Editing National Rifle Association (section)

==Lobbying and political activity==
{{See also|Lobbying in the United States}}
[[File:Chris Cox by Gage Skidmore.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Chris W. Cox]], the NRA's former chief lobbyist and political strategist, in March 2016]]

When the National Rifle Association of America was officially incorporated on November 16, 1871,<ref name = incorporation/> its primary goal was to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis". The NRA's website says the organization is "America's longest-standing civil rights organization".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.nra.org/ |title=NRA Digital Network |publisher=National Rifle Association of America |quote=The National Rifle Association is America's longest-standing civil rights organization. |access-date=May 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140529184945/http://home.nra.org/ |archive-date=May 29, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On February 7, 1872, the NRA created a committee to [[lobbying in the United States|lobby]] for legislation in the interest of the organization.<ref>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93266257/ The National Rifle Association]". ''The New York Times''. February 7, 1872. p. 8.</ref> Its first lobbying effort was to petition the [[New York State legislature]] for $25,000 to purchase land to set up a range.<ref>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93158322/ New York and Suburban News". ''The New York Times''. March 6, 1872. p. 8.]</ref> Within three months, the legislation had passed and had been signed into law by [[Governor of New York State|Governor]] [[John T. Hoffman]].<ref>"[https://www.proquest.com/docview/93285877/ Important Meeting of the National Rifle Association]". ''The New York Times''. May 22, 1872. p. 8.</ref>

In 1934, the National Rifle Association created a Legislative Affairs Division and testified in front of Congress in support of the first substantial federal gun control legislation in the US, the [[National Firearms Act]].<ref name=Walker>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-nra-marksman-s-friend-that-took-aim-at-washington-8429536.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/the-nra-marksman-s-friend-that-took-aim-at-washington-8429536.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | title=The NRA – marksman's friend that took aim at Washington | work=[[The Independent]] | date=December 22, 2012 | access-date=May 30, 2018 | last=Walker | first=Tim}}</ref>

The Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), the lobbying branch of the NRA, was established in 1975. According to [[Political science|political scientists]] John M. Bruce and Clyde Wilcox, the NRA shifted its focus in the late 1970s to incorporate political advocacy, and started seeing its members as political resources rather than just as recipients of goods and services. Despite the impact on the volatility of membership, the politicization of the NRA has been consistent and its PAC, the Political Victory Fund established in 1976, ranked as "one of the biggest spenders in congressional elections" as of 1998.<ref name=BruceWilcox1998p158>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bruce |editor1-first=John M. |editor2-last=Wilcox |editor2-first=Clyde |year=1998 |title=The Changing Politics of Gun Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvNb5s8Z3b0C&pg=PA158|location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield |pages=158–59 |isbn=978-0847686148 |oclc=833118449 }}</ref>

A 1999 [[Fortune (magazine)|''Fortune'']] magazine survey said that lawmakers and their staffers considered the NRA the most powerful lobbying organization three years in a row.<ref name=FortuneSurvey1999/> [[Chris W. Cox]] was the NRA's chief lobbyist and principal political strategist, a position he held from 2002 until 2019. In 2012, 88% of Republicans and 11% of Democrats in Congress had received an NRA PAC contribution at some point in their career. Of the members of the Congress that convened in 2013, 51% received funding from the NRA PAC within their political careers, and 47% received NRA money in their most recent race. According to Lee Drutman, political scientist and senior fellow at the [[Sunlight Foundation]], "It is important to note that these contributions are probably a better measure of allegiance than of influence."<ref name=Drutman121218>{{cite web |url=http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2012/12/18/nra-and-congress/ |title=NRA's allegiances reach deep into Congress |last=Drutman |first=Lee |date=December 18, 2012|publisher=Sunlight Foundation}}</ref>

Internationally, the NRA opposes the [[Arms Trade Treaty]] (ATT).<ref name=NYTEB130930>{{cite news |author=Editorial Board |title=Containing the Conventional Arms Trade |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/opinion/containing-the-conventional-arms-trade.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131025224813/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/01/opinion/containing-the-conventional-arms-trade.html |archive-date=October 25, 2013 |access-date=February 7, 2014 }}</ref> It has opposed Canadian gun registry,<ref name=CBCNews100913>{{cite news |title=NRA involved in gun registry debate |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nra-involved-in-gun-registry-debate-1.923766 |publisher=CBC|location=Ontario, Canada |date=September 13, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919165820/http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nra-involved-in-gun-registry-debate-1.923766 |archive-date=September 19, 2013 |access-date=February 7, 2014 }}</ref> supported Brazilian gun rights,<ref name=Kurlantzick060917>{{cite news |last=Kurlantzick |first=Joshua |date=September 17, 2006 |title=Global Gun Rights? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/magazine/17wwln_essay.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120531072513/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/17/magazine/17wwln_essay.html |archive-date=May 31, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=February 7, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Flannery |first=Nathaniel Parish |date=July 11, 2013 |title=What Are The NRA And Smith and Wesson Up To in Latin America? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2013/07/11/what-are-the-nra-and-smith-and-wesson-up-to-in-latin-america/ |journal=Forbes |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029222826/http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanielparishflannery/2013/07/11/what-are-the-nra-and-smith-and-wesson-up-to-in-latin-america/ |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=February 7, 2014 }}</ref> and criticized Australian gun laws.<ref name=OMalley131212>{{cite news |last=O'Malley |first=Nick |date=December 12, 2013 |title=Sandy Hook massacre: Gun lobby targets Australia |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/sandy-hook-massacre-gun-lobby-targets-australia-20131212-hv5ed.html |newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |location=Sydney, Australia |publisher=Fairfax Media |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213065614/http://www.smh.com.au/world/sandy-hook-massacre-gun-lobby-targets-australia-20131212-hv5ed.html |archive-date=December 13, 2013 |access-date=February 7, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2016, the NRA raised a record $366&nbsp;million and spent $412&nbsp;million for political activities. The NRA also maintains a PAC which is excluded from these figures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/01/nra-donald-trump-guns-fundraising/|title=The NRA raised a record amount of money in 2016|first=Andy|last=Kroll}}</ref> The organization [[List of congresspersons who received campaign money from the NRA in 2016|donated to congressional races]] for both Republicans (223) and Democrats (9) to candidates for [[United States Congress|Congress]].<ref name=twsBI111>Business Insider, February 28, 2018, [http://www.businessinsider.com/nra-political-contributions-congressional-candidates-house-senate-2018-2 These are the members of Congress with the most NRA donations], Retrieved April 2, 2018, "...The NRA remains one of the premier gun rights lobbying groups in the US, regularly contributing to congressional candidates. ... "</ref>

