Myth
“The NRA is the country’s oldest civil rights organization.”
Fact
The National Rifle Association was originally founded in 1871 to help civilians learn rifle marksmanship, not advocate for “civil rights.” Observers have repeatedly noted that the NRA’s interest in legislation or advocacy for the Second Amendment did not come until decades into the 20th century.1Frank Smyth, “Five myths about the National Rifle Association”, Washington Post, June 5, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/five-myths/five-myths-about-the-national-rifle-association/2020/06/05/fa3bc488-a66c-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html; Adam Winkler, Gun Fight, p.65, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Gunfight_The_Battle_Over_the_Right_to_Be/oq39ykAGVYQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22the%20Second%20Amendment%20was%20not%20nearly%20as%20central%20to%20the%20NRA%27s%20identity%20for%20most%20of%20the%20organization%27s%20history%22. In fact, the organization’s annual reports from 1873 do not even mention gun rights or the Second Amendment: “The main aim of the Association is the encouragement of rifle practice throughout this State and the United States.”2“Address, Annual Reports, and Regulations for Rifle Practice”, National Rifle Association, 1873, https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report_1873_78/_KxLAAAAYAAJ. It was not until 1934—nearly six decades later—that the group began advocating for gun rights.3“US gun control: What is the NRA and why is it so powerful?”, BBC, August 6, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35261394.