 In Part 1 of “Guns in America”, I examined the current thinking on the Second Amendment to the Constitution. It is now clear, at least to me, that most American adults have an individual right to own guns. America is awash in guns, gun violence continues unabated, and many in Congress will block any attempt at meaningful gun control legislation. No other organization in America has had more impact on the debate over guns than the American Rifle Association (NRA). The NRA has advocated for the rights of gun owners for over a century, and has become a political juggernaut in defense of these rights. This blog will examine the rise of the NRA and its ability to influence the debate on gun control. But first, there have been a few recent developments in the past several days that I would be remise if I didn’t mention.  The Biden Administration Addresses Gun Violence: Under pressure from the left to address the rash of recent gun violence, the Biden Administration on April 7, 2021 released some actions that it would take, https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/04/07/fact-sheet-biden-harris-administration-announces-initial-actions-to-address-the-gun-violence-public-health-epidemic/. The President understands that he doesn’t have the votes in Congress to pass meaningful gun legislation. He will therefore work through his Department of Justice (DOJ) to at least tighten up some regulations under existing law. Here is what the DOJ plans to do:
 Mass Shootings Aren’t the Main Problem: In the days since my last blog post there have been more mass shootings leading to multiple deaths. As I began to write this blog the country learned of a mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, where a lone gunman killed eight, and injured several others before turning the gun on himself. Another incident involved an ex-NFL player who killed six, including himself, in South Carolina. Mass shootings are horrific and make the news. But we never hear about the vast majority of deaths and injuries caused by gun violence in this country. For example, in 2019 only about one out of every 400 gun deaths was the result of a mass shooting. According to the “Gun Violence Archive”, https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/past-tolls, there were 43,546 deaths and 39,434 injuries due to gun violence in 2020. Of these deaths, more than 50% were from suicides. Accidental shootings and incidents involving a single victim, are far more common than mass shootings.  Beginnings of the NRA: The NRA was founded in 1871 by two former civil war officers to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis”, https://home.nra.org/about-the-nra/. After receiving a charter in the state of New York, the organization quickly built a firing range and sponsored annual shooting matches. Starting in the early 1900s, the NRA began promoting shooting sports among America’s youth and helped to establish rifle clubs at all major colleges, universities, and military academies. Even today, youth programs are still a cornerstone of the NRA, with over one million youth participating in NRA shooting sports events. The NRA works with groups such as the 4-H, Boy Scouts, American Legion, Royal Rangers, National Rodeo Association, and others. The organization has several publications, most notably “The American Rifleman”, and “The American Hunter”, and maintains a commitment to training, education, and marksmanship. But all of this is overshadowed by its political work as the nation’s preeminent gun rights organization.
The NRA Gets Political: The NRA was in existence for nearly 100 years before it really began to flex its muscles in Washington D.C.
NRA Lobbying Efforts: The NRA lobbies against all forms of gun control at the local, state, and federal levels. Since 1998 the NRA-PVF has consistently ranked among the top spenders in congressional races. The NRA is one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington D.C. You’d be hard pressed to find a Republican member of Congress who hasn’t received funds from the NRA during their career. A significant number of Democrats have also been at the receiving end of the NRA’s largess. Here is a link to a list of recent congressional candidates who received campaign money from the NRA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_congressional_candidates_who_received_campaign_money_from_the_National_Rifle_Association.  In 2016, the NRA spent $412 million on political activities, and that didn’t even include the money spent by its political action committee! In addition to its financial muscle, the NRA has the ability to mobilize its large membership, estimated to be between 3-5 million. According to the NRA, its membership reached 5.5 million members in 2018, and membership dues were over $170 million. Membership fees account for less than half of the NRA’s income, with the majority coming from contributions, grants, royalties, and advertising.  NRA Aligns With GOP: The NRA endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 1980, helping GOP candidate Ronald Reagan defeat Jimmy Carter. The NRA solidified its ties with the Republican Party in the 1990’s, and House Republican leader Newt Gingrich stated that support for or against gun control defined one’s partisan identity. The NRA endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election, reportedly spending over $30 million in his support.  NRA Faces Legal and Financial Troubles: Last August the New York Attorney General filed a civil lawsuit against the NRA alleging fraud, financial misconduct, and misuse of charitable funds by some of its executives, including Wayne La Pierre, https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2020/attorney-general-james-files-lawsuit-dissolve-nra. Mr. La Pierre has been the NRA’s executive vice president since 1991 and functions as the chief executive officer. The New York lawsuit calls for the dissolution of the NRA. On the same day, the Attorney General of Washington D.C. filed a lawsuit against the NRA for misusing charitable funds, https://oag.dc.gov/sites/default/files/2020-08/NRA-Foundation-Complaint-Redacted.pdf. It is alleged that some executives of the NRA have used charitable funds to enrich themselves and have diverted funds for uses other than what they were intended.  In January of this year the NRA filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns/national-rifle-association-files-for-bankruptcy-seeking-to-escape-new-york-lawsuit-idUSKBN29K2LV. It also announced that it would reincorporate in Texas, subject to the approval of the court. The NRA contends that its Chapter 11 filing is a legitimate maneuver to facilitate a move to a state more friendly to its organization. The New York Attorney General claims that it is a ploy to escape accountability in New York. The bankruptcy case is currently underway in Texas, and the civil lawsuits will hobble the NRA for months, if not years, to come. The New Yorker has several great articles about the financial problems of the NRA, https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/secrecy-self-dealing-and-greed-at-the-nra.  The NRA is Weakened, But Not Their Message: The NRA will emerge leaner and with new faces in leadership positions. Even though the NRA has fallen from its lofty perch and is not as powerful as it once was, its pro-gun rights message still permeates the halls of Congress. According to the NRA, membership has risen by 140,000 members since the election over fears that the Biden administration will enact tighter gun control measures. NRA President Caroline Meadows recently stated “The NRA has never been stronger or more critical to the fight for Second Amendment freedom”. We will see if she is singing the same tune at the conclusion of the bankruptcy trial and the civil lawsuits. The constituency that the NRA has developed still exists, and will continue to exist even without the NRA. With the current troubles plaquing the NRA, new pro-gun rights groups will grow and come to prominence. Many advocates of gun control fear that these groups will be even more right-wing than the NRA, some of which have been growing rapidly in recent years. They include the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the Second Amendment Foundation, and the National Association for Gun Rights.  The GOP is a strong advocate of Second Amendment rights, and with a narrow majority in Congress the Biden Administration is hesitant about spending any political capital to push through new gun control legislation. With all the senseless gun violence in this country you would think that lawmakers could come together and enact some meaningful measures to stem the violence. But if history is any guide, this is not about to happen anytime soon. Gun rights advocates see ANY gun control measure as a slippery slope towards repealing their Second Amendment rights. With or without the NRA, this view is well entrenched in Washington D.C. and across America. It may require a new generation of leaders and activists to get us out of this mess. In my next blog I will examine the gun control legislation that has been enacted over the years, and the long road ahead in the fight to stop gun violence in America.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776@gmail.com.