The NRA has been described as influential in shaping American gun control policy.<ref name="Cook-2014">{{Cite book|url=https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-gun-debate-9780199338993?cc=is&lang=en&|title=The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know®|last1=Cook|first1=Philip J.|last2=Goss|first2=Kristin A.|author-link2=Kristin Goss|date=2014|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199338993|location=Oxford, New York|pages=198–200}}</ref><ref name="Reich-2017">{{Cite journal|last1=Reich|first1=Gary|last2=Barth|first2=Jay|date=2017|title=Planting in Fertile Soil: The National Rifle Association and State Firearms Legislation*|journal=Social Science Quarterly|language=en|volume=98|issue=2|pages=485–99|doi=10.1111/ssqu.12423|issn=0038-4941}}</ref> The organization influences legislators' voting behavior through its financial resources and ability to mobilize its large membership.<ref name="Reich-2017" /> The organization has not lost a major battle over gun control legislation since the 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban.<ref name="Cook-2014" /> At the federal level, the NRA successfully lobbied Congress in the mid-1990s to effectively halt governments-sponsored research into the public health effects of firearms, and to ensure the passage of legislation in 2005 largely immunizing gun manufacturers and dealers from lawsuits.<ref name="Cook-2014" /> At the same time, the NRA stopped efforts at the federal level to increase regulation of firearms.<ref name="Cook-2014" /> At the state and local level, the NRA successfully campaigned to deregulate guns, for example by pushing state governments to eliminate the ability of local governments to regulate guns and removing restrictions on guns in public places (such as bars and campuses).<ref name="Cook-2014" />

===Elections===
[[File:Wayne LaPierre by Gage Skidmore 5 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Wayne LaPierre]], NRA executive vice president, in 2017]]
The NRA Political Victory Fund (PVF) PAC was established in 1976 to challenge gun-control candidates and to support gun-rights candidates.<ref name=BruceWilcox1998p186>{{cite book |editor1-last=Bruce |editor1-first=John M. |editor2-last=Wilcox |editor2-first=Clyde |year=1998 |title=The Changing Politics of Gun Control |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VvNb5s8Z3b0C&pg=PA186|location=Lanham, MD |publisher=Rowman and Littlefield |page=186 |isbn=978-0847686148 |oclc=833118449 }}</ref> An NRA "A+" candidate is one who has "not only an excellent voting record on all critical NRA issues, but who has also made a vigorous effort to promote and defend the Second Amendment", whereas an NRA "F" candidate is a "true enemy of gun owners' rights".<ref name=Lowes140311>{{cite news |last=Lowes |first=Robert |date=March 11, 2014 |title=NRA Opposes Surgeon General Nominee Vivek Murthy |url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/821816 |website=Medscape |publisher=WebMD {{subscription required}} |access-date=June 9, 2014 }}</ref>

The NRA endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time in 1980, backing [[Ronald Reagan]] over [[Jimmy Carter]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Gina M. |title=100 Years: Remembering President Ronald Reagan |url=http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2011/100-years-remembering-president-ronald.aspx |publisher=National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action |access-date=February 2, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130218232039/http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2011/100-years-remembering-president-ronald.aspx |archive-date=February 18, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Facts on File 1980 Yearbook, p.844</ref> The NRA has also made endorsements even when it viewed both candidates positively. For example, in the [[2006 United States Senate elections|2006 Pennsylvania Senate elections]], the NRA endorsed [[Rick Santorum]] over [[Bob Casey Jr.]],<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Toole |first=James |date=October 25, 2006 |title=Santorum touts gun stand: Senate candidate showcases NRA endorsement |url=http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06298/732722-177.stm |newspaper=[[Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]] |publisher=PG Publishing |access-date=April 19, 2012 }}</ref> even though they both had an "A" rating.  Despite this endorsement, Santorum lost to Casey.

Republicans joined forces with the NRA and used the recently passed gun control measures to motivate voters in the 1994 midterm elections.<ref name="Siegel-2013">Siegel, Reva B. "Dead or Alive: Originalism as Popular Constitutionalism in Heller." ''The Second Amendment on Trial: Critical Essays on District of Columbia v. Heller'', edited by Saul Cornell and Nathan Kozuskanich, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013, pp. 104.</ref> In 1993, with Democrats in the majority of both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, President [[Bill Clinton]] signed the [[Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act|Brady Bill]], named after the press secretary who was shot and paralyzed during the 1981 [[Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan|assassination attempt of President Reagan]].<ref name="Siegel-2013"/> The Brady Bill created a mechanism for background checks in order to enforce the GCA of 1968 and prevent criminals and minors from purchasing guns.<ref name="Siegel-2013" /> In addition, the [[Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994]] included a 10-year ban on the sale of assault weapons. In 1994, the ban was favored by 78% of Americans according to a CBS poll.<ref>Young, John T., et al. "Trends: Guns." ''The Public Opinion Quarterly'', vol. 60, no. 4, 1996, pp. 647.</ref>

According to Yale professor [[Reva Siegel]], during the 1994 midterm elections, the NRA "spent more than $3.2&nbsp;million on GOP campaigns and helped win nineteen of twenty-four 'priority' races the organization targeted, leading to a House with a majority of members who were 'A-rated' by the NRA."<ref name="Siegel-2013a">Siegel, Reva B. "Dead or Alive: Originalism as Popular Constitutionalism in Heller." ''The Second Amendment on Trial: Critical Essays on District of Columbia v. Heller'', edited by Saul Cornell and Nathan Kozuskanich, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013, pp. 105.</ref> Groups like the NRA seeking to expand interpretation of the Second Amendment to include an individual right to a gun, coincided with the '[[New Right]]', a political movement concerned with gun control, and social issues such as school prayer and abortion.<ref>Siegel, Reva B. "Dead or Alive: Originalism as Popular Constitutionalism in Heller." ''The Second Amendment on Trial: Critical Essays on District of Columbia v. Heller'', edited by Saul Cornell and Nathan Kozuskanich, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013, pp. 95.</ref> Leader of the new House Majority Leader [[Newt Gingrich]] stated that support for or against gun control defined ones partisan identity.<ref name="Siegel-2013a"/> NRA leader Knox echoed this sentiment, assuring members that Republicans would be defenders of Second Amendment rights and repeal recently passed gun control legislation.<ref name="Siegel-2013a"/>

