Editing National Rifle Association (section)

==History==
===Early history===
[[File:William Conant Church.JPG|thumb|upright|[[William Conant Church]], one of the NRA's founders]]
A few months after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] began in 1861, a national rifle association was proposed by Americans in England. In a letter that was sent to President [[Abraham Lincoln]] and published in ''[[The New York Times]]'', R.G. Moulton and R.B. Perry recommended forming an organization similar to the [[National Rifle Association (United Kingdom)|National Rifle Association]] in Britain, which had formed a year and a half earlier. They suggested making a shooting range, perhaps on the base on [[Staten Island]], and were offering [[Whitworth rifle]]s for prizes for the first shooting competition with those rifles. They suggested a provisional committee to start the Association which would include: President Lincoln, Secretary of War, officers, and other prominent New Yorkers.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/08/09/archives/a-national-rifle-association-patriotic-action-of-americans-residing.html|title=A National Rifle Association.; Patriotic Action of Americans Residing Abroad|date=August 9, 1861|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/mal.1025500/?st=gallery|title=Abraham Lincoln papers: Series 1. General Correspondence. 1833–1916: R.B. Perry and R.G. Moulton to Abraham Lincoln, Wednesday, June 12, 1861 (Loyal Americans in Europe volunteer services)|work=The Library of Congress|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1861/09/09/archives/prize-rifles-a-note-from-patriotic-americans-in-england.html|title=Prize Rifles A Note from Patriotic Americans in England|date=September 9, 1861|work=The New York Times|access-date=April 13, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

The ''National Rifle Association of America'' was chartered in the [[State of New York]] on November 17, 1871<ref name=incorporation>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1871/09/17/archives/the-national-rifle-association.html |title=The National Rifle Association |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=September 17, 1871 |quote=A meeting of the National Rifle Association was held in the Seventh Regiment armory yesterday, Gen. J.P. Woodward, of the second Division, presided, and Col. H.G. Shaw officiated as Secretary. Articles of association were presented and adopted. The incorporators are composed of forty prominent officers and ex-officers of the National Guard. Membership in the Association is to be open to all persons interested in the promotion of the rifle practice. Regiments and companies in the National Guard are entitled by the by-laws to constitute all their regular members in good standing members of the Association on the payment of one-half of the entrance fees and annual dues.}}</ref><ref name=NRABriefHist/> by ''[[Army and Navy Journal]]'' editor [[William Conant Church]] and Captain [[George Wood Wingate]]. On November 25, 1871, the group voted to elect its first corporate officers. Union Army Civil War General [[Ambrose Burnside]], who had worked as a [[Rhode Island]] [[gunsmith]], was elected [[List of presidents of the National Rifle Association|president]].<ref name= firstelection>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93095681/ Meeting of the National Rifle Association Election of Officers]". ''The New York Times''. November 25, 1871. p. 3.</ref> When Burnside resigned on August 1, 1872,<ref>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/534107672/ Notes of the Day]". ''The New York Times''. August 1, 1872. p. 3.</ref> Church succeeded him as president.<ref>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93280208/ National Rifle Association]". ''The New York Times''. August 7, 1872. p. 2.</ref>

