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The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1871 that promotes the right of citizens to bear arms, as well as police training, firearm safety, marksmanship, hunting and self-defense training in the United States. The NRA is designated by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) and its lobbying branch is a 501(c)(4) organization.

The NRA is one of the country's largest certifying bodies for firearm safety training and proficiency training courses for police departments, recreational hunting, and child firearm safety. It publishes several magazines and sponsors marksmanship events featuring shooting skill and sports. Observers and lawmakers see the NRA as one of the top three most influential lobbying groups in Washington.

The organization's political activity is based on the idea that firearm ownership is a civil right protected by the Second Amendment of the Bill of Rights. NRA membership reached 4.3 million in 2010.

History

Origins

The National Rifle Association was first chartered in the state of New York on November 17, 1871 by Army and Navy Journal editor William Conant Church and General George Wood Wingate. Its first President was Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, who had worked as a Rhode Island gunsmith, and Wingate was the original Secretary of the organization. Church succeeded Burnside as President in the following year.

Union Army records for the Civil War indicate that its troops fired about 1,000 rifle shots for each Confederate soldier hit, causing General Burnside to lament his recruits: "Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the manual of arms, only one knows the purpose of the sights on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn." The generals attributed this to the use of volley tactics, devised for earlier, less accurate smoothbore muskets.

Recognizing a need for better training, Wingate traveled to Europe and observed European armies' marksmanship training programs. With plans provided by Wingate, the New York legislature funded the construction of a modern range at Creedmore, Long Island, for long-range shooting competitions. Wingate then wrote a marksmanship manual.

After winning the British Empire championship at Wimbledon, London, in 1874, the Irish Rifle Team issued a challenge through the New York Herald to riflemen of the United States to raise a team for a long-range match to determine an Anglo-American championship. The NRA organized a team through a subsidiary amateur rifle club. Remington Arms and Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company produced breech-loading weapons for the team. Although muzzle-loading rifles had long been considered more accurate, eight American riflemen won the match firing breech-loading rifles. Publicity of the event generated by the New York Herald helped to establish breech-loading firearms as suitable for military marksmanship training, and promoted the NRA to national prominence.

Eight U.S. Presidents have been NRA members. They are Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush.

Rifle clubs

The NRA organized rifle clubs in other states, and many state National Guard organizations sought NRA advice to improve members' marksmanship. Wingate's markmanship manual evolved into the United States Army marksmanship instruction program. Former President Ulysses S. Grant served as the NRA's eighth President and General Philip H. Sheridan as its ninth. The U.S. Congress created the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in 1901 to include representatives from the NRA, National Guard, and United States military services. A program of annual rifle and pistol competitions was authorized, and included a national match open to military and civilian shooters. NRA headquarters moved to Washington, D.C. to facilitate the organization's advocacy efforts. In 1903, Congress authorized the Civilian Marksmanship Program, which was designed to train civilians who might later be called to serve in the U.S. military. Springfield Armory and Rock Island Arsenal began the manufacture of M1903 Springfield rifles for civilian members of the NRA in 1910.

Lobbying

Along with the president, executive vice president (CEO), and board of directors, the organization's lobbying division, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA), is considered a power center of the NRA.

The NRA formed a legislative affairs division in response to debate concerning passage of the 1934 National Firearms Act, the first major gun control legislation in the United States. At the time, the NRA supported the act without studying its impact on the second amendment, and also supported the Gun Control Act of 1968. The two acts created a system to license gun dealers and imposed taxes on the private ownership of machine guns.

"The Cincinnati Revolution"

Since the 1970s, the NRA has undergone a series of political crises, focused on taking control of the organization and changing its focus away from hunting, conservation and marksmanship to one of Second Amendment advocacy and political mobilization.

The defining moment came at the 1977 annual convention in Cincinnati, known as "The Cincinnati Revolution." Until then, the NRA had focused on sportsmen, hunters and target shooters, and had downplayed issues of gun control. At the convention, the leadership had planned an elaborate new headquarters in Colorado, designed to promote sportsmanship and conservation. Within the organization, an opposition was formed of activists whose whose central concern was Second Amendment rights. The activists defeated the incumbents in 1977 and installed Harlon Carter as Executive Director and Neal Knox as head of the ILA.

