President’s Column | Safety And Training Are Our Hallmarks

by
at President, NRA posted on November 24, 2017
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
17-nrz-007_presidents-column_main_6-30.jpg (5)
Michael Ives

This feature appears in the December ‘17 issue of NRA America’s 1st Freedom, one of the official journals of the National Rifle Association.  

The NRA is America’s most prolific proponent and provider of firearm safety and education, period.

Despite the cries of the national news media, we are much more than political lobbyists. Gun safety and training is—and will always be—at our core.

Our training programs date all the way back to the founding of the NRA in 1871 … and will continue to carry the NRA well into the future.

Indeed, in addition to defending and preserving our Second Amendment-protected freedom, the primary missions of the NRA are to “promote public safety, law and order, and the national defense”; to train “people of good repute in marksmanship, and in the safe handling and efficient use of small arms”; and “to foster, promote and support the shooting sports.”

When it comes to firearm safety training and education, no one is bigger or better than your NRA … and despite all the misinformation in the media, Americans trust the NRA more than anyone else.

When it comes to firearm safety training and education, no one is bigger or better than your NRA … and despite all the misinformation in the media, Americans trust the NRA more than anyone else.The NRA has trained more than 30 million kids to be safe.

Our Eddie Eagle GunSafe program is an accident-prevention program that educates parents, teachers, community groups and law enforcement officers about gun safety and how to relay that message in a memorable way to children. Since its inception in 1988, more than 30 million children have been taught a simple message: “If you see a gun, stop. Don’t touch. Run away. Tell a grown-up.” There’s no telling how many young lives have been saved through this critical program.

The NRA has trained about 300,000 women, in just the past six years, through the Basic Pistol Course.

Women on Target instructional shooting clinics allow women to learn about firearms and build confidence with new, self-empowering skills.

Refuse to Be A Victim, established in 1993, presents crime-prevention and personal safety tips and techniques for women (and men) of all ages.

The NRA Women’s Wilderness Escape provides an eight-day getaway for novice and seasoned outdoorswomen to experience firearm education among outdoor-related activities.

The NRA has more than 115,000 certified instructors in place around the country, plus 8,000 coaches and 2,200 training counselors—all training millions of Americans each year in rifle, pistol, shotgun, home defense and personal protection.

Through political efforts and, to an even greater degree, our multi-faceted state-of-the-art training programs, the NRA keeps people safe … no matter where they live or what their background may be.Nationally, the NRA is recognized as the gold standard in firearm training, with courses designed by experts to ensure gun owners learn the knowledge, skills and attitude necessary for the responsible, safe and enjoyable use of firearms. Whether you’re a new gun owner or experienced shooter, the NRA has a program for you.

As a diverse organization, serving a nation of diverse citizens, NRA training programs are ever-evolving and adapting to meet the needs of Americans embracing their Second Amendment freedom like never before.

Right now, about 17.5 million Americans have a permit to carry a concealed firearm. That number is growing, largely driven by more and more urban Americans of all races, creeds and sexes seeking the personal protection found in firearm ownership … and seeking the very real and practical training needed to own and carry a gun responsibly.

To serve this growing citizenry of gun owners, we launched NRA Carry Guard. As I discussed in this space in October, NRA Carry Guard provides specialized training and protection to every citizen who chooses to carry a firearm. In addition to advanced concealed-carry training, the program also provides world-class insurance coverage for any law-abiding citizen who may one day need to use a firearm in self-defense    

Your NRA is clearly a large organization that, going all the way back to our beginning, delivers personalized safety training and education for every gun owner and for every prospective gun owner in America.

There is no doubt the NRA is a political organization. We are proud and staunch defenders of our Second Amendment-protected freedoms.

Through political efforts and, to an even greater degree, our multi-faceted state-of-the-art training programs, the NRA keeps people safe … no matter where they live or what their background may be. The Second Amendment is for everyone … and so is the NRA!

Latest

virginia.jpeg
virginia.jpeg

Virginia is Going After the Peoples’ Guns

As Virginia’s Democrat-controlled General Assembly and Senate move gun-control bills through committees, residents need to contact their representatives to let them know neither they, nor their guns, are to blame for crime.

Part 2: How the Mainstream Media Lost Touch With America—the Death of Local News

The demise of newspapers, small and large, has been well chronicled, but how this has impacted America’s most practical civil right, our right to keep and bear arms, has not often been considered.

 

The Armed Citizen® January 21, 2026

Around 7 a.m. on Nov. 7, 2025, near Los Angeles, a 79-year-old Vietnam War veteran heard his duplex tenant screaming. He found a naked 30-year-old man had forced his way into the woman’s home.

The DOJ Civil Rights Division is Hiring Second Amendment Attorneys

After Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division, was a guest on Gun Talk Media with Tom Gresham, NRA-ILA reported that Dhillon is “embracing a new style of litigation on behalf of the Second Amendment.”

Cynical Strategies To Subvert The Protection Of Lawful Commerce In Arms Act

Since President George W. Bush signed the bipartisan Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) into law on Oct. 26, 2005, those bent on civilian disarmament have sought to bypass the legislation’s clear commands. In fact, 20 years later, gunmakers were fending off a frivolous nuisance suit from the city of Gary, Ind., filed in 1999, despite the PLCAA and state-analogue legislation.

The New York Times Tries to Explain the Drop in Crime

The New York Times is attempting to explain away the Trump administration's success at lowering crime rates with these explanations.



Get the best of America's 1st Freedom delivered to your inbox.