[[Union Army]] records for the Civil War indicate that its troops fired about 1,000 rifle shots for each Confederate hit, causing General Burnside to lament his recruits: "Out of ten soldiers who are perfect in drill and the [[manual of arms]], only one knows the purpose of the [[Iron sight|sights]] on his gun or can hit the broad side of a barn."<ref>Bellini, Jason (December 20, 2012). [https://www.wsj.com/video/a-brief-history-of-the-nra/3DDF033D-26D7-4979-B5CC-C995CF99467D.html#!3DDF033D-26D7-4979-B5CC-C995CF99467D "A Brief History of the NRA"]. ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.</ref><ref>Achenbach, Joel; Higham, Scott; Horwitz Sari (January 12, 2013). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html "How NRA's true believers converted a marksmanship group into a mighty gun lobby"]. ''[[The Washington Post]]''</ref><ref name="craige">Craige, John Houston ''The Practical Book of American Guns'' (1950) Bramhall House pp. 84–93</ref> The generals attributed this to the use of volley tactics, devised for earlier, less accurate [[smoothbore]] muskets.<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/timeline-of-the-nra/2013/01/12/351bcb26-5b9c-11e2-beee-6e38f5215402_story.html "Timeline of the NRA"], ''[[The Washington Post]]'', January 12, 2013.</ref><ref name=Kerr1990>{{cite thesis |first=Richard E. |last=Kerr |title=Wall of Fire – The Rifle and Civil War Infantry Tactics |url=http://apps.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a227467.pdf |publisher=US Army Command and General Staff College |year=1990 |access-date=April 29, 2012 |archive-date=December 1, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121201004755/http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a227467.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Ambrose Burnside State House portrait.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ambrose Burnside]], [[Union Army]] general, [[Governor of Rhode Island]], and first president of the NRA]]
Recognizing a need for better training, Wingate sent emissaries to Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany to observe militia and armies' marksmanship training programs.<ref>{{cite news|title=Excerpt: How Canadians helped create the NRA|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2015/12/20/how-canadians-helped-create-the-nra.html|first1=A.J. |last1=Somerset|date=December 20, 2015|newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] }}</ref> With plans provided by Wingate, the New York Legislature funded the construction of a modern [[Shooting range|range]] at [[Creedmoor Rifle Range|Creedmoor]], [[Long Island]], for long-range shooting competitions. The range officially opened on June 21, 1873.<ref name= grandopening>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93350525/ America's Wimbledon: The Inauguration]". ''The New York Times''. June 22, 1873. p. 5.</ref> The [[Central Railroad of Long Island]] established a railway station nearby, with trains running from [[Hunterspoint Avenue (LIRR station)|Hunter's Point]], with connecting boat service to [[34th Street (Manhattan)|34th Street]] and the [[East River]], allowing access from New York City.<ref name= rangeopen>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93326235/ The National Rifle Association]". ''The New York Times''. June 12, 1873. p. 5.</ref> <!-- At the time, Queens was not yet part of New York City. -->

After beating England and Scotland to win the [[Elcho Shield]] in 1873 at [[Wimbledon, London#Rifle shooting|Wimbledon]], <!-- please check the linked article before changing. -->then a village outside London, the Irish Rifle Team issued a challenge through the ''[[New York Herald]]'' to riflemen of the United States to raise a team for a long-range match to determine an Irish-American championship.<ref name="irishamerican">{{cite web |author1=David Minshall |title=Creedmoor and the International Rifle Matches |url=http://www.researchpress.co.uk/index.php/marksmanship/creedmoor/creedmoor-and-the-international-rifle-matches |website=Research Press |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171025025428/http://www.researchpress.co.uk/index.php/marksmanship/creedmoor/creedmoor-and-the-international-rifle-matches |archive-date=October 25, 2017 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref> A team was organized through the subsidiary ''Amateur Club of New York City''.<ref name="irishamerican"/> [[Remington Arms]] and [[Sharps Rifle Manufacturing Company]] produced [[breech-loading weapon]]s for the team.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Breechloading Sharps: History & Performance |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-breechloading-sharps-history-performance/ |website=[[American Rifleman]] |publisher=National Rifle Association of America |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210725030821/https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-breechloading-sharps-history-performance/ |archive-date=July 25, 2021 |language=en-US |date=May 21, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref> Although [[muzzle-loading rifle]]s had long been considered more accurate, eight American riflemen won the 1874 Irish-American Match firing breech-loading rifles. Publicity of the event generated by the ''New York Herald'' helped to establish breech-loading firearms as suitable for military marksmanship training, and promoted the NRA to national prominence.<ref name="craige"/>