After 1977, the organization expanded its membership by focusing heavily on political issues, downplaying the roles of hunters and target shooters, and forming coalitions with conservative politicians, most of them Republicans. With a goal to weaken the Gun Control Act of 1968, Knox's NRA successfully lobbied congress to pass the McClure-Volker firearms decontrol bill of 1986 and worked to reduce the powers of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). In 1982, Knox was ousted as director of the ILA but began mobilizing outside the NRA framework and continued to promote opposition to gun control laws. The organization's approached 3 million people by 1984, but internal turmoil continued, as several executive vice presidents were removed.

At the 1991 national convention, Knox's supporters took control of the board, and named staff lobbyist Wayne LaPierre as the Executive Vice President. The NRA focused its attacks on the gun control policies of the Clinton administration. Knox again lost power in 1997, as he lost reelection to a coalition of moderate leaders who supported movie star Charlton Heston, despite Heston's past support of gun control legislation. In 1994, the NRA unsuccessfully opposed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, but successfully lobbied for the ban's 2004 expiration. Heston was elected president in 1998 and became a highly visible spokesman for the organization. In an effort to improve the NRA's image, Heston presented himself as the voice of reason in contrast to Knox.

Safety and sporting programs

NRA firearms safety programs

The NRA sponsors a range of programs designed to encourage the safe use of firearms. NRA hunting safety courses are offered in the United States for both children and adults. Classes focusing on firearm safety, particularly for women, have become popular. Intended for school-age children, the NRA's "Eddie Eagle" program encourages the viewer to "Stop! Don't touch! Leave the area! Tell an adult!" if the child ever sees a firearm lying around. The NRA has also published an instructional guide, called The Basics of Personal Protection In The Home (published in 2000).

Shooting sports

Prior to 1992, the NRA governed shooting sports in the United States. In 1992, USA Shooting replaced the NRA as the National Governing Body for Olympic shooting, and in 2000, the NRA chose not to be a member of the National Three-Position Air Rifle Council. Additionally, the NRA is not directly involved in the practical pistol competitions conducted by the International Practical Shooting Confederation and International Defensive Pistol Association, or in cowboy action shooting.

The NRA hosts the National Rifle and Pistol Matches at Camp Perry, events which are considered to be the "world series of competitive shooting." Commonly known as Bullseye or Conventional Pistol, shooters from the military as well as many top-ranked civilians gather annually in July and August for this competition. The NRA also sponsors its National Muzzle Loading Championship at the National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association's Friendship, Indiana facility. Additionally, the Bianchi Cup, hosted by NRA, is considered among the most lucrative of all the shooting sports tournaments.

The NRA house magazine, American Rifleman, covers major shooting competitions and related topics, and the NRA offers a publication dedicated to competitive shooting, Shooting Sports USA. Most competitive shooters are NRA members. The current NRA competitions division publishes its own rulebooks, maintains a registry of marksmanship classifications, and sanctions matches. The NRA also represents the United States on the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA), which administers the World Long-Range Rifle Team Championships, contested every four years for the PALMA trophy.

Instructors

The National Rifle Association issues credentials and trains firearm instructors in a variety of disciplines. NRA-credentialed instructors teach marksmanship, maintenance, and legalities. NRA Instructors are commonly found at privately owned firearms ranges, and are often employed by the Boy Scouts of America on their summer camps. NRA Instructors cannot issue permits to carry a concealed weapon or tax stamps for restricted firearms types.

Relationship with other organizations

The National Rifle Association maintains ties with other organizations such as the Boy Scouts of America and 4-H. Involvement includes monetary donations, equipment to supply firearms ranges, and instructors to assist in their programs. Notably, the Boy Scouts of America has strict guidelines on who is allowed to operate their ranges, the recognized personnel groups including NRA Certified Instructors along with military and law enforcement.

