AHC: Weaken the NRA

It is no doubt that the NRA heavily influences modern day politics when it comes to gun laws & other types of laws pertaining to them.

Even though the NRA was founded before 1900, the NRA would not fully lobby for political issues pertaining to gun rights until the mid 1930s & would peak in the 1970s.

In this challenge, find a way to severely weaken the NRA when it comes to political issues.
 
Simple, avoid Prohibition, which is what provided the impulse for the gun act of 1934 (and the entrenchment of serious organized crime in the US). Without something to push against, the NRA just officiates lots of matches for the Division of Civilian Marksmanship, which back in the 1990s would sell you a battle rifle for $200 if memory serves if you participated in a certain number of DCM sanctioned shooting events.
 
It is no doubt that the NRA heavily influences modern day politics when it comes to gun laws & other types of laws pertaining to them.

Even though the NRA was founded before 1900, the NRA would not fully lobby for political issues pertaining to gun rights until the mid 1930s & would peak in the 1970s.

In this challenge, find a way to severely weaken the NRA when it comes to political issues.

Crush the Cincinatti Revolution. Getting rid of Neal Knox and Harlen Carter would probably go some way to do so. It would keep the NRA focused on its focus on hunting and gunsports instead of politics. Charlton Heston could help here and use some of his old connections to help the NRA keep a balance in between them and the Dems.

If by some godforsaken reason, Columbine still happens, Heston and the more moderate heads of the NRA could bring it up as a reason for promoting gun safety and how loosening gun controls could've made these situations worse.
 
Crush the Cincinatti Revolution. Getting rid of Neal Knox and Harlen Carter would probably go some way to do so.
They were just the leaders of a lot of members who did feel the current NRA leadership was more interested in the Trap competitions and a new HQ than what Handgun Control, Inc and other groups tying to add onto near bans and add onto the 1968 GCA were up to.
If NRA won't reform, you get the other organizations like Gun Owners of America or Second Amendment Foundation, sooner, and NRA withers.
As it was, they went from1 million members in 1977 to three million in 1985 with the new focus on rolling back the gun controls of the previous 45 years

It would keep the NRA focused on its focus on hunting and gunsports instead of politics. Charlton Heston could help here and use some of his old connections to help the NRA keep a balance in between them and the Dems.

Why would he? He believed in what the 'New' NRA was doing

The Pro Gun wing of the Democratic Party and Anti Gun Republican were realigned in the '80s
 
They were just the leaders of a lot of members who did feel the current NRA leadership was more interested in the Trap competitions and a new HQ than what Handgun Control, Inc and other groups tying to add onto near bans and add onto the 1968 GCA were up to.
If NRA won't reform, you get the other organizations like Gun Owners of America or Second Amendment Foundation, sooner, and NRA withers.
As it was, they went from1 million members in 1977 to three million in 1985 with the new focus on rolling back the gun controls of the previous 45 years

Why would he? He believed in what the 'New' NRA was doing

The Pro Gun wing of the Democratic Party and Anti Gun Republican were realigned in the '80s

Because if nothing else, it would help the rob the leadership and the supporters. The point of the thread is to weaken the NRA. Other organizations may pop up and such, but whether they could endure is a different thing, especially with school shootings and such. They may not have the staying power and might be relagated to being fringe groups.
 
Have the 1903 Militia Act specifically state that the State will provide Arms for the new minted Organised Militia and that the Unorganised militia have no legal requirement to provide weapons for their potential military service. This would sever the close legal link between the 2nd Amendment and the 1792 Militia Act which laid out exactly what the Militia was and what it needed to have ready at all times in terms of guns and ammo.

This might change the nature of the 2nd amendment debate and maybe take much of the sting out of the NRA's 'conspiracy theory wing' leaving your regular gun owners, hunters, farmers etc as members pursuing things like game laws and the like rather than political gun control. Might be waaay off base, but just throwing it out there.
 
Simple, avoid Prohibition, which is what provided the impulse for the gun act of 1934 (and the entrenchment of serious organized crime in the US). Without something to push against, the NRA just officiates lots of matches for the Division of Civilian Marksmanship, which back in the 1990s would sell you a battle rifle for $200 if memory serves if you participated in a certain number of DCM sanctioned shooting events.

You could get *one* Rifle for a bit less than that( and only one, a once per lifetime chance), but the gun shows in the lat '80-early '90s there were plenty of re-imports for a M1 Garand for $300 and M1 Carbines for under $100
In the '60, even cheaper, and mail ordered right to your door
KleinsAd1963.jpg

$89 bucks.
Minimum wage was $1.15/hr then
 
Because if nothing else, it would help the rob the leadership and the supporters. The point of the thread is to weaken the NRA. Other organizations may pop up and such, but whether they could endure is a different thing, especially with school shootings and such. They may not have the staying power and might be relagated to being fringe groups.

Sure want the NRA to be weakened, but what's the PoD for Heston changing his beliefs? Just having the 1977 election going different won't change that.

But even with the NRA as Big Dog, those other, more strident anti-gun control groups still exist, groups that today feel the NRA is far too tame, over two million of them.

If NRA is seen as ineffective, the GOA takes there place in Washington.
Having millions of rabid one issue voters is candy to politicians
 
The NRA is a relatively weak organization as things stand in terms of lobbying footprint (hardly crack the top 100) and enrollment of members.

I’m not really sure how much weaker you can make it.

Perhaps it retains a purely sports and hunting focus. For that, I suppose you could just not have large scale gun restrictions come about to start with. They are a relatively recent phenomenon in American history anyways.
 
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