As I travel to speak to freedom-loving Americans across this great nation, and as I respond to letters, emails and phone calls, I have a dilemma. I feel like I need to tell them more than I can possibly convey in any speech, conversation or even in this column, about all the reforms we’ve put in place and all the NRA does for its members and for this country. That would be hard to accomplish even with a 100-page presentation and a marathon of a meeting.
I try to sum up by telling them the NRA is back! As I do, I hope they hear and feel my enthusiasm. Still, I know this answer isn’t nearly enough.
The NRA simply is not like any other gun-rights organization. We are not just doing a few things and then heavily marketing whatever we’ve tried to accomplish. Rather, the NRA is instrumental in setting the tone, direction and defense of every part of our freedom. The NRA isn’t just synonymous with America’s vast law-abiding gun culture. The NRA is the embodiment of American gun culture.
We run incredible competitions (competitions.nra.org); we have long been the center of firearm training (nrainstructors.org); we put on massive shows (nraam.org and greatamericanoutdoorshow.org); we have incredible benefits for police officers (le.nra.org); we fight in the courts and legislatures for your freedom all over America (nraila.org); we have museums (nramuseum.org); we have a media arm with so many great magazines, videos and more (explore.nra.org/interests/media-and-publications and all the publications’ websites); we have the best women’s programs for gun owners (nrawomen.com); we have clubs and associations in all 50 states (explore.nra.org/programs/clubs); and so much more.
With all of this going on all the time, it can be difficult to specifically tell members and prospective members what the NRA is doing. This is why I think it is critical to pause now and then to review our official “purposes and objectives.” These amount to our code, mantra and declaration. They are:
• To protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, especially with reference to the inalienable right of the individual American citizen guaranteed by such Constitution to acquire, possess, collect, exhibit, transport, carry, transfer ownership of, and enjoy the right to use arms, in order that the people may always be in a position to exercise their legitimate individual rights of self-preservation and defense of family, person, and property, as well as to serve effectively in the appropriate militia for the common defense of the Republic and the individual liberty of its citizens;
• To promote public safety, law and order, and the national defense;
• To train members of law-enforcement agencies, the armed forces, the militia, and people of good repute in marksmanship and in the safe handling and efficient use of small arms;
• To foster and promote the shooting sports, including the advancement of amateur competitions in marksmanship at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels;
• To promote hunter safety, and to promote and defend hunting as a shooting sport and as a viable and necessary method of conservation of wildlife.
Reading this renews me, as it is a check to make certain we are resolutely and meaningfully marching toward a bright future for our freedom. This is what I mean when I tell people we’re getting back to basics here at the NRA by focusing on competitive shooting, education and training, women’s programs, youth programs and the many legislative and legal defenses of our Second Amendment-protected freedom.
As a result of these foundational objectives, as I speak to audiences and individuals, I am constantly reminded how and why we were able to make a difference in the 2024 elections. Together—and more are joining the NRA every day—we helped to change the direction of this nation. Together we are preserving our way of life. Together we are fighting to keep America the light of the world.
When so many of us gathered in Atlanta for our NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits in April, we enjoyed concerts and fine speeches and aisles of guns and gear and expert seminars. We spent time with our families and friends and like-minded people. We all left exuberant, knowing that this law-abiding gun culture we are part of, and that the NRA both lives by and keeps alive, is growing—and all we have to do is continue to boldly support this member association and all it stands for to keep this hard-won freedom vivaciously alive.
This is the NRA we embody as members of this 154-year-old civil-rights association. This is the NRA we need today and that we will keep whole. So, in sum, this is also your call to action to keep this critical association strong.
That said, as we renew our commitment to the goals and objectives set years ago, I encourage you to recruit new members. New members are the lifeblood of any organization. A strong NRA will guarantee the liberty and freedom we all hold so dear. Go to nra.org to join, renew your membership or donate to the fights for our freedom.
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