WASHINGTON: The US National Rifle Association has proven to be one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington, able to convince Congress to block any legislation that would place or increase restrictions on gun ownership.
While it argues that the US Constitution's Second Amendment gives all Americans the untrammelled right to bear arms, it was not always so ideologically bound.
History
The NRA was created in 1871 by military veterans to improve shooting skills in the wake of the Civil War.
By the early 1900s, it was promoting marksmanship among youths as well as adults, establishing shooting clubs around the country, including in schools.
In the 1930s, amid a surge in violent crime, the NRA actually supported gun control.
Then-NRA president Karl Frederick -- a shooting gold medalist in the 1920 Olympics -- told Congress: "I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons... I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses."
With the group still dominated by shooting enthusiasts and hunters, NRA pressure helped block a national gun registry in the late 1960s.
In 1977, the group was taken over by a group of Second Amendment ideologues who built it into a potent lobby against any gun regulation.
How big is the NRA?
The NRA says it has about five million dues-paying members, and it continues to support marksman training, gun safety and hunting programs and clubs around the country.
In 2015, it took in $337 million and spent $303 million. Its income comes from member dues, earnings on programs and contributions from individuals, other supporting groups and gun manufacturers and vendors.
Influence
The NRA has the money to gets its views across.
In Washington and in state capitals, it runs a powerful and efficient lobbying operation, spending tens of millions of dollars each year to support individual politicians, run advertising defending its stance and attacking critics.
It donates only a little directly to politicians. Instead, it supports preferred candidates with its own advertising.
In the 2016 election, the NRA spent about $20 million for ads attacking Democrat Hillary Clinton and another $10 million for ads supporting Donald Trump.
Over time, that can make or break a politician's career. During his 23 years in the House of Representatives and now the Senate, Republican Richard Burr, for example, got $7 million in support from the NRA, only a small part directly.
Marco Rubio, the Republican senator in the spotlight over the recent Florida high school massacre, has enjoyed $3 million in NRA backing over his career.
Its political clout has another source: the NRA rating. Every politician is graded based on their support of the Second Amendment.
The organization aggressively publicizes those ratings. Politicians receiving an unqualified "A" get voting and financial support from NRA members, while even those with mere "Bs" can suffer. Most Democrats have "F" grades.
Defenders
The NRA has its share of celebrity supporters. Actor Charlton Heston, who died in 2008, was president of the group from 1998 to 2003.
The current leader is Wayne La Pierre, who earns $5 million a year to defend gun rights. The most visible defender now is Dana Loesch, who poses with her guns in shapely skirts and high heels and touts her devotion to God, family and guns.
But the leading promoter today is President Trump. "There's no bigger fan of the Second Amendment than me, and there's no bigger fan of the NRA," he said recently.
Under pressure?
The number and scope of recent deadly mass shootings has increased the challenge to the NRA over its absolute defense of gun rights, for any kind of individual weapons.
But the group remains defiant, with La Pierre and Loesch attacking the "politicization" of the Florida shooting. Loesch has dialed back her rhetoric, showing sympathy for victims but blaming law enforcement.
La Pierre meanwhile said those using the Florida tragedy to press for gun control want "to make you, all of you, less free."