This paper investigates whether certain interest groups wield excessive power in the legislative process. It categorizes interest groups by type—economic, professional cause, public interest, and institutional—and argues that some groups, particularly the National Rifle Association, abuse their influence by pressuring elected officials and using deceptive claims to block legislation supported by the majority of Americans. The paper contrasts the NRA's approach with that of groups like AARP, which advocates for inclusive policies. Through case studies including the blocked Vivek Murthy confirmation and the failed background check legislation, the paper demonstrates how lobbying threats can override public opinion and policy effectiveness.
Do some interest groups have too much power when it comes to passing legislation, influencing federal policy, and blocking legislation? This is a key question for this paper. The answer is yes: some interest groups (also called "special interest groups") do wield too much influence. Although the practices of groups like the NRA may technically be legal, they are not always fair, ethical, or helpful for most Americans. This paper will point to information that shows the different types of interest groups and their goals.
Encyclopedia Britannica refers to interest groups as "pressure groups" or "special interest groups." Very simply, the great majority of groups seek to influence public policy, and their ability to sway the legislative process depends on their savvy, their numbers, their funding, and the impact of what they are advocating.
Britannica breaks down the groups beginning with "economic interest groups." These economic interest groups are "most prominent in all countries." They include business groups, labor groups, and farm groups—all of which seek additional funding in some context.
There are professional "cause" groups, which include churches, religious organizations, veterans' groups, groups supporting the elderly, and groups supporting people with disabilities. What they have in common is that they all seek to advocate for some cause: veterans hoping for better care through the Veterans Administration, or evangelical church groups seeking an end to abortion.
The AARP is an example of a professional cause group. It advocates for measures that help older people, as well as healthcare policies and social justice issues that extend beyond aging alone. On its website, the AARP advocates for fairness for "Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Americans." The organization also advocates for fairness in estate and inheritance taxes, stating that these taxes "should affect only the largest transfers, and surviving spouses, domestic partners, and family farms and businesses should be protected from excessive burdens." The AARP also urges "freedom from discrimination" regardless of age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation.
There are also professional cause groups like The American Medical Association (AMA), The Screen Actors Guild, and the American Bar Association—described as the three "most influential associations in America"—that give money to candidates who may support issues important to them.
Public interest groups seek to advance environmental protection, consumer rights, or human rights; they include the Sierra Club, Amnesty International, and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. There are also private and public groups that push for "institutional interests." Think tanks are examples of institutional interest groups, according to Britannica.
How powerful is the National Rifle Association? There are countless examples in which the NRA put political pressure on elected officials to vote a certain way or block a certain confirmation or legislation that was up for a vote. One example is the nomination of Vivek Murthy to serve as U.S. Surgeon General by the Obama Administration. Because Murthy had been quoted as saying that gun violence was "a health care issue," the NRA heavily lobbied the Senate and the House not to confirm him. The NRA had its way for a year and a half; in other words, legislators' fears that the NRA would sponsor attack ads in their next election kept the Surgeon General office vacant for 18 months. He was finally confirmed as Surgeon General in December 2014. The NRA acts as a bully, pushing its agenda by threatening elected officials to vote or not vote the way the NRA wants them to.
Another example of the NRA's influence—which defied the will of a great majority of Americans—was the NRA's lobbying effort that led to a filibuster of legislation that would have required people who bought firearms at gun shows to go through background checks, just like they now do at legitimate gun shops.
Over 90% of Americans polled by various legitimate polling groups clearly supported requiring background checks at gun shows and agreed that it was reasonable to have sellers at gun shows obtain the same kind of licenses as licensed dealers in legitimate gun shops. The NRA falsely claimed that the legislation would "criminalize the private transfer of firearms through an expansion of background checks." One of the sponsors of the bill, an NRA member named Senator Joe Manchin, said this claim was "a lie."
It should be noted that the NRA has over the years propagandized its members (and others) to believe that the government is trying to negate the Second Amendment by requiring background checks so that it can create a database and take those weapons away at some point. That is pure paranoia, but it has been an effective albeit deceptive tool for the NRA.
In the gun show-related legislation debate, the NRA also stated that "80% of police say background checks will have no effect" on violent crime. According to FactCheck.org, this assertion by the NRA turned out to be a fabrication—a lie. Yet once again, the NRA bullied its way into the lives of Americans, putting safety on the back burner while threatening elected officials with attack ads if they did not comply with the NRA's demands.
There are advocacy groups that are better than others, because they advocate for issues and legislation that help people—and the AARP is one of those better groups. If you look at the legislation AARP drums up support for, it is all positive and inclusive. Compare the mission and values of the AARP with the NRA, and it is like comparing a youth choir singing songs of joy with a backyard full of pit bulls growling and waiting to pounce on the innocent.
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