70 Facts About NRA Foundation

1.

NRA Foundation is among the most influential advocacy groups in US politics.

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2.

Some notable lobbying efforts by the NRA Foundation-ILA are the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which lessened restrictions of the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the Dickey Amendment, which blocks the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from using federal funds to advocate for gun control.

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3.

The NRA Foundation organized a team through a subsidiary amateur rifle club.

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4.

NRA Foundation organized rifle clubs in other states, and many state National Guard organizations sought NRA Foundation advice to improve members' marksmanship.

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5.

In 1907, NRA Foundation headquarters moved to Washington, DC to facilitate the organization's advocacy efforts.

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6.

NRA Foundation supported the NFA along with the Gun Control Act of 1968, which together created a system to federally license gun dealers and established restrictions on particular categories and classes of firearms.

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7.

Previously, the NRA Foundation mainly focused on sportsmen, hunters, and target shooters, and downplayed gun control issues.

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8.

The NRA Foundation focused its attention on the gun control policies of the Clinton Administration.

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9.

In 1994, the NRA Foundation unsuccessfully opposed the Federal Assault Weapons Ban, but successfully lobbied for the ban's 2004 expiration.

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10.

On January 15,2021, the NRA Foundation announced in a press release that it and one of its subsidiaries had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas in Dallas.

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11.

On March 2,2022 New York state court in Manhattan ruled against Letitia James's effort to break up the NRA Foundation while allowing the portion of the legal actions against the NRA Foundation's leadership to continue.

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12.

The judge found that dissolving the NRA Foundation would have a negative impact on the free speech and assembly rights of the organization's members.

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13.

The NRA Foundation's website says the organization is "America's longest-standing civil rights organization".

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14.

On February 7,1872, the NRA Foundation created a committee to lobby for legislation in the interest of the organization.

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15.

The NRA Foundation maintains a PAC which is excluded from these figures.

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16.

NRA Foundation has been described as influential in shaping American gun control policy.

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17.

At the federal level, the NRA Foundation successfully lobbied Congress in the mid-1990s to effectively halt governments-sponsored research into the public health effects of firearms, and to ensure the passage of legislation in 2005 largely immunizing gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits.

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18.

At the state and local level, the NRA Foundation successfully campaigned to deregulate guns, for example by pushing state governments to eliminate the ability of local governments to regulate guns and removing restrictions on guns in public places.

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19.

NRA Foundation endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 1980, backing Ronald Reagan over Jimmy Carter.

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20.

The NRA Foundation has made endorsements even when it viewed both candidates positively.

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21.

Republicans joined forces with the NRA Foundation and used the recently passed gun control measures to motivate voters in the 1994 midterm elections.

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22.

NRA Foundation spent over $360,000 in the Colorado recall election of 2013, which resulted in the ouster of state senators John Morse and Angela Giron.

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23.

On May 20,2016, the NRA Foundation endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 US presidential election.

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24.

The timing of the endorsement, before Trump became the official Republican nominee, was unusual, as the NRA Foundation typically endorses Republican nominees towards the end of the general election.

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25.

Ron Wyden and addressed to Congress, the NRA Foundation acknowledged it had accepted approximately $2,000 in membership dues and magazine subscriptions and $525 in contributions from 23 Russian nationals or people associated with Russian addresses since 2015.

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26.

NRA Foundation has for decades sought to limit the ability of the ATF to regulate firearms by blocking nominees and lobbying against reforms that would increase the ability of the ATF to track gun crimes.

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27.

For instance, the NRA Foundation opposed ATF reforms to trace guns to owners electronically; the ATF currently does so through paper records.

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28.

In 2006, the NRA lobbied US Representative F James Sensenbrenner to add a provision to the Patriot Act reauthorization that requires Senate confirmation of ATF director nominees.

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29.

For seven years after that, the NRA Foundation lobbied against and "effectively blocked" every presidential nominee.

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30.

Some Senators resisted confirming another Obama nominee, B Todd Jones, because of the NRA's opposition, until 2013, when the NRA said it was neutral on Jones' nomination and that it would not include the confirmation vote in its grading system.

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31.

NRA Foundation initially opposed the 1934 National Firearms Act, but gave their support after several changes including the removal of pistols and revolvers and redefinition of machine gun, which regulated what were considered at the time "gangster weapons" such as machine guns, sawed-off shotguns, and sound suppressors.

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32.

NRA Foundation supported the 1938 Federal Firearms Act which established the Federal Firearms License program.

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33.

NRA Foundation supported and opposed parts of the Gun Control Act of 1968, which broadly regulated the firearms industry and firearms owners, primarily focusing on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers.

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34.

The NRA Foundation supported elements of the law, such as those forbidding the sale of firearms to convicted criminals and the mentally ill.

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35.

