More than any other topic, people ask me to comment on the National Rifle Association (NRA). I know something about the NRA, but I’m not an expert on the organization. Sure, I’ve written about or mentioned the NRA a number of times over the year on this blog (see entires under the National Rifle Association tag). And the video I took of Richard Childress reading a letter from Oliver North at the 2019 NRA Member’s Meeting in Indianapolis is one of the most viewed videos on my YouTube channel (see also a compilation of several video clips from that same meeting around a members’ resolution critical of the NRA leadership team).
But partially in response to my feeling that other scholars have ignored non-NRA aspects of gun culture, I have focused my attention elsewhere for the most part. In fact, an early reviewer of my book on American gun culture was concerned that I did not talk enough about the NRA. Little did he know that I talked about the NRA more than I wanted to. I actually wanted to write an entire book that did not mention the NRA at all — at least not the political and lobbying side of the house.
So, I have some thoughts on the past, present, and future of the NRA that I am trying to find time to put together. In the meantime, there are others who have been following the goings-on at the NRA very closely and I highly recommend following and reading their work if you want to stay up to date.
I have to give a nod to the Dean of North Carolina Bloggers, John Richardson, first.
For someone who is not a paid journalist and has no staff, his “No Lawyers – Only Guns and Money” gets a lot of good information out. Like a recent letter from the owner of Gunsite Academy to the NRA Board.
Steven Gutowski’s The Reload is my next go-to for info on the NRA (and firearms-related stories more generally). A lot of his reporting is behind a paywall, but guess what? Good information isn’t free.
He also does a free weekly podcast, recently speaking with former NRA News host Cam Edwards.
The third place I look for news about the NRA’s current situation and trial is The Trace.
Their reporter, Mike Spies, was instrumental in bringing the malfeasance in the NRA to light, and their “Bang for the Buck” investigation page hosts a useful timeline of how the NRA got itself into its current mess.
As Cam Edwards said on The Reload Podcast, it can both be true that someone is on a witchhunt and they find witches. And looking at the same situation from multiple perspectives is helpful.
What is your go-to source for information about the NRA?
Gun Culture 2.0 
Frankly, David, I try my best to ignore the NRA as much as possible. Their hubris, in my opinion, has tainted gun ownership and gun owners, too much for me to trust whatever they say or do; even firing Wayne LaPierre.
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