And these contributions, which the NRA uses to keep pro-gun lawmakers in office, are on the rise. Some political funding comes from big corporations, many within the gun industry, which donate millions to the NRA. After the Sandy Hook shooting, donations to this political action committee surged as gun owners worried that their rights to buy and own guns were at risk.
The call for stricter gun control laws from leaders like President Obama in the wake of this tragedy fueled these fears and prompted the NRA to rally its members to fight against new regulations. Members at a NRA annual meeting. The NRA's ability to raise so much money from small donations is highly unusual for a special interest group, demonstrating its wide reaching support, said Sarah Bryner, research director at the Center for Responsive Politics.
He said he worries that gun control advocates are trying to prevent the average citizen from owning guns at all. But the NRA likes to frame itself as a grassroots organization, powered by 5 million members across the United States. Gun control advocates, meanwhile, are in the unenviable position of having the more popular policy stance but not the funding to mobilize voters around it. Without rich, corporate backers, these groups are inherently at a disadvantage.
Instead, we see something that almost looks like democracy at work: people organizing around shared policy preferences, consolidating their resources, and mobilizing to pressure lawmakers into doing what they want. But the NRA spending ultimately leads to policies that run counter to the expressed preferences of the majority of Americans. A small group of extreme, sometimes profit-motivated donors funnels money to an ostensibly grassroots group. That group then blankets our electoral cycles in political ads meant to scare Americans into opposing laws that would actually protect them, laws most of them claim to want.
Red-state legislators who might otherwise support commonsense gun restrictions instead live under the constant threat of NRA attack ads; all it takes is one small step toward gun reform. Most scholars get this.
But this overly simplistic argument, made in good faith, is dangerous. There are remedies at hand. We could require groups running independent political ads to disclose their donors; research suggests that this reduces their influence relative to candidate-sponsored advertisements. The next president could appoint Supreme Court justices committed to overturning these decisions, clearing the way for new restrictions on outside spending.
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Financial contributions from our readers are a critical part of supporting our resource-intensive work and help us keep our journalism free for all. Please consider making a contribution to Vox today to help us keep our work free for all. Subscriber Account active since. AP The White House and the National Rifle Association are careening toward an all-out battle, with President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday of an expansive new agenda to crack down on gun violence.
Yesterday, the NRA released an advertisement targeting the President's daughters. Today, the President directly appealed to the club's members to break ranks. One of the most interesting aspects of all is how an association for sportsmen became the prime defenders of assault weaponry. In its early days, the National Rifle Association was a grassroots social club that prided itself on independence from corporate influence.
While that is still part of the organization's core function, today less than half of the NRA's revenues come from program fees and membership dues. The bulk of the group's money now comes in the form of contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources. Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA.
Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. The NRA's revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business. The NRA Foundation also collects hundreds of thousands of dollars from the industry, which it then gives to local-level organizations for training and equipment purchases.
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