NRA Foundation influenced the writing of the Firearm Owners Protection Act and worked for its passage.

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36.

In 2004, the NRA Foundation opposed renewal of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994.

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37.

The NRA Foundation argued that the proposition overstepped local government authority and intruded into an area regulated by the state.

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38.

NRA Foundation filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the 2008 landmark gun rights case of District of Columbia v Heller.

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39.

Some legal scholars believe that the NRA was influential in altering the public's interpretation of the Second Amendment, providing the foundation for the majority's opinion in Heller.

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40.

In 2009 the NRA again filed suit in the city of San Francisco challenging the city's ban of guns in public housing.

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41.

On January 14,2009, the San Francisco Housing Authority reached a settlement with the NRA Foundation, which allows residents to possess legal firearms within a SFHA apartment building.

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42.

In 2010, the NRA sued the city of Chicago, Illinois and the Supreme Court ruled that like other substantive rights, the right to bear arms is incorporated via the Fourteenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights, and therefore applies to the states.

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43.

In March 2013, the NRA Foundation joined a federal lawsuit with other gun rights groups challenging New York's gun control law, arguing that Governor Andrew Cuomo "usurped the legislative and democratic process" in passing the law, which included restrictions on magazine capacity and expanding the state's assault weapons ban.

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44.

The following month, the NRA Foundation joined local residents in suing the city on second amendment grounds.

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45.

The San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association, represented by NRA Foundation attorneys, filed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco's ban on the possession of high-capacity magazines, seeking an injunction.

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46.

In 2014 the NRA Foundation lobbied for a bill in Pennsylvania which grants it and other advocacy groups legal standing to sue municipalities to overturn local firearm regulations passed in violation of a state law preempting such regulations, and which allows the court to force cities to pay their legal fees.

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47.

In that city, the NRA Foundation challenged an ordinance requiring gun owners to tell police when a firearm is lost or stolen within 72 hours or face jail time.

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48.

NRA Foundation has worked with the American Civil Liberties Union in opposing NSA collection of the call records of calls in the United States.

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49.

Los Angeles had passed a similar ordinance but the NRA Foundation won a preliminary injunction on December 11,2019 and subsequently dropped the lawsuit after Los Angeles repealed the law.

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50.

The NRA Foundation publishes a number of periodicals including American Rifleman and others.

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51.

The NRA Foundation dropped out just before the decision was announced, citing a lack of appreciation for their efforts.

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52.

In May 2018, the NRA Foundation announced that Oliver North would become president of the organization.

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53.

NRA Foundation is governed by a board of 76 elected directors, 75 of whom serve three-year terms and one who is elected to serve as a cross-over director.

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54.

NRA Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization that raises and donates money to outdoors groups and others such as ROTC programs, 4-H and Boy Scouts.

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55.

Less than half of the NRA Foundation's income comes from membership dues and program fees; the majority is from contributions, grants, royalties, and advertising.

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56.

In 2018, the NRA Foundation alleged in an official Court document that it suffered tens of millions of dollars in damage from actions of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the State's financial regulator.

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57.

NRA Foundation calls itself "the oldest continuously operating civil liberties organization" and is "one of the largest and best-funded lobbying organizations" in the United States.

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58.

The NRA Foundation's oldest organized critics include the gun control advocacy groups the Brady Campaign, the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and the Violence Policy Center.

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59.

In 2016, only two Democratic House candidates received donations from the NRA Foundation, compared to 115 in the 1992 elections, in a reflection of decreasing Democratic support for the NRA Foundation and its mission.

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60.

Survey of NRA Foundation members found that the majority support certain gun control policies, such as a universal background check:.

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61.

Critics have charged that the NRA Foundation represents the interests of gun manufacturers rather than gun owners.

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62.

In December 2012, following the shooting, NRA Foundation broke its social media silence and media blackout to announce a press conference.

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63.

At the event, LaPierre announced an NRA Foundation-backed effort to assess the feasibility of placing armed security officers in the nation's 135,000 public and private schools under a "National School Shield Program".

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64.

NRA Foundation called on Congress "to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary".

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65.

NRA Foundation has been criticized for their media strategy following mass shootings in the United States.

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66.

An NRA Foundation spokesman responded by blaming the shooting on the FBI and the media.

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67.

The NRA Foundation issued a statement that the incident was proof that more guns were immediately required in schools in the hands of a bolstered force of armed security personnel in order to "harden" them against any further similar assaults.

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68.

NRA Foundation offers corporate discounts to its members at various businesses through its corporate affiliate programs.

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69.

Where the NRA Foundation has looked to find some common ground with gun reform advocates and at least appear to be reasonable, NAGR has been the unapologetic champion of opening up gun laws even more.

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70.

NRA Foundation has been criticized for insufficient defense of African-American gun rights and providing muted and delayed responses in gun rights cases involving black gun owners.

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