Assignment 16: The decline of the NRA - Isabella Matthews

Last week, while most of us were frantically studying in preparation for our rapidly approaching finals... While we were filled with thoughts of dread and were so stressed out we felt like a few mere tests could be the death of us... countless lives were lost due to gun violence in the United States.

It seems as if everytime we turn around there is some mass shooting dominating the media. Whether it be the San Bernadino shooting 2 years ago in December of 2015 or the Las Vegas Massacre two months ago, each and every one is devastating in its own way as they unite our country in grief.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there were 307 mass shootings in 2017 alone up to the date of November 6th, all with various numbers of law abiding citizens reported dead or injured as a result. The 307th was the recent massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas, where 26 people died and 20 were found injured after a man approached First Baptist Church and began shooting.

The National Rifle Association, otherwise known as the NRA, is an organization that exists with the intention to protect us from such violence.

It was created in 1871 by two Civil War veterans in order to advance rifle marksmanship when they realized what many soldiers lacked was proper knowledge about guns. Very quickly teaching gun safety also became a priority. However, over the years that “priority” faded into the background a bit.

In 1975 they began to take a more political stance that is more similar to the one we associate with them today, directly lobbying for and against legislation regarding gun control. As the gun debate got more heated, the NRA got more involved, and in doing so left many of the values they once held so dear lying in the dust.

In 1999 this debate was ricocheted into a new era after the Columbine High School Massacre. Our country had never seen such a terrible school shooting up to this point, with 24 injuries and 15 deaths, including those of the perpetrators, two teenage students attending the school. The outrage caused by such a horrific scene called for gun laws stricter than those that had previously existed. Laws that would make it impossible for things like “gun show loopholes” to exist or for anyone who does not have the proper qualifications to somehow obtain a gun. Both of which, things that made it possible for the Columbine Massacre to take place.

Columbine was only the beginning though, since then the gun debate has grown into an enormous issue that often dominates political conversation. Because of this, the NRA’s main goal today is to protect our gun rights by maintaining the gun control laws at the current state they are in. Their priority has shifted from the people to the politics. Where once all they wanted was to make sure we knew how to safely handle ourselves around guns, now they are fighting to make sure we have the opportunity to protect ourselves using guns in the first place.

As times changed over the past 50 years, gun violence became more common, creating more tension in the gun debate and more need for the NRA to argue against too harsh of gun control. After all, if they weren’t going to then who was. But in doing so they have neglected their original purpose of making sure innocent citizens know how to appropriately and safely use a gun so that if they were to be put in a position where they needed to use a gun to defend themselves or others they would be able to.

An example of such a circumstance is the aforementioned massacre in Sutherland Springs, Texas last month.  The violence ended when the perpetrator was chased from the scene and shot by Stephen Willeford, an armed civilian. If Willeford had not been there or did not have the appropriate gun knowledge then the loss of life would have been much greater on that day.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention the  average rate of gun deaths in America is about 12 out of 100,000 people die. If the NRA reoriented themselves and returned to their original ideals of making sure people know how to use guns and teaching about how to be safe around guns than that number might be lower.

They’ve been trying the path of politics and the rate of gun violence has only gone up. People need to be reminded that guns are not toys and the NRA is the perfect group to do that. It’s time they start focusing on the people again.

Thank you.

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