The NRA’s real mission
By Lee Fang
From The Nation
Over the last four years, the only gun laws that Congress and the Obama administration have enacted have been laws further deregulating gun use. It’s no secret why—as pundits love to note, the gun lobby is incredibly influential. But as we consider potential reforms in the wake of the tragedy in Newtown, one of the first questions we must ask is: Whom does the gun lobby really represent?
The National Rifle Association claims to be a group representing “4 million members” who simply love the Second Amendment. In reality, it is composed of a half-dozen legal entities, some designed to run undisclosed attack ads in political campaigns, others to lobby and collect tens of millions of dollars in undisclosed, tax-deductible sums. This power has arguably been enhanced by Citizens United, with GOP donors in the last election reportedly funneling money to the NRA simply to use the group as a weapon against Democrats.
Despite the NRA’s grassroots façade, there’s plenty of evidence that corporations profiting from unregulated gun use are propping up the NRA, much as the tobacco lobby secretly funded “smokers’ rights” groups. In a “special thanks” to donors, the NRA Foundation listed Bushmaster Firearms, the company that makes the assault rifle used in the Connecticut murders.
The Violence Policy Center has estimated that since 2005, gun manufacturers have contributed up to $38.9 million to the NRA. Those numbers, however, are based on the publicly listed sponsorship levels in NRA fundraising pamphlets. The real figures could be much bigger: the NRA doesn’t disclose any donor information, even though it spends millions of dollars on federal elections. And like other industry fronts, the NRA is quick to present its policy positions as principled, idealistic commitments. Its “Civil Rights Defense Fund,” for example, is “involved in court cases establishing legal precedents in favor of gun owners.” Who picks the cases? Defense Fund board members like James W. Porter II, an attorney specializing in “areas of products liability defense” for gun manufacturers. His last client, according to the federal court docket, was Smith & Wesson.
Is the NRA working to support the interests of casual gun owners, many of whom favor tougher restrictions on gun ownership? Or does it serve the gunmakers’ lobby, which is purely interested in policies that promote gun sales? Any policy debate should begin with this question.