In 1875, the NRA issued a challenge for an international rifle match as part of the 1876 Centennial celebrations of the founding of the nation.<ref>{{cite web |author1=Paul Nordquist |title=Origin of the Palma Trophy and Matches |url=https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/11/7/origin-of-the-palma-trophy-and-matches |website=Shooting Sports USA |publisher=National Rifle Association of America |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180305122810/https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2016/11/7/origin-of-the-palma-trophy-and-matches |archive-date=March 5, 2018 |language=en-US |date=November 7, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Australia, Ireland, Scotland and Canada accepted the challenge, and the Centennial Trophy was commissioned from [[Tiffany & Co.]] (later known as the "Palma Trophy").<ref>{{cite web |author1=David Minshall |title=Creedmoor and the International Rifle Matches - Events|url=http://www.researchpress.co.uk/index.php/marksmanship/creedmoor/creedmoor-and-the-international-rifle-matches?start=1 |website=Research Press |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617234821/http://www.researchpress.co.uk/index.php/marksmanship/creedmoor/creedmoor-and-the-international-rifle-matches?start=1 |archive-date=June 17, 2019 |language=en |url-status=live}}</ref> The United States won the 1876 match, and the [[Palma Match]] went on to be contested every four years as the World Long Range Rifle Championships.<ref>{{cite web |title=History |url=https://icfra.com/history/ |website=International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations |date=September 8, 2022 |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224160503/https://icfra.com/history/ |archive-date=February 24, 2023 |language=en |quote=ICFRA is a confederation of independent autonomous national fullbore rifle associations and is the only World-wide body for the promotion of fullbore rifle shooting. It is the successor to the Palma Match Council. Its aims are set out in the Constitution and include the standardisation of fullbore rifle shooting rules and the promotion and control of international matches at World level, including World Championships for Target rifle and F-Class (Individual and Team). |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Palma Match Results 1876-2015 |url=https://icfra.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Palma_Match_summary_results.pdf |website=International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations |access-date=May 25, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230224160325/https://icfra.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Palma_Match_summary_results.pdf |archive-date=February 24, 2023 |date=August 30, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

====Rifle clubs====
[[File:PresidentUSGrantVignette.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Ulysses S. Grant]] served as President of the NRA from 1883 (six years after he left office) to 1884.]]
The NRA organized rifle clubs in other states, and many state National Guard organizations sought NRA advice to improve members' marksmanship. Wingate's marksmanship manual evolved into the United States Army marksmanship instruction program.<ref name="craige"/> Former president [[Ulysses S. Grant]] served as the NRA's eighth president and General [[Philip H. Sheridan]] as its ninth.<ref name=NRA2479>{{cite web |url=http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?ID=2479 |title=The 'Academy' Must Now Share Michael Moore's Cinematic Shame |publisher=National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action |date=March 27, 2003 |access-date=November 21, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101203095618/http://www.nraila.org/News/Read/NewsReleases.aspx?id=2479 |archive-date=December 3, 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The US Congress created the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice in 1901 to include representatives from the NRA, National Guard, and United States military services. A program of annual rifle and pistol competitions was authorized, and included a national match open to military and civilian shooters. In 1907, NRA headquarters moved to Washington, D.C. to facilitate the organization's advocacy efforts.<ref name="craige" /> [[Springfield Armory]] and [[Rock Island Arsenal]] began the manufacture of [[M1903 Springfield]] rifles for civilian members of the NRA in 1910.<ref name=Canfield2008>{{cite journal |last=Canfield |first=Bruce N. |date=September 2008 |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |title=To promote marksmanship ... 'N.R.A.'-marked M1903 rifles |volume=156 |issue=9 |pages=72–75}}</ref> The [[Director of Civilian Marksmanship|director of civilian marksmanship]] began manufacture of [[M1911 pistol]]s for NRA members in August 1912.<ref name=Ness1983>{{cite journal |last=Ness |first=Mark |date=June 1983 |journal=[[American Rifleman]] |title=American Rifleman |page=58}}</ref> Until 1927, the [[United States Department of War]] provided free ammunition and targets to civilian rifle clubs with a minimum membership of ten United States citizens at least 16 years of age.<ref>{{cite book |last=Camp |first=Raymond R. |title=The Hunter's Encyclopedia |publisher=Stackpole and Heck |year=1948 |location=Harrisburg, PA |page=599}}</ref>

