Adam Winkler writes for The Huffington post
The NRA was founded by William Church and George Wingate after the Civil War. Wingate and Church — the latter a former reporter for a newspaper not exactly known for its love of gun rights, the New York Times — both fought in the War on the Union side. They were shocked by the poor marksmanship of Union soldiers and convinced that one reason the Confederacy was able to hold out so long before surrender was because their soldiers had more experience shooting. Church and Wingate’s goal for the NRA was to improve the marksmanship of civilians who might one day be called to serve in the military, not to fight gun control.
The author goes on to explain how for most of the 20th century the NRA was actually involved in drafting gun control ligislation. And during those decades they had very little to do with the 2nd Amendment.
All that changed in 1977. That year, the leadership of the NRA decided to retreat from political lobbying and refocus on recreational shooting and outdoors activities. This sparked a backlash among a group of hardline gun rights advocates who were upset that the NRA had endorsed the Gun Control Act of 1968 — the first significant federal gun legislation since the 1930s. Motivated by the belief that guns weren’t primarily for hunting but for personal protection in an era of rising crime rates, the hardliners staged a coup at the annual meeting of the membership, ousting the old leaders and committing the organization to political advocacy.
Shortly after that they picked up La Pierre. And the world has seldom seen anything like it.
What’s your opinion? We’ve often spoken about the evolving interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, but this article helps us see it from the perspective of the NRA. Do you think that’s helpful? Does the dynamic change in direction undertaken by the NRA lend credibility to the theory that the way we view the 2A has been bastardized over the last 5 decades?
What do you think? Please leave a comment.
All that stuff about “a well-regulated militia” seems to be conveniently shoved to the background by the current crop of gun nuts. Repeat
talking pointslies over and over, ad nauseum and they magically become truth.I do remember that the turn came after the ban on mail order weapons. Before that, the American Rifleman was loaded with mail order ads. It’s another case of a hidden corporate agenda.
I hadn’t realized that the coup came in 1977, because I had noticed an increasing number of articles about home defense and critical of the mail order ban. Probably this was because I quit the organization when they endorsed Gerald Ford for President.
Many people are astounded that in those days you could buy discount (used but refurbished) assault weapons directly from the Federal Government (Department of Civilian Marksmanship). I bought an M-1 carbine (later classed as an assault weapon by Illinois) and 1800 rounds of ammunition for a song. A classmate bought a .45 automatic and a carbine. I got pretty good with it. I could keep a steel plate airborne firing from the hip throughout a n entire clip of ammunition. Well, it’s what Uncle Sam wanted me to learn, after all. And contrary to Mayor Daley, it did not turn me into a drug-crazed menace to society.