The NRA spent $40&nbsp;million on [[2008 United States elections|United States elections in 2008]],<ref name=GAS2012>{{cite book |chapter=National Rifle Association (NRA) |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oD46JBOhMU0C&pg=PA616|editor-last=Carter |editor-first=Gregg Lee |year=2012 |title=Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QeGJH48PT0kC|location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |pages=616–20 |isbn=978-0313386701}}</ref> including $10&nbsp;million in opposition to the election of Senator [[Barack Obama]] in the [[2008 United States presidential election|2008 presidential campaign]].<ref name=Cox081019>{{cite news |date=October 19, 2008 |title=NRA has 'anti-gun' Obama in its sights |url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2008/10/19/nra-has-anti-gun-obama-in-its-sights/ |newspaper=[[Orlando Sentinel]] |agency=Cox News Service |access-date=June 6, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2010, ''[[Citizens United v. FEC]]'' was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court, paving the way for [[dark money]] to flow into U.S. elections.  As of mid-September 2018, the NRA has become one of just 15 groups which account for three-quarters of the anonymous cash.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/09/12/three-quarters-secret-political-money-comes-15-groups/1272183002 |title=Exclusive: Three-quarters of the secret money in recent elections came from 15 groups |author=Fredreka Schouten |date=September 12, 2018 |website=USAToday.com|access-date=September 13, 2018}}</ref>

The NRA spent over $360,000 in the [[Colorado recall election of 2013]], which resulted in the ouster of state senators [[John Morse (Colorado politician)|John Morse]] and [[Angela Giron]].<ref name=Siddiqui130910>{{cite news |last=Siddiqui |first=Sabrina |date=September 10, 2013 |title=Colorado Recall Results: Democratic State Senators Defeated In Major Victory For NRA |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/10/colorado-recall-results_n_3903209.html |website=[[HuffPost]] }}</ref> ''[[HuffPost|The Huffington Post]]'' called the recall "a stunning victory for the National Rifle Association and gun rights activists."<ref name=Siddiqui130910/> Morse and Giron helped to pass expanded [[National Instant Criminal Background Check System|background checks]] and ammunition [[High-capacity magazine ban|magazine capacity limits]] after the [[2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting|2012 Aurora, Colorado]], and Sandy Hook, Connecticut, shootings.<ref name=AP130910>{{cite news |date=September 10, 2013 |title=Morse, Giron Lose Recalls Over Gun Laws Support |url=http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/09/10/sen-john-morse-in-trouble-in-early-recall-election-results/ |publisher=CBS Local Media |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=June 6, 2014 }}</ref>

On May 20, 2016, the NRA endorsed [[Donald Trump]] in the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 US presidential election]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Reinhard |first=Beth |date=May 20, 2016 |title=Donald Trump Wins NRA Endorsement |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-expected-to-win-nra-endorsement-1463769758 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=May 20, 2016}}</ref> The timing of the endorsement, before Trump became the official Republican nominee, was unusual, as the NRA typically endorses Republican nominees towards the end of the general election. The NRA said its early endorsement was due to the strong gun control stance of [[Hillary Clinton]]<ref>{{cite news|title=Trump wins NRA endorsement, blasts Clinton on gun stance at forum {{!}} Fox News|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-wins-nra-endorsement-blasts-clinton-on-gun-stance-at-forum/|access-date=May 21, 2016|website=[[Fox News]]|date=May 20, 2016}}</ref> In the [[2016 United States presidential election]] the NRA reported spending more than $30&nbsp;million in support of Donald Trump, more than any other independent group in that election, and three times what it spent in the 2012 presidential election.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2016/11/the-nra-placed-big-bets-on-the-2016-election-and-won-almost-all-of-them/|title=The NRA Placed Big Bets on the 2016 Election, and Won Almost All of Them|last=Spies|first=Mike|date=November 9, 2016|website=[[OpenSecrets|Open Secrets]]|access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref>

===Russian influence===
{{Further|Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections}}
Investigations by the FBI and [[Mueller special counsel investigation|Special Counsel]] [[Robert Mueller]] resulted in indictments of Russian nationals on charges of developing and exploiting ties with the NRA to influence US politics by using the NRA to gain access to Republican politicians. Russian politician and gun-rights activist [[Aleksandr Torshin]], a lifetime NRA member who is close to Russian president [[Vladimir Putin]],<ref name=mcclatchy-20180118>{{cite news |url= http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article195231139.html |title= FBI investigating whether Russian money went to NRA to help Trump |publisher= [[The McClatchy Company|McClatchy]] |last1=Stone |first1=Peter |last2=Gordon |first2=Greg |date= January 18, 2018 |access-date=March 8, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/01/18/the-russia-scandal-just-got-bigger-and-republicans-are-trying-to-prevent-an-accounting/|title=The Russia scandal just got bigger. And Republicans are trying to prevent an accounting.|date=January 18, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> was suspected by some of illegally funneling money through the NRA to benefit Trump's 2016 campaign. In May 2018, Democrats on the [[Senate Judiciary Committee]] released a report stating it had obtained "a number of documents that suggest the Kremlin used the National Rifle Association as a means of accessing and assisting Mr. Trump and his campaign" through Torshin and his assistant [[Maria Butina]], and that "The Kremlin may also have used the NRA to secretly fund Mr. Trump's campaign."<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.mcclatchydc.com/latest-news/article211265784.html |title= Senate Dems: Documents suggest Russia used NRA to aid Trump campaign |first1=Greg |last1=Gordon |first2= Peter |last2= Stone |date= May 16, 2018 |publisher= McClatchy DC BUreau |access-date= May 16, 2018 |via=McClatchyDC.com |quote=...Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee said in a report on Wednesday that their preliminary investigation turned up "a number of documents" suggesting Russia used connections to the NRA "as a means of accessing and assisting Mr Trump and his campaign.}}</ref><ref name=Anapol>{{cite web | url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/388005-senate-judiciary-committee-kremlin-used-the-nra-to-help-trump/ | title=Judiciary Dems: Kremlin may have used the NRA to help Trump campaign | work=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] | date=May 16, 2018 | access-date=May 29, 2018 | last=Anapol | first=Avery}}</ref>