===1934–1970s===
After the passage of the [[National Firearms Act]] (NFA) of 1934, the first federal gun-control law in the US, the NRA formed its Legislative Affairs Division to update members with facts and analysis of upcoming bills.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kessel |first1=W. |title=Why we are losing the war on gun violence in the United States |date=2021 |publisher=Springer, Cham |location=Cham, Switzerland |isbn=9783030555122}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ruhl |first1=Jesse M. |last2=Rizer |first2=Arthur L. |last3=Wiel |first3=Mikel J. |title=Gun Control: Targetting Rationality in a Loaded Debate |journal=Kansas Journal of Law & Public Policy |date=2003 |volume=13 |page=417}}</ref> [[Karl Frederick]], NRA president in 1934, during congressional NFA hearings testified "I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. I have when I felt it was desirable to do so for my own protection. I know that applies in most of the instances where guns are used effectively in self-defense or in places of business and in the home. I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Jilani|first1=Zaid|title=For Most of Its History, The NRA Actually Backed Sensible Gun Regulation|url=http://boldprogressives.org/2013/01/for-most-of-its-history-the-nra-actually-backed-sensible-gun-regulation/|access-date=September 20, 2015}}</ref> Four years later, the NRA backed the [[Federal Firearms Act of 1938]].<ref name=Gerhart>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2018/national/gun-control-1968/ |title=How the NRA transformed from marksmen to lobbyists |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=May 29, 2018 |access-date=May 31, 2018 |last1=Gerhart |first1=Ann |last2=Alcantara |first2=Chris}}</ref>

The NRA supported the NFA along with the [[Gun Control Act of 1968]] (GCA), which together created a system to federally license gun dealers and established restrictions on particular [[Title II weapons|categories and classes]] of firearms.<ref name=Lepore2012>{{cite magazine |author=Jill Lepore |author-link=Jill Lepore |date=April 23, 2012 |title=Battleground America: One nation, under the gun |url=https://newyorker.com/reporting/2012/04/23/120423fa_fact_lepore?currentPage=all |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref> The organization opposed a national firearms registry, an initiative favored by then-President [[Lyndon Johnson]].<ref name=Gerhart />

===1970s–2000s===
Until the 1970s, the NRA was [[Nonpartisanism|nonpartisan]].<ref name="Lacombe-2019">{{cite news |last1=Lacombe |first1=Matthew |date=April 26, 2019 |title=Trump is at the NRA today. It didn't used to be a Republican ally. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/26/how-nra-became-core-member-republican-coalition/ |newspaper=[[Washington Post]] |access-date=December 25, 2019 |quote=This is Trump’s fifth consecutive appearance at the event, which regularly hosts a parade of prominent Republicans—especially as the organization has increasingly pushed conservative viewpoints that go far beyond gun rights.}}</ref> Previously, the NRA mainly focused on sportsmen, hunters, and target shooters.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://newhampshirebulletin.com/2022/05/31/how-nra-evolved-from-backing-1934-ban-on-machine-guns-to-where-it-is-now-commentary/ | title=How NRA evolved from backing 1934 ban on machine guns to where it is now – commentary • New Hampshire Bulletin | date=May 31, 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Elving |first=Ron |date=2017-10-10 |title=The NRA Wasn't Always Against Gun Restrictions |url=https://www.npr.org/2017/10/10/556578593/the-nra-wasnt-always-against-gun-restrictions |access-date=2024-08-30 |publisher=[[NPR]]}}</ref> During the 1970s, it became increasingly aligned with the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]].<ref name="Lacombe-2019" /> After 1977, the organization expanded its membership by focusing heavily on political issues and forming coalitions with [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] politicians. Most of these are Republicans.<ref name="Glen H. Utter 2000 pp 99-100">Utter, 2000, pp. 99–100, 162</ref>