The NRA joined the American Civil Liberties Union and several other civil liberties organizations in joint letters to President Clinton on 10 January 1994 and to the House Committee on the Judiciary on 24 October 1995 calling for federal law enforcement reforms drawing on lessons from the Waco siege and Ruby Ridge.

Fundraising and shooting support

Friends of NRA is a grassroots program that raises money for The NRA Foundation, the organization's 501(c)(3). As part of Friends of NRA activities, volunteers in the United States organize committees and plan events in their communities.

Established in 1990, The NRA Foundation raises tax-deductible contributions in support of a wide range of firearm related public interest activities. These activities are designed to promote firearms and hunting safety, to enhance marksmanship skills of those participating in the shooting sports, and to educate the general public about firearms in their historic, technological and artistic context. Funds granted by The NRA Foundation benefit a variety of constituencies throughout the United States including children, youth, women, individuals with disabilities, gun collectors, law enforcement officers, hunters, and competitive shooters.

Political advocacy

Because the NRA considers gun ownership to be a civil right, the organization calls itself the "oldest civil rights organization in the United States."

The Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the lobbying branch of the National Rifle Association of America. Members of Congress have ranked the NRA as the most powerful lobbying organization in the country several years in a row. Chris W. Cox is the NRA's chief lobbyist and principal political strategist, a position he has held since 2002.

In its lobbying for gun rights, the NRA asserts that the Second Amendment guarantees the right of individuals to bear arms. The NRA opposes measures which it believes conflict with the Second Amendment and the right to privacy as it relates to gun owners. Additionally, the organization has invoked the Tenth Amendment to defend gun rights.

Legislation

The NRA currently opposes most new gun-control legislation, calling instead for stricter enforcement of existing laws such as prohibiting convicted felons and violent criminals from possessing firearms and increased sentencing for gun-related crimes. The NRA also advocates for concealed carry in the United States. It also takes positions on non-firearm hunting issues, such as supporting wildlife management programs that allow hunting and opposing restrictions on devices like crossbows and leg hold traps.

The NRA supported the 1934 National Firearms Act (NFA), which regulated what were considered at the time "gangster weapons" such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and silencers. However, the organization's position on parts of the act has since changed.

The NRA supported the 1938 Federal Firearms Act (FFA) which established the Federal Firearms License (FFL) program. The FFA required all manufacturers and dealers of firearms who ship or receive firearms or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce to have a license, and forbade them from transferring any firearm or most ammunition to any person interstate unless certain conditions were met. As a practical matter, this did not affect the interstate commerce in firearms or ammunition. It was with the adoption of the Gun Control Act in 1968, which repealed most of the FFA, that the lawful interstate trade of firearms was limited almost entirely to persons holding a Federal Firearms License.

The NRA supported and opposed parts of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which broadly regulated the firearms industry and firearms owners, primarily focusing on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers. The law was supported by America’s oldest manufacturers (Colt, S&W, etc.) in an effort to forestall even greater restrictions which were feared in response to recent domestic violence. The NRA supported elements of the law, such as those forbidding the sale of firearms to convicted criminals and the mentally ill.

In 2004, the NRA opposed renewal of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. The ban expired at midnight on September 13, 2004.

In 2012, following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, the NRA called on the United States Congress to appropriate funds for a "National School Shield Program," under which armed police officers would protect students in every U.S. school. The NRA also announced the creation of a program that would advocate for best practices in the areas of security, building design, access control, information technology, and student and teacher training.

Lawsuits

In 2005, the NRA, the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), and others successfully sued New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and others to stop gun seizures in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. On October 4, 2006, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law the NRA-backed Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act of 2006, which prohobited the confiscation of legal firearms from citizens during states of emergency by any agent of the Federal Government or agency that receives funds from the federal government.

In November 2005, the NRA and other gun advocates filed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco Proposition H, which banned the ownership and sales of firearms. The NRA argued that the citizen-passed proposition overstepped local government authority and intruded into an area regulated by the state. The San Francisco County Superior Court agreed with the NRA position. The city appealed the court's ruling, but lost a 2008 appeal. In October 2008, San Francisco was forced to pay a $380,000 settlement to the National Rifle Association and other plaintiffs to cover the costs of litigating Proposition H.