Butina was arrested on July 15, 2018, and charged with conspiring to act as an [[Foreign Agents Registration Act|unregistered agent]] of the Russian Federation and using Republican operative [[Paul Erickson (activist)|Paul Erickson]] for cover and connections as she developed an influence operation designed to "advance the interests of the Russian Federation." The FBI acquired an email Erickson had sent to an acquaintance in 2016 stating, "Unrelated to specific presidential campaigns, I've been involved in securing a VERY private line of communication between the Kremlin and key [GOP] leaders through, of all conduits, the [NRA]."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Johnson |first1=Carrie |title=Feds Charge Russian Student, Linked To NRA, With Conspiracy |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/07/16/629531772/feds-charge-russian-student-linked-to-nra-with-conspiracy |website=NPR.org |access-date=December 11, 2018 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-rights-activist-charged-with-acting-as-russian-agent-1531770436|title=Gun-Rights Activist Charged With Acting as Russian Agent|first1=Aruna|last1=Viswanatha|first2=Del Quentin|last2=Wilber|newspaper=Wall Street Journal |date=July 16, 2018|via=www.wsj.com}}</ref> According to the affidavit, from 2015 through at least February 2017, Butina worked at the direction of Russian who was a high level government official and official at the Russian Central Bank.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hennigan |first1=W.J. |title=The Strange Case of the NRA-Linked Russian Charged With Being a Kremlin Agent |url=https://time.com/5340362/mariia-butina-arrest-russia/ |access-date=December 13, 2018 |agency=Time |date=July 16, 2018}}</ref><ref name=Bykowicz-180717>{{cite web | url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/alleged-russian-agent-cultivated-ties-with-u-s-conservatives-nra-1531865613 | title=Alleged Russian Foreign Agent Cultivated Ties With U.S. Conservatives, NRA | work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] | date=July 17, 2018 | access-date=July 17, 2018 | first1=Julie | last1=Bykowicz | first2=Del Quentin | last2=Wilber}}</ref><ref name=Sheth-180717>{{cite web | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/maria-butina-indicted-russian-national-nra-ties-2018-7 | title=Grand jury indicts Maria Butina, a Russian national with deep ties to the NRA, for conspiracy and acting as a Russian agent | work=[[Business Insider]] | date=July 17, 2018 | access-date=July 17, 2018 | first=Sonam | last=Sheth}}</ref> In December, Butina agreed in a plea deal to cooperate with federal prosecutors.<ref name=Madden-181210>{{cite web | url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/maria-butina-accused-russian-agent-reaches-plea-deal/story?id=59719083 | title=Maria Butina, accused Russian agent, reaches plea deal with prosecutors that includes cooperation | work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] | date=December 10, 2018 | access-date=December 10, 2018 | first1=Pete | last1=Madden | first2=Katherine | last2=Faulders | first3=Matthew | last3=Mosk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Helderman, Rosalind S. |author2=Hamburger, Tom |author3=Lee, Michelle Ye Hee |date=December 13, 2018 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/russian-agents-guilty-plea-intensifies-spotlight-on-relationship-with-nra/2018/12/13/e6569a00-fe26-11e8-862a-b6a6f3ce8199_story.html |title=Russian Agent's Guilty Plea Intensifies Spotlight on Relationship with NRA |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=December 14, 2018 |quote=Butina's case exposed how Russia saw the NRA as a key pathway to influencing American politics to the Kremlin's benefit. And it has intensified questions about what the gun rights group knew of the Russian effort to shape U.S. policy and whether it faces ongoing legal scrutiny.}}</ref> Butina later denied accusations that she was a Russian agent.<ref>{{cite news |title=Accused Russian Spy Maria Butina Speaks Out for the First Time |url=https://www.thecut.com/2019/02/maria-butina-speaks-out-for-first-time-denies-being-a-spy.html |work=[[New York (magazine)|New York]] |date=February 11, 2019}}</ref>

In 2018, in a letter sent to Sen. [[Ron Wyden]] and addressed to Congress, the NRA acknowledged it had accepted approximately $2,000 in membership dues and magazine subscriptions and $525 in contributions from 23 Russian nationals or people associated with Russian addresses since 2015. In an earlier news interview the NRA's lawyers stated that the NRA had received less than $1000 from only one Russian donor. According to a Wyden aide, the NRA letter would be referred to the [[Federal Election Commission]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2018/04/11/601534305/nra-in-new-document-acknowledges-more-than-20-russian-linked-contributors|title=NNRA, In New Document, Acknowledges More Than 20 Russian-Linked Contributors|last=Mak|first=Tim |date=April 11, 2018|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=January 15, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/nra-admits-accepting-money-23-russia-linked-donors-882310|title=NRA admits accepting money from 23 Russia-Linked donors|last=PM|first=Gillian Edevane On 4/11/18 at 4:20|date=April 11, 2018|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=January 15, 2019}}</ref> NRA's general counsel John C. Frazer wrote to Senator Wyden: "While we do receive some contributions from foreign individuals and entities, those contributions are made directly to the NRA for lawful purposes. Our review of our records has found no foreign donations in connection with a United States election, either directly or through a conduit."<ref>{{cite news |title=NRA Says It Receives Foreign Funds, But None Goes To Election Work |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/03/27/597279176/nra-says-it-receives-foreign-funds-but-none-goes-to-election-work |work=NPR |date=March 27, 2018}}</ref>

According to the minority Democratic staff of the [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Senate Finance Committee]] the NRA acted as "a foreign asset" of Russia during the 2016 election, putting its tax exempt status at risk.  The allegations were made in a 77-page report on an 18-month investigation released on September 27, 2019. An 18-page rebuttal by majority committee Republicans said the Democratic report demonstrated "little or nothing".<ref>{{cite news |title=Clashing Senate Reports and New Questions on the N.R.A. |first=Danny |last=Hakim |date=September 27, 2019 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=September 27, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/27/us/nra-senate-reports.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NRA Was 'Foreign Asset' To Russia Ahead of 2016, New Senate Report Reveals |date=September 27, 2019 |first=Tim |last=Mak |agency=[[NPR]] |access-date=September 27, 2019 |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/27/764879242/nra-was-foreign-asset-to-russia-ahead-of-2016-new-senate-report-reveals}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The NRA & Russia How a Tax Exempt Organization Became a Foreign Asset |date=September 2019 |author=United States Senate Committee on Finance minority staff |access-date=September 27, 2019 |url=https://apps.npr.org/documents/document.html?id=6432520-The-NRA-Russia-How-a-Tax-Exempt-Organization}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Majority Staff Report accompanying the Minority Staff Report: The NRA and Russia |date=September 2019 |author=United States Senate Committee on Finance majority staff |access-date=September 27, 2019 |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6432305-2019-09-27-NRA-Russia-Majority-Report.html}}</ref>

Neither the FBI nor special counsel investigations found any Russian money funneling. The FBI investigation resulted in the conviction of Butina, not on any money-related charges, and the Mueller Report does not mention the NRA.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.justice.gov/archives/sco/file/1373816/download |title=Report On The Investigation Into Russian Interference In The 2016 Presidential Election |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref> The [[Federal Election Commission]] has dismissed allegations of Russian money funneling as unsupported by the evidence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/MUR_7314_NRA_et_al_statement_of_Chair_Caroline_C_Hunter.pdf |title=STATEMENT OF CHAIR CAROLINE C. HUNTER |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fec.gov/files/legal/murs/7637/7637_06.pdf |title=FIRST GENERAL COUNSEL'S REPORT |access-date=2022-11-07}}</ref>

