It’s fairly common knowledge that the National Rifle Association (NRA) is a very influential group in our nation’s politics. With around 5 million members, the NRA is one of the largest lobbyist groups in the country. It’s also one of the most powerful.
According to a Gallup poll taken in 2013, most Americans favor stronger gun control. Due in a large part to the NRA, though, gun bills have rarely passed. For example, legislature requiring U.S. citizens to undergo a background check before purchasing a gun failed to pass last year.
Although many politicians are unwilling to take on the NRA directly, former New York City Michael Bloomberg is taking a definite stance against the group. He’s donating $50 million to a group Everytown for Gun Control, which he hopes will one day rival the NRA. Everytown for Gun Control will be an umbrella organization bringing together two smaller groups, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. Here are some details on how the former Mayor plans to take on the NRA.
Unification
As mentioned above, most Americans are actually for gun control. Part of the reason legislative measures don’t pass is the NRA is very good at mobilizing its members and uniting voters behind a single issue. Members of the NRA have varying political views, but they are much likely to be single-issue voters than those who are pro-gun control.
That’s not to say single-issue voting is a good thing, but you have to admit it gets results. The NRA doesn’t just exercise its power through votes, either. Its members are strong activists who doggedly lobby public officials and make their views known to the community at large.
The NRA definitely has passionate members, but that’s not to say that pro-gun control citizens aren’t passionate too. Part of the problem is there’s no overarching activist group to unite and mobilize them. Through Everytown for Gun Control, Bloomberg hopes to bring all people favoring gun control together in the same way the NRA has.
Moms for Gun Control
In building Everytown for Gun Control, Bloomberg hopes to receive help from a very powerful, widespread class of people: American mothers. Moms have been key to the success of similar grassroots organizations. For example, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been successful in increasing the nation’s legal drinking age from 18 to 21 and lowering the maximum blood alcohol content for drivers to .08%. Now, there are harsh consequences for anyone who gets behind the wheel drunk, no matter how good of an auto accident attorney you’ve secured.
Bloomberg hopes mothers will be involved with Everytown for Gun Control in a similar way. A defining characteristic of mothers is they are passionate about protecting their children. Harsher gun control would mean less risk of kids being shot in school. There have been a number of tragic school shootings in the past few years — one of the more recent was the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at the end of 2012. Gun control could prevent future shooters from obtaining guns, thereby saving lives.
High-Profile Board Members
Bloomberg has secured a number of influential board members for the group. Everytown for Gun Control’s advisory board will include such names as Warren Buffett, Michael G. Mullen, Tom Ridge and Eli Broad. Bloomberg wants the group to appeal to members of the both the Republican and Democratic parties, and this is reflected in his choice of board members. He hopes the bi-partisan leadership will motivate members of both parties to get involved.
Projected Growth
Everytown for Gun Control already has 1.5 million members from the previous groups, and Bloomberg is hoping to bring another million on board. The NRA has 5 million members, but many of them actually joined in recent years. Following the Sandy Hook shooting the NRA actually grew by 250,000 people in a single month. Given all of the press gun control has gotten lately, Everytown for Gun Control could grow at a similarly rapid rate. The group will first try to gain members from places where gun control measures have recently passed, such as Colorado and Washington state.
Everytown for Gun Control is clearly a very ambitious group, and some have said Bloomberg is just wasting his money in trying to take on the NRA. Do you think the group has a chance at success?
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