After a 2008 ruling (District of Columbia v. Heller) by the U.S. Supreme Court that affirmed the individual right to own a handgun, the NRA has participated in lawsuits contesting such legislation.

In 2009 the NRA filed suit again (Guy Montag Doe v. San Francisco Housing Authority) in the city of San Francisco, CA challenging the city's ban of guns in public housing. On January 14, 2009, the San Francisco Housing Authority reached a settlement with the NRA, which allows residents to possess legal firearms within a SFHA apartment building.

In 2010, the NRA sued the city of Chicago, Illinois (McDonald v. Chicago) and the Supreme Court ruled that like other substantive rights, the right to bear arms is incorporated via the Fourteenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights, and therefore applies to the States.

The NRA supported the case of Brian Aitken, a New Jersey resident sentenced to seven years in state prison for transporting guns without a carry permit. The organization's Civil Rights Defense Fund helped to pay Brian Aitken's legal bills. On December 20, 2010, Governor Chris Christie granted Aitken clemency and ordered Aitken's immediate release from prison.

Endorsements

The NRA's policy is that it will endorse any incumbent politician who supports its positions, even if the challenger supports them as well. For example, in the 2006 Senate Elections the NRA endorsed Rick Santorum over Bob Casey, Jr. even though they both had an "A" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund, because Santorum was the incumbent.

The NRA endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 1980 backing Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, the NRA spent $10 million in opposition of the election of then Senator Barack Obama.In 2011, the organization declined an offer to discuss gun control with U.S. President Barack Obama. However, at the same time, LaPierre said that "the NRA has supported proposals to prevent gun sales to the mentally ill, strengthen a national system of background checks and spur states to provide needed data."

Publications

The NRA publishes a number of periodicals including American Rifleman, American Hunter, Shooting Illustrated, America's 1st Freedom and Shooting Sports USA. They have also published a collection of firearms titles through its affiliate Palladium Press LLC.

Current leadership and policies

The National Rifle Association is governed by a large board of directors. The directors choose the president, the leading spokesman for the organization, from among their members. Charlton Heston served as president from 1997 to 2003, and David Keene is the current president, replacing Ron Schmeits who served 2009–2011. John C. Sigler served 2007–2009. Sandra Froman served 2005–2007. Marion P. Hammer was the first female president, serving from 1995 to 1998.

The organization's Executive Vice President functions as Chief Executive Officer. Wayne LaPierre has held this position since 1991. Chris W. Cox is the the Executive Director of the NRA's lobbying branch, the Institute for Legislative Action. Cox has been appointed by LaPierre every year since 2002. Kayne Robinson is Executive Director of NRA General Operations.

Finances

According to published statements, the NRA's total income for 2011 was $218,983,530, with total expenditures of $231,071,589. In 2010, the organization reported an income of $227.8 million with roughly $115 million in revenue generated from fundraising, sales, advertising and royalties, with the remainder originating from membership dues.

In 2010, the organization's tax exempt 501(c)3, the NRA Foundation, distributed $12.6 million to the NRA itself, and gave a further $5.5 million to local organizations such as 4-H and shooting clubs. The NRA Foundation has no staff and pays no salaries.

The NRA also raises a portion of its revenues through "round-up" programs, in which gun buyers and participating stores are invited to "round up" the purchase price to the nearest dollar as a voluntary contribution. According to the NRA's 2010 tax forms, the "round-up" funds have been allocated to both public interest programs and lobbying.

Firearm manufacturers are major contributors to the organization's lobbying division, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA). In 2010, approximately $2.1 million in revenue came from corporate sponsors that included outdoors supply, sporting goods companies, and firearm manufacturers. Since 2005, the organization has received at least $14.8 million from more than 50 firearms-related companies. In 2008, Beretta exceeded $2 million in donations to the NRA, and in 2012, Smith & Wesson reached $1 million. According to an April 2012 press release, Sturm, Ruger & Company raised $1.25 million through a program in which it donated $1 to the ILA for each gun it sold from May 2011 to May 2012.