===The ATF and Senate confirmations===
The NRA has for decades sought to limit the ability of the ATF to regulate firearms by blocking nominees and lobbying against reforms that would increase the ability of the ATF to track gun crimes.<ref name="Watkins-2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/22/us/politics/trump-atf-nra.html|title=How the N.R.A. Keeps Federal Gun Regulators in Check|last=Watkins|first=Ali|date=February 22, 2018|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 22, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> For instance, the NRA opposed ATF reforms to trace guns to owners electronically; the ATF currently does so through paper records.<ref name="Watkins-2018" /> In 2006, the NRA lobbied [[United States House of Representatives|US Representative]] [[Jim Sensenbrenner|F. James Sensenbrenner]] to add a provision to the [[Patriot Act]] reauthorization that requires Senate confirmation of ATF director nominees.<ref name=Horwitz130731>{{cite news |last=Horwitz |first=Sari |date=July 31, 2013 |title=Senate confirms ATF director |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/senate-confirms-atf-director/2013/07/31/dc9b0644-fa09-11e2-8752-b41d7ed1f685_story.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref> For seven years after that, the NRA lobbied against and "effectively blocked" every presidential nominee.<ref name=Horwitz130731/><ref>{{cite news |last=Yager |first=Jordy |date=June 18, 2013 |title=Sen. Durbin pressures gun lobby with threat to move ATF authority to FBI |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/153722-sen-durbin-pressures-gun-lobby-with-threat-to-move-atf-authority-to-fbi/ |newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |publisher=Capitol Hill Publishing |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref><ref name=Serrano130711>{{cite news |last=Serrano |first=Richard A. |date=July 11, 2013 |title=ATF nominee faces obstacles to confirmation |url=https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-xpm-2013-jul-11-la-na-atf-confirmation-20130712-story.html |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=June 9, 2014 }}</ref> First was President [[George W. Bush]]'s choice, [[Michael Sullivan (U.S. Attorney)|Michael Sullivan]], whose confirmation was held up in 2008 by three Republican senators who said the ATF was hostile to gun dealers. One of the senators was [[Larry Craig]], who was an NRA board member during his years in the Senate.<ref name=Horwitz101026>{{cite news |last1=Horwitz |first1=Sari |last2=Grimaldi |first2=James V. |date=October 26, 2010 |title=ATF's oversight limited in face of gun lobby |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/25/AR2010102505823_3.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref> Confirmation of President Obama's first nominee, Andrew Traver, stalled in 2011 after the NRA expressed strong opposition.<ref name="Watkins-2018" /><ref name=Horwitz130731/><ref name=Skiba110216>{{cite news |last=Skiba |first=Katherine |date=February 16, 2011 |title=Gun lobby stands firm in opposing Obama's ATF nominee |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2011/02/16/gun-lobby-stands-firm-in-opposing-obamas-atf-nominee/ |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref> Some Senators resisted confirming another Obama nominee, [[B. Todd Jones]], because of the NRA's opposition,<ref name=Serrano130711/> until 2013, when the NRA said it was neutral on Jones' nomination and that it would not include the confirmation vote in its grading system.<ref name=Horwitz130731/> Dan Freedman, national editor for [[Hearst Communications|Hearst Newspapers]]' Washington, D.C. bureau, stated that it, "clears the way for senators from pro-gun states—Democrats as well as at least some Republicans—to vote for Jones without fear of political repercussions".<ref name=Freedman130730>{{cite news |last=Freedman |first=Dan |date=July 30, 2013 |title=Acting ATF director Todd Jones appears headed for confirmation |url=http://blog.sfgate.com/nov05election/2013/07/30/acting-atf-director-todd-jones-appears-headed-for-confirmation/#14500101=0 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2014, Obama weighed the idea of delaying a vote on his nominee for Surgeon General, [[Vivek Murthy]], when Republicans and some [[conservative Democrats]] criticized Murthy, after the NRA opposed him.<ref name=ViserBierman140315>{{cite news |last1=Viser |first1=Matt |last2=Bierman |first2=Noah |date=March 15, 2014 |title=Surgeon general nominee runs into Senate resistance |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2014/03/15/surgeon-general-nominee-runs-into-senate-resistance-over-stance-health-care-guns/9c0gFvR0pcmEG7tA4RvFqJ/story.html |newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|publisher=Boston Globe Media Partners |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref> In February, the NRA wrote to Senate leaders [[Harry Reid]] and [[Mitch McConnell]] to say that it "strongly opposes" Murthy's confirmation, and told ''[[The Washington Times]]''{{'}} [[Emily J. Miller|Emily Miller]] that it would score the vote in its PAC grading system. "The NRA decision", wrote Miller, "will undoubtedly make vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in the midterms reconsider voting party line on this nominee."<ref name=Miller140228>{{cite news |last=Miller |first=Emily |date=February 28, 2014 |title=NRA to score Senate vote on Obama's nominee for surgeon general, Vivec Murthy |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/28/nra-score-senate-vote-obamas-nominee-surgeon-gener/?page=all |newspaper=[[The Washington Times]] }}</ref> ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' stated on March 15, "Crossing the NRA to support Dr. Murthy could be a liability for some of the Democrats running for re-election this year in conservative-leaning states".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Peterson |first1=Kristina |last2=Nelson |first2=Colleen McCain |last3=Dooren |first3=Jennifer Corbett |date=March 15, 2014 |title=Some Democrats Balk at Confirming Obama's Surgeon General Pick |url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303730804579440231622201174 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |publisher=Dow Jones & Company |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref> Murthy's nomination received broad support from over 100 medical and public health organizations in the U.S., including the [[American Heart Association|American College of Physicians, the American Public Health Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the]] [[American Diabetes Association]].<ref>"More Than 100 National Organizations Demonstrate Strong Support for Dr. Vivek Murthy as the next Surgeon General" (http://health {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712182239/http://health/ |date=July 12, 2013 }}  yamericans.org/newsroom/releases/?releaseid=317). ''Trust for America's Health'' (Press release). November 12, 2014.</ref> On December 15, 2014, Murthy's appointment as Surgeon General was approved by the Senate.<ref>Nolen, John (December 15, 2014). "Senate finally confirms Surgeon General nominee" (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/surgeon-gener  al-nominee-finally-has-confirmation-vote/). [[CBS News]]. Retrieved December 15, 2014.</ref>

The NRA also opposed the appointments of [[Sonia Sotomayor]] and [[Elena Kagan]] as [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]] justices.<ref name=Elliot130109>{{cite news |last=Elliot |first=Philip |date=January 9, 2013 |title=Influence Game: NRA lobbying targets courthouses |url=https://news.yahoo.com/influence-game-nra-lobbying-targets-courthouses-080346429--politics.html|publisher=Yahoo-ABC News Network |agency=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=June 10, 2014 }}</ref>

