The National Rifle Association as an interest group and political influence

National Rifle Association (NRA) represents individuals and groups who are concerned about losing their right to own guns and as a hunter this is of utmost importance to me. They are concerned about losing the right to keep and bear arms which is guaranteed to the citizenry of the United States of America by the Second Amendment of the Constitution in the Bill of Rights. In their view, they are protectors of the Constitution and almost always support the Republican party and oppose the Democratic party because they feel their issues are better supported by the politics of the Republican party. Typically, the National Rifle Association's main opposition is comprised of gun control advocates (and Democrats). Currently, the National Rifle Association is lobbying strongly against The Sportsmen's Act of 2012, as well as paying close attention to gun control bans, and laws regarding assault weapons (NRA-ILA, 2012). Without the National Rifle Association, Democrats and liberals will legislate away the legal ownership of guns by the very citizens the Constitution instilled with that right.

Although the Sportsmen's Act of 2012 appears hunter friendly on the face of it, the National Rifle Association is opposed to it (NRA-ILA, 2012). According to the National Rifle Association this piece of legislation contains aspects that are contradictory to the rights of gun owner's (NRA-ILA, 2012). The Sportsmen's Act of 2012 contains language that defines various types of ammunition which will not be allowed (NRA-ILA, 2012). In the National Rifle Association's view, these limitations are unacceptable, thus, regardless of its apparent support of hunting and sportsmanship, this piece of legislation is not friendly when it comes to hunters and gun owners.

The National Rifle Association was initially formed by ex-union soldiers who were aghast at the lack of marksmanship displayed by their peers and its initial design was to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis" (National Rifle Association, 2012). The National Rifle Association is still very much involved in marksmanship as well as hunting activities (National Rifle Association, 2012). "While widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights, the NRA has, since its inception, been the premier firearms education organization in the world. But our successes would not be possible without the tireless efforts and countless hours of service our nearly four million members have given to champion Second Amendment rights and support

NRA programs," (National Rifle Association, 2012).

The National rifle Association is obviously proud of the fact that they are a political force to be reckoned with regarding defending the Second Amendment but it seems they are modest with regard to their political influence. Time Warner (1999), reported that, "FORTUNE's annual survey of the most powerful lobbying organizations revealed that the National Rifle Association (NRA) was considered the most influential by lawmakers and congressional staffers the capital insiders closest to the lobbying action." Obviously, the National Rifle Association carries a great deal of clout in Washington.

A current accounting of money contributed to politicians by the National Rifle Association found that in the 2012 cycle over $627,996.00, was donated to Republicans running for Congress (OpenSecrets.org, 2012). The amount contributed to Democrats was significantly less at $85,450.00, (OpenSecrets.org, 2012). It is also noteworthy that almost all money contributed to congressional candidates was donated to incumbents (OpenSecrets.org, 2012). When donating funds to politicians it is wise to contribute to those whose voting history can be substantiated by past behavior.

It is important to note that, "The National Rifle Association goes to great lengths (and spends huge sums of money) to defend the right to bear arms. It is opposed to virtually every form of gun control, including restrictions on owning assault weapons, background checks for gun owners, and registration of firearms" (OpenSecrets.org, 2010). OpenSecrets.org (2010), goes on to state that' "NRA's influence is felt not only through campaign contributions, but through millions of dollars in off-the-books spending on issue ads and the like. Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the NRA supported proposals to arm pilots with guns. Between 2001 and 2010, the NRA spent between $1.5 million and $2.7 million on federal-level lobbying efforts. During the 2010 election cycle, the NRA spent more than $7.2 million on independent expenditures at the federal level- messages that advocate for or against political candidates. These messages primarily supported Republican candidates or opposed Democratic candidates." Truly, if one is interested in an organization like the National Rifle Association, one need only follow the money.

Though, ostensibly, the group's main opposition is gun control advocates, that may not necessarily be true. According to Dennis Henigan (2009), " a new survey by Republican pollster Frank Luntz and commissioned by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of over 400 mayors, even more dramatically contradicts the conventional political wisdom on the gun issue. Not only does the NRA not represent the views of gun owners on major issues of gun policy, it doesn't even represent the views of its own membership." It seems that a majority of the same people who would describe themselves as National Rifle Association members believe that there should indeed be background checks performed prior to selling guns to individuals at gun shows (Henigan, 2009). As a hunter, seeking only to buy weaponry for the sport of game hunting, this seems reasonable. Further, it is difficult to comprehend how an assault type weapon could reasonably be expected to be a functional hunting weapon.