<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1654101028353,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-3108-d928-a77f-73ccd2e60000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1654101028353,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"0000017b-3108-d928-a77f-73ccd2e60000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_54101024", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1023757"} }); ","_id":"00000181-2013-d297-a5e3-3f97906d0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedThe National Rifle Association finds itself in the headlines again following the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The gun lobby is often blamed for anti-gun control sentiments, but Timothy Carney accurately described what is stopping gun control activists in their tracks. “What they’re fighting against is a subculture,” Carney wrote on May 25.
The subculture that Carney refers to is seen everywhere in American society. Young adults pose on dating sites with their rifles and the latest game they killed. Congressmen post on social media with their gun collections. The optics are different, but the underlying worldview is the same.
Guns are an integral part of many people’s lives. Political activism for gun rights is a grassroots movement powered by historical moments of defiance. Phrases like “Come and Take It” and “Don’t Tread on Me” are put on car bumper stickers, laptop cases, and water bottles. If you attended a political event at the peak of the Tea Party movement, your view would be obstructed by Gadsden and Whiskey Rebellion flags.
Yet gun control activists channel their wrath at the NRA because they view the debate as an extension of corporate influence in politics. The nonprofit group is only effective if gun owners have any faith in its ability to protect their rights. In recent years, that faith has been diminishing. The NRA is losing revenue due to contracting membership, according to internal documents obtained by the Reload.
The most recent disconnect between the NRA and gun owners occurred during former President Donald Trump’s administration. The NRA criticized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’s new rule on bump stocks after Trump instructed the agency to ban them, but the NRA did not pursue legal action or call Trump out by name in its statements. Other national gun lobbying organizations, primarily Gun Owners of America and the Firearms Policy Coalition, launched lawsuits and directly criticized Trump.
GOA was founded in 1976 and prides itself on being a “no compromise” organization. Liberal pundits have largely been blind to the rise of these organizations, with the Washington Post only recently acknowledging the rapid growth of NRA rivals.
Members of this subculture were emboldened by Trump’s election in 2016. Trump rode in on a wave of conservative dissent against the status quo, and the NRA is one of many legacy institutions that was targeted. When the former president said to “take the guns first, go through due process second,” the outrage quickly extended to his administration. Rather than relying on the NRA and Trump, unwavering supporters of the Second Amendment have decided to build their own organizations and support fresh faces in politics.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) received GOA’s endorsement for the 2022 midterm elections and introduced the No Backdoor Gun Control Act with GOA’s support. The legislation is also sponsored by a variety of well-known Republicans, including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Louie Gohmert (R-TX), and Thomas Massie (R-KY). President Joe Biden refers to these politicians as “Ultra MAGA,” while GOA calls Roy a “watchdog” for gun rights. In the eyes of this subculture, both the former and the latter are compliments.
The NRA is an easy target because the organization is already facing troubles with the base it wants to win over. Unwavering supporters of the Second Amendment have put their money and ballots where their mouths are by opting for new organizations and politicians over legacy groups like the NRA. Gun control activists can protest outside NRA conventions as much as they like, but they’re yelling at the wrong people.
James Sweet is a summer 2022 Washington Examiner fellow.
