The National Rifle Association

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The National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association or NRA is a non-profit organization in America, it was established in New York, in 1871, and it helps to protect owners of guns and makes sure that they are able to implement their arms bearing right. The Second Amendment in United States Bill of Rights gives citizens the right to own and purchase guns. The National Rifle Association focuses on safety of guns, and gives courses to any citizen who is interested. Currently, there are over 4 million members of this association and statistics show that their number is steadily growing (Guns). The aim of this paper is to analyze the history and background of the National Rifle Association.

This association started in the 1870s, when former army officers General Gorge Wingate and Colonel William Conant formed it to foster marksmanship. After the association began, Civil War General Ambrose Burnside, also a former governor from Rhode Island and a senator in the U.S. became the first president of the association. Through the efforts of these founders, the New York state gave the association $25,000 to come up with a practice ground in Long Island located in a 100-acre land (Funding Universe). The Creedmoor range started there in 1873 then hosted an Irish Rifle Association to compete in a two entrant shooting competition. This event attracted approximately 8000 spectators. However, even in those days, the National Rifle Association faced anti-gun attitudes in some cities, and the year 1892, their grant for land was rescinded and their range had to move to New Jersey (Laws). The governor of New York, Alonzo Cornell, cut the funding of the association in 1880, predicting a long time of peace. However, technological events and innovations overseas made training of weapons relevant again.

The interest of NRA to promote the sport for shooting among the youths in America started in 1903, when the secretary of NRA Albert Jones asked for the institution of rifle clubs in all major military academies, colleges and universities (NRA). By 1906, the youth program at NRA was in full swing and it had over200 boys contending in matches that summer. Nowadays, these youth programs still form the cornerstone of this association, with over one million youth taking part in the shooting sport events of NRA and allied programs such as the American Legion and the Boys Scouts. Due to the amazing growth of their shooting program, they needed a new range. Gen. Crichfield had started construction of another shooting facility near Lake Erie, several miles east of Toledo. The facility got the name Camp Perry and it became the home for yearly national matches, which are the benchmark of marksmanship excellence. With around six thousand people participating