The NRA Is Stumbling, but Gun Control Bills Still Aren’t Advancing

We are repeatedly told by gun control advocates and their like-minded media voices that the reason gun control legislation rarely passes because so many lawmakers accept contributions from the National Rifle Association’s affiliated PACs, and/or are supported by the group’s super PAC.

The irony is that this argument continues, even though the NRA is probably at its lowest point in at least a decade, and perhaps much longer. The organization’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, rarely if ever does interviews anymore, because he knows he’ll be asked about the NRA paying for expensive suits and other ujnjustifiable expenses for a nonprofit, and claims of self-dealing that include alleged acceptance of lavish gifts from contractors. Revenues are down and membership is down, while the legal bills are reaching exorbitant levels. New York state attorney general Letitia James is attempting to dissolve the organization, and a federal bankruptcy court rejected the NRA’s attempt to file for bankruptcy.

But all of this is happening while Americans are purchasing many more guns than ever before. at least 5.4 million people purchased a firearm for the first time in 2021, and in 2020, more than 21 million background checks were conducted for the sale of a firearm then, with an estimated 8.4 million buying a firearm for the first time. The NRA’s board of directors should ask why NRA membership is not growing if many more Americans are becoming gun owners — almost 14 million in two years!