However, the passage of the GCA galvanized a growing number of NRA gun rights activists, including [[Harlon Carter]]. In 1975, it began to focus more on politics and established its lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), with Carter as director. The next year, its political action committee (PAC), the [[Political Victory Fund]], was created in time for the 1976 elections.<ref name=CPGCp158>{{cite book |last1=Shaiko |first1=Ronald G. |last2=Wallace |first2=Marc A. |year=1998 |chapter=Going Hunting Where the Ducks Are: The National Rifle Association and the Grass Roots |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvNb5s8Z3b0C&pg=PA155|editor1-last=Bruce |editor1-first=John M. |editor2-last=Wilcox |editor2-first=Clyde |title=The Changing Politics of Gun Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvNb5s8Z3b0C |location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0847686155 |oclc=833118449 |access-date=April 8, 2014 }}</ref>{{rp|158}} The 1977 annual [[convention (meeting)|convention]] was a defining moment for the organization and came to be known as "[[Revolt at Cincinnati|The Cincinnati Revolution]]"<ref name=Knoxp299>{{cite book |last=Knox |first=Neal |year=2009 |title=Neal Knox: The Gun Rights War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dA3pGSYG2yIC&pg=PA299 |editor-last=Knox |editor-first=Christopher |publisher=MacFarlane Press |pages=299–300|isbn=978-0976863304 }}</ref> (or as the Cincinnati Coup,<ref name="kohn">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/inside-the-gun-lobby-112530 |title=Inside the Gun Lobby|magazine=Rolling Stone | first = Howard | last = Kohn | date = May 14, 1981 |access-date= January 1, 2019}}</ref> the Cincinnati Revolt,<ref name="lopez">{{cite news |last1=Lopez |first1=German |title=How the NRA resurrected the Second Amendment |url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/10/12/16418524/nra-second-amendment-guns-violence |work=VOX |date=October 12, 2017}}</ref> or the Revolt at Cincinnati).<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html|title=How NRA's true believers converted a marksmanship group into a mighty gun lobby | first1 = Joel | last1 = Achenbach | first2 = Scott | last2 = Higham | first3 = Sari | last3 = Horwitz | date=January 12, 2013|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> Leadership planned to relocate NRA headquarters to Colorado and to build a $30&nbsp;million recreational facility in New Mexico, but activists within the organization, whose central concern was [[Second Amendment to the United States Constitution|Second Amendment]] rights, defeated the incumbents (i.e. [[Maxwell Rich]]) and elected Carter as executive director and [[Neal Knox]] as head of the NRA-ILA.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Achenbach |first1=Joel |last2=Higham |first2=Scott |last3=Horwitz |first3=Sari |date= January 12, 2013 |title=How NRA's true believers converted a marksmanship group into a mighty gun lobby |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/how-nras-true-believers-converted-a-marksmanship-group-into-a-mighty-gun-lobby/2013/01/12/51c62288-59b9-11e2-88d0-c4cf65c3ad15_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] }}</ref><ref name="Utter 2000">{{cite book |last= Utter | first = Glen H. | title = Encyclopedia of Gun Control and Gun Rights | year = 2000 | isbn= 978-1573561723 | publisher = Greenwood | pages= 137–38, 161–63, 166–67, 186, 219–20}}</ref> Insurgents including Carter and Knox had demanded new leadership in part because they blamed incumbent leaders for existing gun control legislation like the GCA and believed that no compromise should be made.<ref>{{cite journal| last = Walden | first = Michael | title = The Road to "Heller" | journal = Legal Change: Lessons from America's Social Movements | editor1 = Jennifer Weiss-Wolf | editor2 = Jeanine Plant-Chirlin | publisher = Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law | year = 2015 | page = 55 | url = https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/legal-change-lessons-americas-social-movements}}</ref>

With a goal to weaken the GCA, Knox's ILA successfully lobbied Congress to pass the [[Firearm Owners Protection Act]] (FOPA) of 1986 and worked to reduce the powers of the federal [[Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives]] (ATF). In 1982, Knox was ousted as director of the ILA, but began mobilizing outside the NRA framework and continued to promote opposition to gun control laws.<ref name=Knoxp314>{{cite book |last=Knox |first=Neal |year=2009 |title=Neal Knox: The Gun Rights War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dA3pGSYG2yIC&pg=PA314 |editor-last=Knox |editor-first=Christopher |publisher=MacFarlane Press |pages=314–20|isbn=978-0976863304 }}</ref>

