National Rifle Association

National Rifle Association

 Almost everyone knows what NRA stands for but do you really know what it is? The NRA is an association that is committed to training kids and adults about safe gun use. They also have courses available for police offices, Hunting, and state fish and gaming. There are no requirements to take these courses if you own a gun but are encouraged.

            Col. William C. Church and Gen. George Wingate founded the NRA in 1871. The first president of the NRA was Gen. Ambrose Burnside. His first action as president was to build a rifle range where the first shooting compations were to take place. In 1903 the NRA began a rifle club at colleges, university’s, and military academies. In 1906 the NRA focused on the youth program with teaching them shooter safety and proper storage of a firearm. This was a major step for the NRA and is still one of their main goals today.

                        The NRA has been an established for 137 years. A lot has changed in that many years. The NRA is now nation wide and appeals to all groups not just rifles. Some of those groups include handguns, hunting, fishing and shotgun. Millions of citizens have been trained in these courses and enjoy safe sport shooting. The NRA isn’t just limited to civilians in fact “today there are more than 10,000 NRA-Certified police and security firearms instructors (National Rifle Association 2008)”. The NRA “train about 750,000 gun owners a year” (National Rifle Association 2008). Of course not everyone is eligible to own a gun and join the NRA. Some of these requirements are “An individual 21 ears of age or older may acquire a handgun from a dealer federally licensed to sell firearms in the individual’s state of residence” (nraila.org NRA 2008). And “An individual 18 of age or older may purchase a rifle or shotgun from a federally licensed dealer in any state”. (Nraila.org NRA 2008)

               Characteristics of this group are that they are heavily involved in politics. The reason for this is because the NRA and citizens fell strongly about defending the second amendment. This meant a great deal to a lot of people everyone wanted protect their right to bare arms. So in 1975 the NRA formed the Institute for Legislative Action. This is the same legislation that is still fighting to and has gained much respect from the government.

            Some issues and challenges facing this group today are people who are against the second amendment. These people believe that guns are causing more violence in society and should not be allowed. When in fact the NRA agrees with this that is why the NRA has training courses for all different types of guns. These courses will teach you how to safely store and handle your gun. Without theses courses how are you suppose to know what is right and what is wrong? This is about the only challenge the NRA is facing today because the government has strict rules on gun ownership and use.

What are some of the benefits to taking these courses? To answer that question we must first look at the main goal of the NRA. “The primary goal of the association would be to promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis” (Col. William C. Church, National Rifle association 2008). The biggest benefit would be knowing how to defend yourself when the time comes. In addition to learning all that they will also teach you the basic laws of owning a gun and your rights to use it.

            The National Rifle Association has proven themselves and is well respected by many parts of society. Imagine the world without the NRA training courses how many people would own a gun and have no clue how to use it. What many people don’t see is that the NRA is helping to stop crime by promoting gun safety. Guns should not be a thing to fear but instead a fun activity that can be enjoyed by everyone as long as common sense is used.

Sources

 

-          The National Rifle Association 2008

Http://www.nrahq.org/history.asp

 

 

 The National Rifle Association 2008

http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=60