by Hadley Robinson
Gun-related tragedies continue to dominate the headlines, accompanied by age-old debates about gun control versus the Second Amendment. But this is not how it’s always been. And it is not how it has to be.
For most of our nation’s history an individual’s right to bear arms was not protected by the Constitution. The Second Amendment was about the right to have militias that could bear arms. And guess what — the National Rifle Association (NRA) used to support gun control.
So how’d we get here? Let’s take a look at the NRA and how it helped shape the U.S. into the country with the most gun-related violence worldwide.
1871: Several civil war veterans from the Union start the NRA in order to promote and encourage rifle shooting, after being dismayed by poor marksmanship in the ranks of the army during the Civil War.
1903: The NRA starts promoting shooting sports among youth, urging major colleges, universities and military academies to establish rifle clubs, and helping organize shooting competitions. The focus is still on marksmanship.
1934: The NRA supports the first federal gun law, cracking down on machine guns and sawed-off shotguns commonly used in robbery and other crimes. NRA president Karl Frederick said, “I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one…. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses.”
1968: Congress passes the Gun Control Act amid killings, riots and violence associated with the turmoil of the 1960s (including the assassinations of President John Kennedy, his brother Senator Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr.) President Kennedy’s killer, Lee Harvey Oswald, used a mail-order gun from an NRA magazine advertisement.
NRA President Harold W. Glassen had some problems with the bill, saying, “200 million guns did not strike down Senator Kennedy; only one did.” But ultimately the group endorsed the bill. Watch more of Glassen’s comments:
Many members were displeased, and two factions began emerging: An old guard that aimed to keep the emphasis on marksmanship, sporting and the outdoors. The other, a new guard, wanted to use the NRA’s power to fight gun control and other legislative battles.
1977: The faction pushing for more lobbying and legislative power took over the annual meeting in what’s become known as the Cincinnati Revolt. The old guard was planning to move its headquarters west to Colorado, and wanted to use newly-purchased property in New Mexico as an “outdoor center” to teach all types of skills. The hard-liners scoffed at this; they wanted that property to be home to a “National Shooting Center.”
Thousands of members showed up at the annual meeting, coordinating with walkie-talkies and using parliamentary procedures to propose changes to the bylaws that would put more power in the hands of the members. The attendees overwhelmingly approved the changes, and voted out most of the NRA officials. Harlon Carter organized the revolt and was elected to the top position. He proclaimed, “this period in NRA history is finished.”
2000: Membership, money and lobbying continue to increase. This year much of it was dedicated to defeating Al Gore’s bid for president. NRA leader Charlton Heston said Gore and his followers were “divisive forces that would take freedom away.” It was a huge spending year for the NRA, giving 3.2 million to candidates, 92 percent of whom were Republicans.
2008: For the first time since 1939, the Supreme Court issues a decision interpreting the Second Amendment in a case involving the ban of handguns in D.C. The court rules 5–4 that individuals have the right to own a gun for lawful purposes like self-defense.
“Anti-gun politicians can no longer deny that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right,” said NRA chief lobbyist Chris W. Cox. “All law-abiding Americans have a fundamental, God-given right to defend themselves in their homes. Washington, D.C. must now respect that right.”
2012: A shooter gunned down dozens of people, most under the age of 7, in an elementary school in Newtown, Mass. In the months after the shooting, the NRA grew by 250,000 members and raised $2.7 million to block gun control reform. A comprehensive gun reform bill was introduced in Congress after Newtown, but even the most popular proposals involving background checks failed to pass. The NRA awarded “negative scores” to senators, even to those who simply voted to allow the discussion to move forward in Congress.
2015: As of July, an average of one mass shooting per day has taken place in the U.S. Though most research indicates that more guns equal more crime, the NRA continues to insist that more guns are necessary so that people can defend themselves against mass shootings. As one board member, Charles Cotton, said after nine people were killed in a church in Charleston: “It’s my opinion that there should not be any gun-free zones in schools or churches or anywhere else. If we look at mass shootings that occur, most happen in gun-free zones.”
