance of disclosure in Citizens United , even as the rest of the opinion which only had the support of five justices demonstrated how out of touch the Court is with how campaigns are run by incorrectly assuming that adequate disclosure already exists.
Second, some campaign spending often goes unreported because our laws have not kept pace with how groups use changing technology to influence elections. The reporting gap could be explained by the fact that independent groups are not required to reveal how much they spend on [certain] Internet or field operations, including get-out-the-vote efforts. There is also the matter of foreign interference in our elections. Common Cause analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics; includes direct contributions to candidates from NRA employees and its PAC as well as indirect support via independent expenditures.
Only includes spending from to the present. Lobbying is another strategy that the NRA uses to accomplish its political goals.
It is a prolific spender on Capitol Hill. Its federal lobbying has secured votes on some of its priorities — and blocked bills that it opposes. Since Congress passed an assault weapons ban in , which it allowed to expire in , not much substantive gun legislation has been signed into law.
Bush signed it in The law shields corporations which manufacture and sell weapons from liability when their products harm people. Other gun measures have all failed. Other NRA priorities have gained momentum. It awaits action in the Senate. The NRA has pushed this proposal as one of its priority bills.
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