Gun Control Resources

It is commonly acknowledged that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the most powerful lobbying forces in Congress. The group’s energetic support of the Second Amendment rights of Americans has restricted the expansion of gun control despite decades of effort by gun control advocates. If you find yourself wondering how a single entity, with only 5 million members, can wield such considerable influence, you might find Gun Crusaders: The NRA’s Culture Warby Scott Melzer to be of interest. The answer to the question, in Melzer’s view, is that the NRA is not simply a pro-gun rights group, but rather a group engaged in a cultural war, the symbol of which is the gun. Melzer argues that NRA members see themselves as rugged individualists who value their freedom, and believe that encroachment by big government, growth of the nanny state, and the beliefs of the liberal elite are a threat to that freedom. In their view, gun restrictions are simply the tip of the spear in this battle and any encroachment on those rights represents the beginning of a slippery slope that would be unstoppable. As a result, seemingly minor and reasonable restrictions of gun rights cannot be allowed. While the NRA supported both parties historically, it has become over the past decade primarily the “cultural warrior of the right.”