Public opinion

In six out of seven surveys conducted by Gallup since 1993, the majority of Americans reported holding a favorable opinion of the National Rifle Association. A Gallup survey conducted in December 2012 found that 54% of Americans held a favorable opinion of the NRA, with Republicans responding significantly more positively about the organization than Democrats. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted in April 2012 found that 82% of Republicans and 55% of Democrats see the NRA "in a positive light."

A survey conducted by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health at the same time found that 74% of NRA members and 89% percent of all Americans support requiring a background check system for all gun sales. The survey also found that NRA members broadly oppose new restrictions on gun ownership.

Criticism

The NRA is criticized by groups advocating for gun control such as Americans for Gun Safety, Brady Campaign, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and Million Mom March. Some newspaper editorial boards like the New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette have also criticized the NRA's positions. Following the Sandy Hook shooting, commentators criticized statements made by NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre during an NRA press conference.

Members of the U.S. Democratic Party and liberal commentators have frequently criticized the National Rifle Association's policies. However, on occasion, politicians in the U.S. Republican Party and conservative commentators have also criticized the organization. In 1969, U.S. President Richard Nixon resigned his "Honorary Life Membership" to the NRA. In 1995, after LaPierre sent an advertisement letter that labeled agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), "jack-booted government thugs," former U.S. President George H. W. Bush resigned his life membership to the organization. The NRA later apologized for the letter's language. After the Sandy Hook shooting, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie called an online video created by the NRA "reprehensible" and said that it "demeans" the organization. Jim Baker, a senior lobbyist for the organization, later characterized the video as "not particularly helpful" and "ill-advised."

The NRA has been criticized by other gun rights groups for doing too little to get existing restrictions repealed. Organizations such as Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JFPO) have at times disagreed with NRA for what they perceive as its willingness to compromise on legislation that would restrict access to firearms. The JPFO has also criticized the NRA's political strategy on several occasions, opposing what it views as a counterproductive focus on Capitol Hill lobbying, as well as for not explicitly making a connection between gun control measures introduced in the United States and those implemented by totalitarian regimes and Nazis in pre-World War II Germany.

See also

• Gun politics in the United States
  • Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
  • Concealed carry
• Gun safety
• Hunting

Brazil

• Viva Brazil Movement

Canada

• Dominion of Canada Rifle Association
• Canada Firearms Centre
• Canadian gun registry
• Gun politics in Canada
• Possession and Acquisition Licence

Philippines

• PROGUN

Spain

• National Arms Association of Spain (ANARMA)

Switzerland

• ProTell

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88. Clement, Scott. "Does the NRA agree with Wayne LaPierre?". Washington Post. Retrieved 20130202. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
89. MICHAEL COOPER and DALIA SUSSMAN. "Massacre at School Sways Public in Way Earlier Shootings Didn't". New York Times. Retrieved 20130202. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
90. "The Gun Lobby's Loss". The New York Times. December 2, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-03.
91. ^ "NRA nonsense: LaPierre speaks for gun makers, not gun owners". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
92. Jeffrey, Goldberg. "So Many Myths About Guns and Gun Control". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
93. LoGiurato, Brett. "NRA Chief Calls For National Database Of The Mentally Ill And Says: If You Want To Call Me Crazy, Then Call Me Crazy Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-wayne-lapierre-meet-the-press-gun-control-conference-sandy-hook-newtown-ct-shooting-2012-12#ixzz2HAmagnvy". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 January 2013. {{cite web}}: External link in |title= (help)
94. "Bloomberg Throws Punch at NRA, Obama: Bloomberg says NRA "encourages behavior that causes things like Connecticut" shooting". ABC News. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
95. ROBILLARD, KEVIN. "Frank Luntz: NRA not listening to public". Politico. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
96. Poor, Jeff. "Ann Coulter rails against NRA's Wayne LaPierre". The Daily Caller. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
97. "NRA Apologizes for 'Jack Boot' Letter" Seattle Times (AP) 05/18/95 http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19950518&slug=2121718
98. Knox, Olivier. "Christie: NRA ad with Obama daughters 'reprehensible'". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2013-01-19.
99. Cornwell, Susan. "Exclusive: NRA senior lobbyist says attack ad was "ill-advised"". Reuters. Retrieved 2013-01-25.
100. "A Letter From Larry Pratt To The Directors Of The NRA". Gunowners.org. Retrieved 2010-11-21.
101. Aaron Zelman Talks to the NRA Board