===Legislation===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders floatright" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;"
|-
|+National Rifle Association Position on Federal US Legislation
! scope="col"| Bill/Law
! scope="col"| Year
! scope="col"| Supported
! scope="col"| Opposed
|-
! scope="row" | [[National Firearms Act]]
| 1934
| {{X mark|alt=Supported}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Federal Firearms Act]]
| 1938
| {{X mark|alt=Supported}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Gun Control Act]]
| 1968
| {{X mark|alt=Supported}}<!-- the double X is right -->
| {{X mark|alt=Opposed}}<!-- the double X is right -->
|-
! scope="row" | [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban]]
| 1994
|
| {{X mark|alt=Opposed}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]]
| 2005
| {{X mark|alt=Supported}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act]]
| 2006
| {{X mark|alt=Supported}}
|
|-
! scope="row" | [[Assault Weapons Ban of 2013|Assault Weapons Ban]]
| 2013
|
| {{X mark|alt=Opposed}}
|}

The NRA initially opposed the [[1934 National Firearms Act]], but gave their support after several changes including the removal of [[pistol]]s and [[revolver]]s and redefinition of machine gun,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.recoilweb.com/origins-of-the-nfa-128767.html | title=Origins of the NFA | date=July 18, 2017 }}</ref><ref name=Winkler111003>{{cite news |last=Winkler |first=Adam |date=October 3, 2011 |title=When the NRA Promoted Gun Control |url=https://huffingtonpost.com/adam-winkler/when-the-nra-promoted-gun_b_992043.html |website=[[HuffPost]] }}</ref> which regulated what were considered at the time "gangster weapons" such as [[machine gun]]s, [[short-barreled rifle]]s, [[short-barreled shotgun]]s, and sound [[suppressor]]s.<ref name=ATF-NFA>{{cite web |url=http://www.atf.gov/content/firearms/firearms-industry/national-firearms-act |title=National Firearms Act |year=2014|publisher=Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives |access-date=May 29, 2014 }}</ref> However, the organization's position on suppressors has since changed.<ref name=NRA-Suppressors2011>{{cite web |url=http://www.nraila.org/news-issues/articles/2011/suppressors-good-for-our-hearing.aspx |title=Suppressors-Good for Our Hearing |date=November 17, 2011|publisher=National Rifle Association of America Institute for Legislative Action |access-date=July 19, 2013 }}</ref>

The NRA supported the [[1938 Federal Firearms Act]] (FFA) which established the [[Federal Firearms License]] (FFL) program. The FFA required all manufacturers and dealers of firearms who ship or receive firearms or ammunition in interstate or foreign commerce to have a license, and forbade them from transferring any firearm or most ammunition to any person interstate unless certain conditions were met.<ref name=SAF-Ascione1939>{{cite web |url=http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Ascione1.html |title=The Federal Firearms Act|last=Ascione |first=Alfred M. |year=1939|publisher=[[Second Amendment Foundation]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130618110827/http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/Ascione1.html |archive-date=June 18, 2013 |access-date=July 19, 2013 }}</ref>

The NRA supported and opposed parts of the [[Gun Control Act of 1968]], which broadly regulated the firearms industry and firearms owners, primarily focusing on regulating interstate commerce in firearms by prohibiting interstate firearms transfers except among licensed manufacturers, dealers and importers. The law was supported by America's oldest manufacturers (Colt, Smith & Wesson, etc.) in an effort to forestall even greater restrictions which were feared in response to recent domestic violence. The NRA supported elements of the law, such as those forbidding the sale of firearms to convicted criminals and the mentally ill.<ref name=Knox1966>{{cite book |last=Knox |first=Neal |chapter=The Dodd Bill Both Fact ... and Fantasy |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3LSE2QfOCSoC&pg=PA50|title=The Gun Rights War |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3LSE2QfOCSoC |publisher=MacFarlane |pages=50–65 |isbn=978-1565921979 |date= 2019 }} Originally in ''[[Guns & Ammo]] Magazine'', June 1966.</ref><ref name=Rosenfeld130114>{{cite news |last=Rosenfeld |first=Steven |date=January 14, 2013 |title=The NRA once supported gun control |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/01/14/the_nra_once_supported_gun_control/ |website=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|publisher=Salon Media Group }}</ref>

The NRA influenced the writing of the [[Firearm Owners Protection Act]] and worked for its passage.<ref name="University2002">{{cite book|last1=Jacobs |first1=James B. |last2=Burger|first2=Warren E. |title=Can Gun Control Work?|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dpzN711aYlQC&pg=PA49|year=2002|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0195349214|pages=27–28, 49}}</ref>

In 2004, the NRA opposed renewal of the [[Federal Assault Weapons Ban of 1994]]. The ban expired on September 13, 2004.<ref name=CoxChat040917>{{cite web |url=http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/cox091704.htm |title=Live Online: The Assault Weapons Ban: NRA |last1=Cox |first1=Christopher W. |date=September 17, 2004|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050327025427/http://discuss.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/zforum/04/cox091704.htm |archive-date=March 27, 2005 }} Transcript of chat with NRA's chief lobbyist.</ref>

In 2005, President George W. Bush signed into law the NRA-backed [[Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act]] which partially shields firearms manufacturers and dealers from being held liable for negligence when crimes have been committed with their products.<ref name=NRA4228>{{cite web |url=http://www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=4228 |title=President Bush signs Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act |publisher=National Rifle Association of America |access-date=April 9, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130420194651/http://www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=4228 |archive-date=April 20, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=WP_2013-01-31 >{{ cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/nra-backed-federal-limits-on-gun-lawsuits-frustrate-victims-their-attorneys/2013/01/31/a4f101da-69b3-11e2-95b3-272d604a10a3_story.html | title=NRA-backed federal limits on gun lawsuits frustrate victims, their attorneys | last1=Hamburger | first1=Tom | last2=Wallsten | first2=Peter | last3=Horwitz | first3=Sari | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=2013-01-31 }}</ref>

===Litigation===
In November 2005, the NRA and other gun advocates filed a lawsuit challenging [[San Francisco Proposition H (2005)|San Francisco Proposition H]], which banned the ownership and sales of firearms. The NRA argued that the proposition overstepped local government authority and intruded into an area regulated by the state. The [[San Francisco County Superior Court]] agreed with the NRA position.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Egelko |first1=Bob |last2=Goodyear |first2=Charlie |date=June 13, 2006 |title=Judge invalidates Prop. H handgun ban |url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Judge-invalidates-Prop-H-handgun-2494855.php |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=November 21, 2010 }}</ref> The city appealed the court's ruling, but lost a 2008 appeal.<ref>{{cite news |last=Egelko |first=Bob |date=April 10, 2008 |title=State high court shoots down S.F. handgun ban |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/State-high-court-shoots-down-S-F-handgun-ban-3218562.php |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |publisher=Hearst Communications |access-date=May 30, 2014 }}</ref> In October 2008, San Francisco was forced to pay a $380,000 settlement to the National Rifle Association and other plaintiffs to cover the costs of litigating Proposition H.<ref>Matier, Phillip; Andrew Ross (October 27, 2008) [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/27/BADT13NUQI.DTL&hw "Newsom's city car makes trip to his wedding"]. ''San Francisco Chronicle''. (Retrieved on November 2, 2008.)</ref>

