The New Republic’s Alec MacGillis examines whether changing attitudes about gun violence present an opening for groups such as New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly’s Americans for Responsible Solutions:
The NRA, of course, has real clout. Like many other groups, it lobbies in Washington and state capitals, buys ads and deploys activists during elections, and maintains a ratings system that grades elected officials and candidates on their support for its goals. What sets the NRA apart is its relentless invocation of the Second Amendment, the single-mindedness of its supporters, and the inchoate nature of its hold on politicians. Its approval has come to signify not merely support for gun ownership, but American authenticity. For many in Congress, it’s “a cultural thing,” says one veteran Senate staffer. “You have to pass a cultural test for [constituents] to listen to you on the other stuff.”
And yet for some time now, the NRA’s power has been more a matter of entrenched wisdom than actual fact. Gun ownership is declining—from half of households in the 1970s to a third today. A slew of senators and governors have won campaigns in red or purple states despite NRA F ratings, including Tim Kaine (Virginia), Kay Hagan (North Carolina), Sherrod Brown (Ohio), Claire McCaskill (Missouri), and Bill Nelson (Florida), who has campaigned on gun control but has won majorities even in deeply conservative Panhandle counties. Senator Chris Murphy, a rookie Connecticut Democrat who has taken a lead on the issue since the Newtown massacre, points out that, of the 16 Senate races the NRA participated in last year, 13 of its candidates lost. “The NRA is just all mythology,” he says. “The NRA does not win elections anymore.”
This article appears in May 23-29, 2013.
Perhaps, it is just me, but I fail to get the point. The NRA never won elections; they simply supported fundamental points that are shared by many.
There are no guns in my home, there never have been, but I support the unfettered right to gun ownership. Because of liberal types like Alec, I have joined the NRA on a two year membership. Anyone want a cool pin?
I have seen more ” single minded Ness” from gun control advocates than I have seen from 2nd amendment advocates….
The NRA doesn’t control the media, doesn’t control Unions and the medical industry is the largest lobbying group in Washington D.C. and it is lobbying to Obamacare. Now who is a bigger threat to your freedoms?
this is a bulls**t article. gun ownership has exploded (no pun intended) within the past few years yet gun violence is way down. We are one of the top countries in the world for gun ownership, yet only somewhere in the 30’s for gun crime. The NRA is about constitutional rights (primarily 2nd ammendment) not about selling guns. They just let the voting public know which candidates do not believe in our Constitution so that when they vote they can make intelligent choices.
Democrat voting areas have a 650% higher gun murder rate than Republican voting areas, why? The answer of that question holds the real solution, not just the same old kneejerk response of making another law. The Democrat voting areas have over 10,000 laws already they don’t work. Gun show guns are 1.9% of the guns used in crime, but instead of 1.9% of our focus the Democrats are 100% focused on the “gun show loopholes” that have basically a statistical insignificant impact on the problem! This latest wave of gunophobia isn’t doing something, it is doing the equivalent of nothing as it is the same old tact taken for political reasons that has zero impact on the real problem which is clearly why do the Democrat voting areas have 650% higher gun murder rates?
I have yet to see a clear argument made to support the so-called “gun control” issues. After reading this article, I still haven’t. I have also yet to see an article supporting “gun control” that didn’t involve falsehoods, exaggeration, attacks on others, innuendo and out-right lies. After reading this article, I still haven’t. Americans own more guns than ever before in history. Crime is WAY down, including violent crime and murder. That is one aspect of the truth anti-gun people just cannot deal with.
No, the politics haven’t changed much at all.
As the great and wise Spice 1 once said “Rollin wit my mutha fuckin strap on the side of me”
Never have I seen so many dislikes for the simple truth. Dislike all you want, it’s still the truth.
The truth is that nobody, NOBODY, is trying to take law abiding citizens guns away, that’s just another big NRA lie as is their claim that gun control violates the Second Amendment, this is why most Americans support gun control. Sadly, there are still those so brainwashed by the NRA propaganda into believing that the guv’ment is plotting to “grab” people’s guns so they can bring “tyranny” to this country we cannot get common sense limits on guns like every other civilized nation has and we have to tolerate incidents like the slaughter of children in Connecticut because some stupid people live in fear of fictional threats to their “freedom”.