How the NRA became a US political lobbying giant
Witness History
BBC
4.5 • 1.6K Ratings
🗓️ 22 April 2021
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The National Rifle Association represents gun owners in the USA. In 1977 it faced a turning point when its members revolted against the organisation’s leadership to concentrate on political lobbying in Washington. Would the gun lobby in America be as strong as it is, without the 1977 turnabout? Bob Howard talks to John Aquilino, a former NRA spokesman, who was at the historic meeting in Cincinnati, Ohio.
National Rifle Association Holds Its Annual Conference In Dallas, Texas. DALLAS, TX - MAY 05 2018. Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Choosing what to watch night after night the flicking through the endless |
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| 0:24.9 | searching and a lot more auction listen on BBC sounds. Hello you're listening to the BBC World Service and now the Witness History |
| 0:39.6 | podcast with me Bob Howard today I'm taking you back to a pivotal moment in the history of |
| 0:45.6 | America's National Rifle Association, otherwise known as the NRA. It's adored |
| 0:51.6 | by its members but despised by those seeking greater control over the nation's |
| 0:56.3 | millions of legally owned lethal weapons and it's renowned as one of the country's most influential |
| 1:02.4 | political lobbying groups. |
| 1:04.7 | But back in 1977, when it held its annual members meeting in the city of Cincinnati, |
| 1:10.5 | the NRA had nothing like the profile and the simple message it has today. |
| 1:17.0 | The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. |
| 1:26.0 | The lobbying of congressmen and senators in Washington by different interest groups |
| 1:31.0 | is an accepted part of political life in the US. |
| 1:34.8 | They band together to try to persuade the government to adopt policies favorable to their industries |
| 1:40.1 | and stop any new law which might harm them. |
| 1:43.0 | The National Rifle Association, |
| 1:45.0 | with an overall annual budget, |
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