In April 2006, [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, police began returning to citizens guns that had been [[New Orleans Police Department#Hurricane Katrina|confiscated after Hurricane Katrina]]. The NRA, [[Second Amendment Foundation]] (SAF), and other groups agreed to drop a lawsuit against the city in exchange for the return.<ref name=AP060419>{{cite news |title=N.O. Police Returning Guns Confiscated Post-Katrina |url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/04/19/no-police-returning-guns-confiscated-post-katrina/ |date=April 19, 2006 |publisher=FOX News Network |agency=[[Associated Press]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140607224514/http://www.foxnews.com/story/2006/04/19/no-police-returning-guns-confiscated-post-katrina/ |archive-date=June 7, 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=June 7, 2014 }}</ref>

The NRA filed an [[Amicus curiae|amicus brief]] with the Supreme Court in the 2008 landmark gun rights case of [[District of Columbia v. Heller|''District of Columbia v Heller'']].<ref>{{cite web |last1=McArdle |first1=Elaine |title=Lawyers, Guns and Money |url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/feature/lawyers-guns-and-money/ |website=Harvard Law Today |access-date=December 11, 2018 |date=July 1, 2007}}</ref> In a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court ruled that the District of Columbia's gun laws were unconstitutional, and for the first time held that an individual's right to a gun was unconnected to service in a militia.<ref name="Siegel-2013a"/><ref name="Walden-2015">Walden, Michael. "The Road to ''Heller.''" ''Legal Change: Lessons From America's Social Movements,'' edited by Jennifer Weiss-Wolf and Jeanine Plant-Chirlin, Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, 2015, pp. 53–62.</ref> Some legal scholars believe that the NRA was influential in altering the public's interpretation of the Second Amendment, providing the foundation for the majority's opinion in [[District of Columbia v. Heller|''Heller'']].<ref name="Walden-2015" /><ref>Siegel, Reva B. "Dead or Alive: Originalism as Popular Constitutionalism in Heller." ''The Second Amendment on Trial: Critical Essays on District of Columbia v. Heller'', edited by Saul Cornell and Nathan Kozuskanich, University of Massachusetts Press, 2013, pp. 81–147.</ref>

In 2009, the NRA again filed suit (''[[Guy Montag Doe v. San Francisco Housing Authority]]'') in the city of San Francisco challenging the city's ban of guns in public housing. On January 14, 2009, the San Francisco Housing Authority reached a settlement with the NRA, which allows residents to possess legal firearms within a SFHA apartment building.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/01/14/BALM15A1SG.DTL&type=printable|title=San Francisco Housing Authority settles gun lawsuit|last=Egelko|first=Bob|date=January 14, 2009 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|location=San Francisco, CA|access-date=January 16, 2009}}</ref>

In 2010, the NRA sued the city of [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]], (''[[McDonald v. Chicago]]'') and the Supreme Court ruled that like other substantive rights, the right to bear arms is incorporated via the Fourteenth Amendment to the Bill of Rights, and therefore applies to the states.<ref name="landmark">{{Cite news|title=In McDonald v. Chicago another Supreme Court landmark ruling on guns?|date=March 1, 2010|newspaper=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|url=http://www.csmonitor.com/Commentary/the-monitors-view/2010/0301/In-McDonald-v.-Chicago-case-another-Supreme-Court-landmark-ruling-on-guns}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mears|first=Bill|title=Court rules for gun rights, strikes down Chicago handgun ban|website=[[CNN.com]]|date=June 28, 2009|url=http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/28/court-rules-for-gun-rights-strikes-down-chicago-handgun-ban/?iref=allsearch|access-date=February 2, 2013|archive-date=March 11, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140311023602/http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/06/28/court-rules-for-gun-rights-strikes-down-chicago-handgun-ban/?iref=allsearch|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In March 2013, the NRA joined a federal lawsuit with other gun rights groups challenging New York's gun control law (the [[NY SAFE Act]]), arguing that Governor [[Andrew Cuomo]] "usurped the legislative and democratic process" in passing the law, which included restrictions on magazine capacity and expanding the state's assault weapons ban.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/nra-joins-lawsuit-challenging-new-yorks-gun-control-law/ |title=NRA joins lawsuit challenging New York's gun control law |publisher=FOX News |date=March 25, 2015}}</ref>

In November 2013, voters in [[Sunnyvale, California]], passed an ordinance banning certain ammunition magazines along with three other firearm-related restrictions. The ordinance was passed by 66 percent in favor.<ref name=Chokshi /> The ordinance requires city residents to "dispose, donate, or sell" any magazine capable of holding more than ten rounds within a proscribed period of time once the measure takes effect.<ref>{{cite news|last=Jones|first=Carolyn|title=NRA vows to fight Sunnyvale's tough new gun law|url=http://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/NRA-vows-to-fight-Sunnyvale-s-tough-new-gun-law-4962573.php|access-date=December 16, 2013 |newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|date=November 6, 2013 }}</ref> The following month, the NRA joined local residents in suing the city on second amendment grounds.<ref name=Chokshi>{{cite web | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/govbeat/wp/2013/12/18/nra-sues-sunnyvale-over-its-new-ammunition-ban/ | title=NRA lawyer sues Sunnyvale, Calif., over its new ammunition ban | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=December 18, 2013 | access-date=February 26, 2018 | last=Chokshi | first=Niraj}}</ref> A federal judge dismissed the suit three months later, upholding the Sunnyvale's ordinance.<ref name=Wadsworth>{{cite web | url=http://www.sanjoseinside.com/2014/03/06/judge-dismisses-nra-upholds-sunnyvale-gun-control-measure/ | title=Judge Dismisses NRA, Upholds Sunnyvale Gun Control Measure | website=San Jose Inside | date=March 6, 2014 | access-date=February 26, 2018 | last=Wadsworth | first=Jennifer}}</ref><ref name=Richman>{{cite web | url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2014/03/07/sunnyvales-ammo-magazine-ban-is-in-effect-but-to-what-effect/ | title=Sunnyvale's ammo magazine ban is in effect – but to what effect? | newspaper=[[The Mercury News]] | date=March 7, 2014 | access-date=February 26, 2018 | last=Richman | first=Josh}}</ref>

The city of San Francisco then passed similar ordinances a short time later. The San Francisco Veteran Police Officers Association (SFVPOA), represented by NRA attorneys, filed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco's ban on the possession of high-capacity magazines, seeking an injunction.<ref>{{cite web|last=Richardson|first=Valerie|title=Veteran cops challenge San Francisco's gun limit laws|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/nov/20/veteran-cops-challenge-san-franciscos-gun-limit-la/?page=all|newspaper=[[The Washington Times]]|access-date=December 18, 2013 }}</ref> A federal judge denied the injunction in February 2014.<ref name=Wadsworth /><ref name=Egelko>{{cite web | url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/S-F-wins-ruling-on-high-capacity-gun-magazines-5249792.php | title=S.F. wins ruling on high-capacity gun magazines | newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] | date=February 20, 2014 | access-date=February 26, 2018 | last=Egelko | first=Bob}}</ref>

