For months I have been calling for members to drop their membership to the National Rifle Association (NRA) and for the association to be abolished. Now, the association is reported to be in dire financial trouble and may not be able to continue to exist.
My grievance with the NRA is its constant opposition to anything and everything that will make the world a safer place. Measures 90 percent of the American public agree with are opposed by the NRA. If there is any attempt to limit one’s ability to own and carry a gun — any gun — the NRA opposes it.
At one time the NRA promoted gun-safety. That was its mission. At some point that all changed and it became a political lobbying group, advocating for gun and ammunition manufacturers and everything it did was meant to bolster the sale of guns.
The NRA opposes raising the age necessary to purchase a gun, expanding background checks, devices that essentially turn a semi-automatic weapon into a machine gun, large capacity magazines, and closing the “gun show loophole.” Laws that apply to sale of a gun at a legitimate store do not apply to a gun purchased at a gun show, including the current inadequate background check.
After the Parkland High School shooting the Florida legislature passed some meager measures to tighten gun laws and make it a little more difficult for young people to own guns. That effort was stopped in it’s tracks by a lawsuit filed by the NRA. The law is now stranded in the court system.
It appears that hardline stance may have backfired. One source reported there are a million fewer members than just a few months ago, but how would anyone know since the NRA refuses to divulge membership numbers.
Rolling Stone Magazine reports the financial trouble results from a New York State lawsuit against the NRA, which claims the association has been providing illegal insurance to gun owners. As a result of that lawsuit, the NRA’s insurance partners agreed to stop selling the policies and pay a $7 million fine.
Now, a counter lawsuit by the NRA, recently made public, shows the organization has lost its general liability insurance and they may not be able to continue to exist. National Public Radio is reporting that some services provided by the NRA may be discontinued in the near future, including the association’s television broadcast,
The NRA lawsuit, states: “If the NRA is unable to collect donations from its members, safeguard the assets endowed to it, apply its funds to cover media buys and other expenses integral to its political speech, and obtain basic corporate insurance coverage, it will be unable to exist as a not-for-profit or pursue its advocacy mission.”
In addition to losing insurance, multiple banks have denied services to the NRA, including making deposits. Banks have alleged any involvement with the NRA “would expose them to regulatory reprisals.”
My fear is that some gun-zealot member (Charlton Heston comes to mind) will bail them out.
Over the years the NRA has made political donations to hundreds of politicians, who have then stood as a barrier to firearm reform of any kind. Is this really the type of people we want representing us?
The NRA has also received a lot of opposition from survivors of the deadly shooting at a Florida high school. Recently students from that school joined a march in Virginia to protest what they consider efforts by the NRA to block gun-control laws and bans on assault rifles.
March organizers also are calling on the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the NRA’s tax-exempt status and to stop access to downloadable blueprints for 3D-printed guns.
In the past mass shootings received a lot of attention when they occurred, but protests and opposition quickly faded. Nothing was ever done. It looks like this time may be different.
We’re not going to change violence associated with guns anytime soon. But maybe, just maybe, if the NRA really goes away something can finally be done. Something. Anything.
Is the NRA a dead man walking?
STEVE CHRISTENSEN