NRA, long viewed as invincible, faces shrinking membership and revenue

The National Rifle Association is promoting its annual convention in Houston over Memorial Day weekend as an opportunity to “celebrate freedom, guns and the Second Amendment!” But with two mass shootings just 10 days apart, they were killed 21 schoolchildren and teachers in Uvalde, Texas, i 10 grocery buyers in Buffalo, New York, the annual celebrations give way to a renewed debate on gun rights and the influence of the 151-year-old NRA.

The NRA has long used its large coffers to fund lawmakers, mostly Republicans, at the U.S. Capitol and state buildings, in turn thwarting efforts to tighten gun control laws. The NRA has held this position since the 1970s, when it went from focusing on gun security and aiming to defending itself from gun control regulations, supporting friendly legislators and presenting demands to defy gun restrictions.

But IRS documents and legal submissions show that the organization’s finances have weakened significantly in recent years, while allegations of financial mismanagement, including misuse of funds and fraud by of the main leaders, threaten their future, according to experts.

Decreasing limbs

The NRA’s revenue decreased 23% from approximately $ 367 million in 2016 to $ 282 million in 2020, the most recent year for which its tax returns are available. Contributions and grants from partners and corporations have also fallen by 15% during this time.

“The NRA is dependent on members’ income and they seem to be losing members,” said Frank Smyth, author of “The NRA: An Unauthorized History,” noting that he is a gun owner and a member of the NRA who also believes in gun regulations. . “They’re doing everything they can to make it happen. It’s a trend that’s likely to continue.”

The NRA reached 5 million members in 2013, prompting its leader, Wayne LaPierre, to announce that the group would double its ranks to 10 million, according to USA Today. Although its base grew to 6 million members in 2018, it has lost ground since then, with LaPierre saying in a 2021 statement that its members were “less than 4.9 million.”

In a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, the NRA said it has “approximately 5 million members.” The group added that its efforts to defend gun rights are bearing fruit.

“The NRA is fully committed, as usual, to defeating opponents in the courtroom and upholding constitutional freedom,” Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA’s director general of public affairs, said in an email. on CBS MoneyWatch. “As an example of its winning defense, Georgia recently became the 25th state in the nation to approve constitutional approval.”

“Constitutional carrying” laws prohibit states from legal gun owners carrying a firearm.

According to experts, the NRA is losing members for several reasons. The organization of arms has been the focus of embarrassing allegations financial mismanagement and fraudwith the group in its most recent IRS tax return admitting that he paid for the personal jets chartered for LaPierre, as well as “professional makeup and hairdressing services” for his wife, Susan LaPierre, among others issues.

“The dismantling of the power that the arms lobby has accumulated over the years would never happen overnight, but it is clear that this NRA consumed by chaos and mismanagement is in a weak position.” , said Shannon Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun regulation. group that Watts started as a result of the Sandy Hook Elementary School Massacrein an email to CBS MoneyWatch.

Political influence of the NRA

Despite its downsizing and organizational unrest, the NRA continues to exert considerable political influence. This weekend’s NRA convention will be led by former President Donald Trump, while other prominent Republican politicians such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott are also scheduled to speak.

More than a dozen Republican politicians have finally received $ 1 million in NRA campaign aid throughout their careers, though not all of this is direct funding, according to OpenSecrets.org, a monitoring group of money in politics, and data collected in 2019 by the Brady campaign to prevent armed violence.

While the NRA remains active as a lobbyist, gun control advocates say the group is out of step with its own members, including gun owners who support standards such as universal gun control. background for anyone who buys a firearm.

“Unfortunately, as our congressional system is set up, they are still able to hold strong control over a small minority of U.S. senators,” said Christian Heyne, vice president of policy for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Violence. army. “This fear of being primarily for a more conservative candidate is a threat that seems very real.”

Gun control activists also say the violence prevention movement is gaining support, and Watts notes that the “vast majority of the American people” support gun restrictions. A recent CBS poll found that 54% of Americans favor stricter gun sales laws.

“It’s up to senators now to realize that this is not the NRA of years past and to do something because we can’t wait another minute,” Watts said.

Meanwhile, the ANR faces a legal threat stemming from allegations of mismanagement and fraud among its top executives. In 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit alleging that top NRA officials diverted millions of dollars from the weapons group for personal use and enriched family members and close associates by awarding lucrative contracts.

The NRA countered the bankruptcy filing, with the goal of reorganizing and relocating to Texas. Although the NRA is headquartered in Virginia, it has long been established as a non-profit organization in New York State. But a year ago, a Texas judge blocked the failure effortsuggesting that LaPierre and the NRA filed for bankruptcy only to escape James’ pending litigation.

During the bankruptcy hearing, the NRA said it had adopted new controls and accounting policies. In its ruling to dismiss the insolvency lawsuit, the judge noted that “the ANR now understands the importance of compliance,” adding that the group was able to pay creditors and fulfill its mission.

Imminent legal threat

Meanwhile, James’ lawsuit continues, although a judge in March blocked his efforts to close the group. However, the judge allowed the lawsuit to continue and James to seek LaPierre’s expulsion from the NRA.

“They will now face a civil lawsuit and that will gut the NRA,” predicted Smyth, who believes the lawsuit will lead to financial controls and sanctions on the organization.

James’ lawsuit includes allegations that LaPierre mismanaged the NRA’s finances, including spending money on personal expenses, such as renting private jets to pick up his niece in Nebraska and traveling to the Bahamas to spend time on yachts owned by a NRA. Hollywood producer who made films for the NRA. James’ lawsuit was sparked by an internal whistleblower: former NRA president and Iran-Contra figure Oliver North.

So far, Smyth said, LaPierre has remained in power because of his ability to protect gun rights and land big Republicans like Trump at NRA events.

Even if NRA finances are eroding, the issue of gun rights remains a hot topic among many U.S. voters, and some NRA members are shifting loyalty to other gun rights groups. , Smyth pointed out. He pointed to former NRA board member and rocker Ted Nugent, who is now the spokesman for a gun group called Hunter Nation.

The NRA’s organizational health may be faltering, but its impact remains strong. Smyth said: “They took extremist ideas and turned them into current, like the idea that we should all be armed.”

In:
• National Rifle Association
• Guns