In 2014, the NRA lobbied for a bill in Pennsylvania which grants it and other advocacy groups [[legal standing]] to sue municipalities to overturn local firearm regulations passed in violation of a state law [[wikt:preemption|preempting]] such regulations, and which also allows the court to force cities to pay their legal fees. As soon as it became law, the NRA sued three cities: [[Philadelphia]], [[Pittsburgh]], and [[Lancaster, Pennsylvania|Lancaster]]. In Philadelphia, seven regulations the NRA sued to overturn included a ban on gun possession by those found to be a risk for harming themselves or others, and a requirement to report stolen guns to the police within twenty-four hours after discovery of the loss or theft.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Howard|first1=Brian|title=Here's the Lawsuit the NRA Just Filed Against Philadelphia Organization says city has "openly defied state law for decades."|url=http://www.phillymag.com/news/2015/01/14/heres-lawsuit-nra-just-filed-philadelphia/|access-date=February 22, 2015|magazine=[[Philadelphia (magazine)|Philadelphia]] |date=January 14, 2015}}</ref> In Lancaster, a city of fewer than 60,000, mayor [[Rick Gray (Pennsylvania politician)|Rick Gray]], who has chaired the pro-gun control group [[Mayors Against Illegal Guns]], was also named in the suit. In that city, the NRA challenged an ordinance requiring gun owners to tell police when a firearm is lost or stolen within 72 hours or face jail time.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ward|first1=Miriam|title=NRA quick to draw new weapon in Pennsylvania|url=https://msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/nra-quick-draw-new-weapon-pennsylvania|access-date=February 22, 2015|website=[[MSNBC]]|date=January 17, 2015}}</ref> The basis for the lawsuits is "a 1974 state law that bars municipalities against passing restrictions that are pre-empted by state gun laws". At least 20 Pennsylvania municipalities have rescinded regulations in response to threatened litigation.<ref name=2015USN-Penn>{{cite web|last1=Rubinkan|first1=Michael|title=NRA uses new state law to sue Pennsylvania cities over gun measures; mayor vows fight|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/us/articles/2015/01/14/nra-suing-pennsylvania-cities-on-gun-laws-mayor-vows-fight|access-date=February 12, 2015|agency=[[Associated Press]]|issue=online|magazine=U.S. News & World Report|date=January 14, 2015}}</ref><ref>[http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2015/02/nra_s_new_legal_strategy_for_killing_guns_laws_pennsylvania_s_act_192_is.html The NRA's Diabolical New Plan for Killing Gun Laws] Alec MacGillis, ''Slate'' February 4, 2015</ref>

The NRA has worked with the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU) in opposing [[National Security Agency|NSA]] collection of the call records of calls in the United States.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.aclu.org/blog/writers-lawmakers-and-nra-support-aclu-challenge-nsa-spying|title=Writers, Lawmakers, and the NRA Support ACLU Challenge to NSA Spying|publisher=American Civil Liberties Union|access-date=October 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=MacAskill |first1=Ewen |title=NSA surveillance: National Rifle Association backs ACLU challenge |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/sep/05/nsa-national-rifle-backs-aclu |website=The Guardian |access-date=May 25, 2022 |date=September 4, 2013}}</ref>

On September 4, 2019, the [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors]] passed a non-binding resolution which declared the NRA a domestic terrorist organization and said the city should "take every reasonable step" to limit vendors which do business with the city from also doing business with the NRA. On September 9, the NRA filed a lawsuit in response, accusing city officials of violating the organization's free speech rights by discriminating against the organization "based on the viewpoint of their political speech."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/us/san-francisco-nra-terrorist.html|title=San Francisco Declares the N.R.A. a 'Domestic Terrorist Organization'|last=Padilla|first=Mariel|date=September 4, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 5, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="guardian-10sep2019">{{cite news |last1=Beckett |first1=Lois |title=NRA sues San Francisco for declaring group a 'domestic terrorist organization' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/sep/10/nra-san-francisco-domestic-terrorist-lawsuit |access-date=September 10, 2019 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=September 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=NRA Sues San Francisco After Lawmakers Declare It A Terrorist Organization |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/09/10/759333549/nra-sues-san-francisco-after-lawmakers-declare-it-a-terrorist-organization |access-date=September 10, 2019 |publisher=NPR News |date=September 10, 2019}}</ref> On September 23, mayor [[London Breed]] and city attorney [[Dennis Herrera]] announced in a memo that "the city's contracting process and policies have not changed and will not change as a result of the resolution." On November 7, 2019, the NRA dropped their lawsuit against San Francisco.<ref name="sfchron-7nov2019">{{cite news |last1=Egelko |first1=Bob |title=NRA drops lawsuit against San Francisco, which labeled it a 'terrorist organization' |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/NRA-drops-lawsuit-against-San-Francisco-which-14818778.php |access-date=November 8, 2019 |work=[[San Francisco Chronicle]] |date=November 7, 2019}}</ref><ref name="cbs-8nov2019">{{cite news |title=NRA drops lawsuit against San Francisco over "terrorist organization" resolution but claims victory |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nra-vs-san-francisco-nra-drops-lawsuit-against-san-francisco-over-terrorist-organization-resolution-claims-victory/ |access-date=November 8, 2019 |work=[[CBS News]] |date=November 8, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Hakim|first=Danny|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/01/us/san-francisco-nra-faceoff.html|title=In a Face-off With the N.R.A., San Francisco Blinks|date=October 1, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=October 28, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nraila.org/articles/20191001/san-francisco-backs-down-facing-a-lawsuit-by-the-nra-mayor-breed-declares-we-won-t-blacklist-nra-contractors|title=NRA-ILA {{!}} San Francisco Backs Down: Facing a Lawsuit by the NRA, Mayor Breed Declares – We Won't Blacklist NRA Contractors|last=NRA-ILA|website=NRA-ILA|language=en|access-date=October 28, 2019}}</ref> Los Angeles had passed a similar ordinance but the NRA won a [[Injunction|preliminary injunction]] on December 11, 2019<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ij.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/gov.uscourts.cacd_.744044.34.0.pdf|title=National Rifle Association of America et al v. City of Los Angeles et al}}</ref> and subsequently dropped the lawsuit after Los Angeles repealed the law.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apnews.com/425574f20c0186e9c842e8ca679ee387|title=NRA to drop lawsuit over Los Angeles disclosure law|date=February 1, 2020|website=AP NEWS|access-date=March 30, 2020}}</ref>