They were started back in 1871 by a Union General by the name of George Wingate and Colonel William C Church after seeing the lack of rifle marksmanship by their men. It states that their purpose was to “promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis…”. Their purpose, currently, is to train people on proper safe firearms usage, promoting shooting sports, and defend the 2nd Amendment through legal action. It eventually became a group that fought for the 2nd Amendment Rights of American citizens even though, as of late, they have done more to strip away those Rights then protect them. That occurred much later on after their founding, but that’s neither here nor there. Just FYI: Snopes and Politifact are notoriously known for being heinously politically biased, leaning to the left. They aren’t a trust worthy source anymore then a right leaning source for the purpose of this discussion. Neither is the cartoon which was created by Michael Moore, another notoriously biased “individual” as a nicer way to say it.
https://mic.com/articles/23929/10-surprising-facts-about-the-nra-that-you-never-hear#.qkIjL0kuH
https://ammo.com/articles/guns-nra-and-american-civil-rights-movement-guide
Interestingly enough, the NRA was actually supportive of the Civil Rights activists during that time, and in one case, actually defended the home of a Civil Rights leader against a KKK assault. I believe his name was Robert F. Williams and this occurred in Monroe, N.C. in 1960.
A fact that Irukandji fails to mention correctly is the fact that the founding fathers were very much for the free ownership of firearms for the citizens. When he states “Gun control laws go all the way back to the Founding Fathers.” That is not a truthful statement. In the below posted link, that is a history teacher who is speaking on the subject of the Founding Father’s opinions on gun control and their disdain for it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1VOwmYJN4Y&t=2s
The Founding Fathers were for private ownership of firearms and even more so, firearms of the military grade. There were also firearms with “high capacity” and “fast fire rates” that they were both aware of and very much liked. The Puckle Gun, Pepperbox revolver, and Giardoni Air Rifle to name a few. The Giardoni Air Rifle being what the Lewis and Clark expedition was armed with by the then President, Thomas Jefferson, who was also one of the Founding Fathers. There is actual evidence of their knowledge of these guns, other then the one I just gave, and having interest in arming their men with them. And people also forget that most of the ships, cannons, and firearms were privately owned by the citizens during the Revolutionary War and were donated by them for the war effort.
I digress though. Getting off topic. The NRA has changed quite a bit. They weren’t always a political organization. But the thing is, gun control as we know it today was a non-starter for the majority of our countries founding. The first attempt at a federal gun control law was the National Firearms Act of 1934 which only actually covered short barrel rifles and fully automatic machine guns. Before that point, no real gun control measures were put in place.
So there is some evidence of them being very supportive of the Civil Rights movement and helped protect it’s leaders in some cases. So, I would say no. This idea that the NRA is a front for the KKK is just hogwash. There’s evidence that this is very much not the case. I would also avoid Politifact and Snopes. They are known to twist facts, outright leave things out, and often have a pro-left leaning bias on their articles. So just take their stuff with a grain of salt. For the sake of open mindedness and being neutral in the discussion. Some of this was pointed towards some of the other commentators but I’m new so forgive me for my ineptitude with trying to figure out this sites reply function.
