The NRA Says It Has 5 Million Members. Its Magazines Tell Another Story.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

Its magazines lost more than 10 percent of their readers last year.

Dave GilsonMar. 7, 2018

The National Rifle Association likes to boast that it represents 5 million gun owners. Or maybe it’s “nearly” 5 million—or perhaps “more than” 5 million. The NRA has never provided solid numbers on how many members it has, yet a look at what data is out there suggests that its claims may be wide of the mark—and the real figure could have dropped by more than 10 percent in the year after Donald Trump was elected president.

The NRA’s membership figures have always been a moving target. In 2013, Mother Jones reported that its public membership claims had fluctuated wildly over the past two decades, suggesting both volatility and and plenty of soundbite-friendly vagueness.

But the overall trend has been upward: The NRA’s self-reported membership has nearly doubled since it hit a low of 2.6 million in 1998—after it was widely criticized for its inflammatory rhetoric (e.g., “jack-booted government thugs”) following the 1993 Waco siege and 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Its 5-million figure has stayed more or less constant for the past four years.

As my colleague Josh Harkinson reported a few years ago, the NRA is thought to use a few tricks to pad its numbers, such as keeping dead lifetime members on its rolls. It also gives away free memberships to buyers of select gun brands. (Taurus, a major NRA backer, offers one-year memberships to its customers.) As a result, the organization’s core of committed members is likely much smaller than the overall number claimed.

[...]

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2018/03/nra-membership-magazine-numbers-1/

[shanny]

1. I saw a statistic to the effect that there are 75 million gun owners in the US.

Which would mean--if accurate--there are 70 million gun owners who don't belong to the NRA. Why is this lobby so powerful?

Time for responsible gun owners to step up.

[RainCaster]

2. I am one of those 70 million

And I have been very vocal for years about the NRA.

[beachbum bob]

5. I am and always will be a gun owner and quite the NRA in late 80's, I can't stomach what

that organization devolved into. Once the advocate for the american sportsman, then turned into the lobby wing of the weapon industry. In my book, a terrorist organization.

[atreides1]

3. I am one of those 70 million, too!

I was also an NRA member!

I will always tell others that the NRA is like a brothel and the gun makers are the prostitutes that ply their trade with the NRA board as the highest paid pimps in history!!!

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

4. Because being a member isnt prerequisite to supporting the organization

Or message. They have 4 or 5 million dues paying members, while they have another 40 or 50 million who listen and support what they say despite not paying for the membership. This isn't different then any other group. Look at the ACLU, under 2 million members yet they have 10s of millions of non members who support them.

[Hoyt]

6. There are tens of millions of white wing gun owners, too cheap to pay dues, who support NRA agenda

on guns and otherwise. The NRA is not just a gun organization, they promote white wing racism and hatred, not to mention insurrection if it comes to that.

[Nitram]

7. The NRA probably never records the cancellation of a membership, for one thing.

For another, numerous (most?) shooting ranges require NRA membership for membership at the range. If you want to shoot, you are forced to be an NRA member. the NRA may also consider anyone who has taken one of their courses in gun safety to be a member. It is very important to them that their membership appear to be high because their credibility rests on their support among the "people."

[Fresh_Start]

8. In perspective, Roper study said 4 million americans believed they were abducted by aliens

so I think its possible that there are 4-5 million NRA idiots

[SunSeeker]

10. I'm guessing there's a lot of overlap between the two groups. nt

[LakeArenal]

9. When beginning...

the NRA sent free stickers.. Free stickers, man... They had the gullible from the start.

My husband has nine guns. He never fell for it. We have promised when they come for our guns, we will stand with the NRA.
We know they aren't coming for our guns. Well, we knew Clintons and Obama weren't coming for our guns. Not so sure about Trump tho. The irony.....