Given the false mainstream-media narratives about your freedom and this association—many of which are developed and blasted out by gun-control groups—I want to make a few key things very clear.
First, it needs to be said that the intellectually starved individuals who only consume mainstream-media propaganda might fall for the delusion that all the NRA does is lobby—and that this use of our First Amendment right to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” is somehow not a good thing.
The truth is the NRA Institute of Legislative Action is an active and critical line of defense for our freedom. This is a very good thing. Indeed, your membership dues help us represent you in Washington, D.C., and in all our state capitals. But this is only part of what the NRA does.
Secondly, as we move ever closer to the critical election on Nov. 5, all of us need to realize that the size of this association is its strength. Without you and the millions of other citizens who cherish this right, this association would not be able to stop the deterioration of your right to keep and bear arms—or to revitalize this basic freedom in the places where it has been diminished or even all-but extinguished.
What the gun-control groups, and the politicians they back, fear most is this association growing again. They fear this because they oppose the individual empowerment this association of Americans defends.
This is why, in my short time now as your association’s executive vice president/CEO, the message I have been bringing to those who will report what we say honestly is that now is the time for an NRA homecoming.
The NRA is an extension of your family. That is how I feel when I attend an NRA event. I feel the love, the camaraderie, the shared ethos from like-minded citizens who know this freedom cannot be taken for granted.
I also feel the shared understanding that we know we are the good citizens. We are the exact opposite of the criminal elements in our society, though that is how President Joe Biden (D) and others who share his politics paint us.
So, yes, it is time for our former members to come home. It is time for the 22.3 million people who decided to become first-time gun owners since the 2020 election to join the NRA. The previous mistakes made by former leadership and the money-wasting endeavors you’ve read about are things of the past. We have top-notch accounting practices that are responsible and transparent.
As we head together toward the critical 2024 election, I am asking all of you to talk to your friends, family and more. We all need to reach out. We need to show people by example, as only NRA members can, who we are. Tell them about the need to gather within this civil-rights association to defend our American freedom. But also tell them about all the resources and benefits the NRA brings to members, such as:
The NRA Foundation is America’s leading supporter of youth shooting programs. Last year alone, the NRA Foundation funded more than 2,100 grants for youth programs across the nation, totaling almost $8 million.
Since its inception, there have been more than 25,000 Friends of NRA events reaching approximately 4.7 million attendees; in fact, Friends of NRA held more than 700 events across the nation last year, raising money that helped The NRA Foundation fund 2,400 grants in 2023 alone.
An NRA Law Enforcement Officer Line of Duty Death Benefit provides $35,000 to the next of kin of any public law-enforcement officer who loses his or her life in the line of duty if the officer is an active NRA member. Also, law enforcement can join the NRA at a reduced, full-benefit rate of $20 a year. Since 2000, the NRA, through its insurance partner, has paid out more than $4 million in Line of Duty Death Benefits to law-enforcement officers’ families.
Currently, there are 8,766 clubs and associations affiliated with the NRA.
The NRA’s Eddie Eagle GunSafe program has now taught more than 32 million children how to stay safe if they ever find a gun. (Stop; don’t touch; run away; tell a grown-up!)
There are currently more than 109,000 active trainers registered at nrainstructors.org. These instructors are on the frontlines helping us train and enroll new gun owners.
Currently available in 14 states, the NRA Online Hunter Education Program is completely free for everyone.
NRA School Shield offers local law-enforcement officials free training on how to conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments of school security.
NRA Range Technical Team Advisors around the country help range owners and operators with range-planning and range-safety and design evaluations. Since the program’s inception in 1991, it has helped 2,622 ranges.
The media might not be telling you or others about any of this—all the more reason to tell anyone who will listen why you are an NRA member. Visit nra.org for more.