Thanks, Armchair American
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 Mass shootings have unfortunately been much in the news lately, followed by a clamor on the political left to enact new gun control legislation. The month of March alone saw 47 mass shooting events, involving four or more victims. Two of the most heinous of these shootings involved a lone gunman who killed ten people at a grocery store in Colorado, and the other involved a lone gunman who killed eight people at massage parlors in suburban Atlanta. During the first three months of 2021, the country has experienced 123 mass shootings, leaving 144 dead, and over 375 wounded https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/. These grim statistics prompted me to write a multipart blog series on “Guns in America”. This first blog will be a review of the constitutionality of guns, followed by an examination of the NRA, common sense gun control, and other topics surrounding this hot button issue.
I am not a gun owner. The only gun that I ever owned was a Daisy Winchester BB gun that I got for Christmas when I was 13. Fortunately, I never shot my eye out, and I had great fun target shooting in my backyard and “hunting” in the woods behind my house. I have no issue with the private ownership of certain types of guns. But the epidemic of gun violence and the easy access to military style assault weapons needs a thoughtful examination by the citizens of this country. Guns have been in America since the arrival of the first Europeans. The legal foundation for gun possession is imbedded in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, so let’s start there.  Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed”. No other sentence in the Constitution has elicited more debate. Volumes have been written about the legality with respect to regulation of the purchase, possession, and transportation of firearms. Since I am not a lawyer, it is not my intention to engage in legal arguments or to try and interpret the exact intent of the drafters of the Constitution. That is what the courts are for. Rather, I will highlight the major Supreme Court rulings which define the argument today. For those so inclined, you may find a good review on the Second Amendment at Cornell Law School’s website, https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/second_amendment. Another handy historical review and analysis of the Second Amendment is the 1982 Congressional Report “The Right to Keep and Bear Arms”, https://constitution.org/1-Constitution/2ll/2ndschol/87senrpt.pdf. The two most important questions that legal scholars and law makers have grappled with over the decades regarding the Second Amendment are:
 District of Columbia v. Heller (2008): This case overturned Washington D.C.’s prohibition on handguns. But the justifications for this decision are what is important. The majority of the court ruled that the Second Amendment confers an individual right to possess firearms for lawful purposes, and not in the context of militia service. The court also stated that the right to bear arms is subject to regulations, such as prohibitions on concealed weapons, limits on the rights of felons and the mentally ill, and laws forbidding the carrying of weapons in certain locations. Laws imposing conditions on commercial sales, and prohibitions on the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons are also permissible. Washington D.C. is a federal entity, and the Second Amendment originally applied only to the federal government, leaving the states to regulate weapons as they saw fit. This issue was clarified two years later in another Supreme Court case.  McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010): This case struck down a handgun ban at the state level. The court concluded that Second Amendment rights not only applied to protections against federal law, but also to states and municipalities. This decision was based on the conclusion that the Fourteenth Amendment protects against state infringement of the same right that is protected by federal law. A lot has changed in the United States since the Second Amendment was adopted in 1791. The traditional concept of a civilian based militia no longer exists, and state-based militia organizations have been incorporated into the federal military structure. You can find more information on the history of militias in the United States in one of my previous bog posts, https://armchairamerican.com/blog/militias-in-america.
Our nation’s military establishment is vast and the most powerful in the world. Most Americans don’t fear our armed forces, and it is laughable to think that an armed populace could defeat such a force. Unlike the firearms possessed in the homes of early Americans, civilians no longer use their household weapons for military duty. Modern Americans still keep and bear arms, but not to protect themselves from a despotic government, but to defend against common criminals, as well as for recreational pursuits. The real danger to our way of life is if we become complacent and numb to the violence and killing, and chalk it up to the cost of individual freedoms. We can and must do better to keep guns out of the hands of those who will do harm to others. Short of amending the Constitution, guns are here to stay. Fortunately, even the most conservative courts acknowledge that gun regulation does not violate the Second Amendment. In future posts I will examine sensible gun control laws and other issues related to guns in America.  If you enjoy reading this type of commentary please subscribe to my blog and tell a friend. You will receive an email notification when new blogs are posted. The email will come from the site’s email: armchairamerican1776@gmail.com.
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