The Downfall of the NRA
The NRA; once the pride, purpose, and coffer for international gun rights movements, is now on its last legs. In the wake of the tragedies in El Paso, Dayton, and San Francisco, it seems we have stumbled upon the last straw for gun control activists across the globe.
Founded in 1871, this non-profit has moved beyond just its status as a major U.S political donor; the NRA is shoring up allies in Brazil, Russia, and Australia in a desperate attempt to combat a rapidly changing culture and the massive decay of their organization in the light of the innumerable scandals -to no avail.
Within the past month alone, the NRA has managed to further alienate its majority GOP base as investigations into the NRA’s finances, and CEO Wayne LaPierre’s misspendings have led to calls for his resignation and #changethenra to become a trending topic on several social networking sites. One recent Politico study found that 90% of Republicans would now back universal background checks for gun sales- a stance that the NRA is known for disagreeing with. With a steadily crumbling base and minimal cash flow, the organization is gutting employees left and right as gun control groups are continually outspending, outsmarting and outlasting this beacon of light for gun owners internationally.
In a turn of events that would have been deemed unpredictable just 5 years ago, -the NRA is in shambles and those closest to the organization are at a loss as to how they could ever recover. One source close to the NRA reported to Politico, “There’s no coordinated effort. The staff feels like there is no plan. There’s not a lot of direction or a plan for how to proceed.”
The NRA’s economic standing was never truly noteworthy but its influence has always been seen as unmatched and untouchable, as it laid protected by the 28 billion dollar gun and ammunition manufacturing industry — but its’ golden era is coming to an end. With mass shootings in the U.S rounding out to the mid 200s this year alone, the longstanding NRA principle of “armed citizens are safe citizens” seems more and more unrealistic to even the most gun-friendly public. The attacks in the South and Midwest leaving America grieving, the phrase “the shot heard around the world” seems to have garnered a new meaning from the exponential rise in political activism against gun violence.
There is little doubt that what happens to the American gun lobby will affect the nature, policies, and culture around gun ownership for decades to come. Gun manufacturers worldwide have long been the benefactor of the innumerable NRA ad campaigns, political lobbying and the firm grasp the NRA seems to have had on international legislation -but it seems like the well could soon run dry. Heading towards the 2020 U.S. elections, the NRA wades through uncharted territory. As major U.S corporations, like Walmart, are starting to pull out of gun sales in hopes of appealing to the anti-gun consumer; bipartisan legislators around the world speculate — “Could we be seeing the downfall of the NRA?”
Written by Kathleena Henricus, Writer for the Junior Economist
Originally published on October 11, 2019
