Long before the powerful NRA as we know it was created, an unimportant lawmaker named John D. Dingell Jr. jotted some notes on a yellow legal pad. Nearly 50 years later, the organization that he helped reform now has an almost unimaginable influence on American politics.
First created by Union generals severely disappointed in their soldiers’ marksmanship, the National Rifle Association has grown to become what Dingell envisioned it to be: an organization that uses “all available resources at every level to influence the decision-making process” in Washington.
Dingell, a top Michigan Democrat who died in 2019, was an advocate for Second Amendment rights. He wasn’t just a politician, though. He also became a member of the NRA’s board of directors, a position that allowed him to both influence Congress’ firearms policies and reshape the lobbying force responsible for the NRA’s continued success.
As Democrats have taken a more moderate approach to interpreting the Second Amendment, the congresspeople supporting the NRA have consistently trended red. But many Democrats, including Dingell, have supported and lobbied for the NRA in recent decades. Dingell would often soften anti-gun legislation or even stop it from passing altogether. He even asked the Library of Congress to research Nazi-era gun confiscations in Germany to help prove that regulating firearms is a slippery slope.
The NRA has become an unrivaled force in politics, flexing its muscles at almost every turn. It was even able to prevent the passage of gun restrictions following the 1999 Columbine shooting, and a NRA board member thanked Congress for voting it down. The NRA has also become a leading firearms education organization both in the U.S. and around the world, counting nearly five million members and harnessing the power of elected officials.
First created by Union generals severely disappointed in their soldiers’ marksmanship, the National Rifle Association has grown to become what Dingell envisioned it to be: an organization that uses “all available resources at every level to influence the decision-making process” in Washington.
Dingell, a top Michigan Democrat who died in 2019, was an advocate for Second Amendment rights. He wasn’t just a politician, though. He also became a member of the NRA’s board of directors, a position that allowed him to both influence Congress’ firearms policies and reshape the lobbying force responsible for the NRA’s continued success.
As Democrats have taken a more moderate approach to interpreting the Second Amendment, the congresspeople supporting the NRA have consistently trended red. But many Democrats, including Dingell, have supported and lobbied for the NRA in recent decades. Dingell would often soften anti-gun legislation or even stop it from passing altogether. He even asked the Library of Congress to research Nazi-era gun confiscations in Germany to help prove that regulating firearms is a slippery slope.
The NRA has become an unrivaled force in politics, flexing its muscles at almost every turn. It was even able to prevent the passage of gun restrictions following the 1999 Columbine shooting, and a NRA board member thanked Congress for voting it down. The NRA has also become a leading firearms education organization both in the U.S. and around the world, counting nearly five million members and harnessing the power of elected officials.