Further reading

• Anderson, Jack. Inside the NRA: Armed and Dangerous. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Dove, 1996. ISBN 0-7871-0677-1.
• Brennan, Pauline Gasdow, Alan J. Lizotte, and David McDowall. "Guns, Southernness, and Gun Control". Journal of Quantitative Criminology 9, no. 3 (1993): 289–307.
• Bruce, John M., and Clyde Wilcox, eds. The Changing Politics of Gun Control. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield, 1998. ISBN 0-8476-8614-0, ISBN 0-8476-8615-9.
• Carter, Gregg Lee, ed. Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law (3rd ed. 2012) excepr and text search
• Carter, Gregg Lee. Gun Control in the United States: A Reference Handbook (2006) 408pp
• Davidson, Osha Gray. Under Fire: The NRA and the Battle for Gun Control, 2nd ed. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1998. ISBN 0-87745-646-1.
• Edel, Wilbur. Gun Control: Threat to Liberty or Defense against Anarchy? Westport, Conn.: Praeger Publishers, 1995. ISBN 0-275-95145-6.
• Feldman, Richard. Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist (John Wiley, 2011) excerpt and text search
• Goss, Kristin A. Disarmed: The Missing Movement for Gun Control in America (Priceton Studies in American Politics) (2008) excerpt and text search
• Langbein, Laura I., and Mark A. Lotwis, "Political Efficacy of Lobbying and Money: Gun Control in the U.S. House, 1986". Legislative Studies Quarterly 15 (August 1990): 413–40.
• LaPierre, Wayne R. Guns, Crime, and Freedom. Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 1994. ISBN 0-89526-477-3.
• McGarrity, Joseph P., and Daniel Sutter. "A Test of the Structure of PAC Contracts: An Analysis of House Gun Control Votes in the 1980s". Southern Economic Journal, Vol. 67 (2000).
• Melzer, Scott. Gun Crusaders: The NRA's Culture War (New York University Press, 2009) 336 pp. online
• Raymond, Emilie. From My Cold, Dead Hands: Charlton Heston and American Politics (2006) excerpt and text search
• Spitzer, Robert J. The Politics of Gun Control, 2nd ed. New York: Chatham House Publishers, 1998. ISBN 1-56643-072-0.
• Sugarmann, Josh. National Rifle Association: Money, Firepower, and Fear. Washington, D.C.: National Press Books, 1992. ISBN 0-915765-88-8.
• Trefethen, James B., and James E. Serven. Americans and Their Guns: The National Rifle Association Story Through Nearly a Century of Service to the Nation. Harrisburg, Penn.: Stackpole Books, 1967.
• Utter, Glenn H., ed. Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 2000. ISBN 1-57356-172-X. online, 378pp
• Winkler, Adam. Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America (2011) excerpt and text search

External links

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• Official website (US)
• National School Shield - NRA Education And Training Emergency Response Program
• NRA News (Video features)
• NRA Institute for Legislative Action
• NRAblog covers the Programs of the NRA
• NRA Hunters Rights
• NRA Competitive Shooting Official Site
• NRA Office of Advancement
• Friends of NRA
• The NRA Foundation
• NRA Volunteer Information
• FBI file on the NRA
• Sponsoring Competitive Shooting
• Canada's NFA – National Firearms Association
• NRA Whittington Center Raton NM

38°51′47″N 77°20′7.8″W / 38.86306°N 77.335500°W / 38.86306; -77.335500

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• National Rifle Association
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