At the 1991 national convention, Knox's supporters were elected to the board and named staff lobbyist [[Wayne LaPierre]] as the executive vice president. The NRA focused its attention on the gun control policies of the Clinton administration.<ref name="Utter 2000"/> Knox again lost power in 1997, as he lost reelection to a coalition of moderate leaders who supported movie star [[Charlton Heston]], despite Heston's past support of gun control legislation.<ref>{{cite book |first= Robert J. | last = Spitzer | title = The Politics of Gun Control | edition = 2nd | year =1998 | page =88 | publisher = Paradigm Publishers | isbn = 978-1594519871}}</ref>

In 1994, the NRA unsuccessfully opposed the [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban]] (AWB), but successfully lobbied for the ban's 2004 expiration.<ref>{{cite book |author=Richard Feldman |title=Ricochet: Confessions of a Gun Lobbyist |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zi5yAwWxa50C&pg=PT174 |year=2011 |publisher=John Wiley |page=174|isbn=978-1118131008 }}</ref> Heston was elected president in 1998 and became a highly visible spokesman for the organization. In an effort to improve the NRA's image, Heston presented himself as the voice of reason in contrast to Knox.<ref name=Raymond2006>{{cite book |last=Raymond |first=Emilie |year=2006 |title=From My Cold, Dead Hands: Charlton Heston and American Politics |url=https://archive.org/details/frommycolddeadha00emil|url-access=registration |publisher=University Press of Kentucky |isbn=978-0813124087 |oclc=77125677 }}</ref>{{rp|262–68}}

===2018–present===
====Ackerman McQueen lawsuit====
In April 2019, the group unexpectedly sued its longtime public relations firm [[Ackerman McQueen]], which was responsible for two decades of aggressive gun-rights advertising on behalf of the NRA. The lawsuit alleges that the firm refused to turn over financial records to support its billings to the NRA, which amounted to $40 million in 2017. The lawsuit questioned recent programming on NRATV, an online channel operated by Ackerman, which has taken political positions unrelated to the NRA's traditional focus on gun-related issues. There were also concerns about possible conflicts of interest, such as the $1 million contract to host [[NRATV]] between Ackerman and NRA president [[Oliver North]].<ref name="beset">{{cite news|url=https://www.apnews.com/bda97817dabf492e9be8099bdd1a4cd6|title=NRA beset by infighting over whether it has strayed too far|last=Pane|first=Lisa Marie|date=April 24, 2019|work=AP News|access-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Hakim|first=Danny|date=2019-04-15|title=N.R.A. Sues Contractor Behind NRATV|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/business/nra-nratv-lawsuit.html|access-date=2020-08-12|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Leading up to the NRA's 2019 national convention in April, there were reports that North and LaPierre were at odds, with North demanding that LaPierre resign and LaPierre accusing North of extortion.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/26/politics/nra-extortion-pressure-to-resign/index.html|title=Wall Street Journal: NRA chief executive says he was pressured to resign by group's president|last=Sullivan|first=Kate|date=April 27, 2019|work=CNN|access-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref> At the convention a letter was read from North, saying he had been told he would not be granted a second term as NRA president and adding that he intended to create a committee to investigate allegations of financial mismanagement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/27/politics/oliver-north-nra/|title=Oliver North: 'Informed' I will not be renominated NRA president|last1=Bohn|first1=Kevin|last2=Watkins|first2=Eli|date=April 27, 2019|work=CNN|access-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref> A subsequent resolution to oust LaPierre over "highly suspect" financial practices was hotly debated for an hour before members voted not to discuss financial issues in public and to refer the resolution to the NRA board.<ref name="ousts">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-nra-ousts-oliver-north-and-stifles-debate-on-financial-wrongdoing|title=The NRA Ousts Oliver North and Stifles Debate on Financial Wrongdoing|last=Freskos|first=Brian|date=April 27, 2019|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=April 28, 2019}}</ref> On June 25, 2019, the NRA severed all ties with Ackerman McQueen and shut down the NRATV operation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/25/us/nra-nratv-ackerman-mcqueen.html|title=N.R.A. Shuts Down Production of NRATV|first=Danny|last=Hakim|newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 25, 2019}}</ref>