National Rifle Association of America is an organization that encourages sharpshooting and the use of firearms for hunting and other shooting sports. It opposes what it considers unnecessary restrictions on the right to own guns. Such restrictions include laws that impose cost or inconvenience on law-abiding gun owners. The association, also known as the NRA, supports laws that provide longer prison terms for people who commit crimes with firearms.
The NRA has based its opposition to gun control laws on the Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. This amendment reads: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” In 1939, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the amendment does not prohibit most gun control laws. However, in 2008, the court struck down a ban on handguns in the District of Columbia, ruling that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting.
Many people, including many law enforcement professionals, believe that stricter laws against owning and using guns would reduce the crime rate. The NRA feels that such laws would not help fight crime but would restrict the legal use of guns.
The NRA has been effective at persuading Congress to block the passage of gun control bills. At the association’s request, many of its approximately 3 million members frequently send messages to their legislators. The NRA was founded in 1871. Its headquarters are in Fairfax, Virginia.
