Subscriptions to magazines owned by the National Rifle Association increased by at least 350,000 between February and June of 2018, suggesting membership with the lobby group has sharply risen since the Parkland shooting.
The boost in membership was painfully reported by the Washington Post, which notes that the NRA keeps a tight lid on its membership information, leading media outlets to go by magazine subscriptions instead. If this approach is any indication, the NRA has seen a swell of support in response to the increased calls for gun control this year.
Magazines which saw an increase include American Rifleman, American Hunter, America’s First Freedom and Shooting Illustrated. The latter was added to the NRA’s roster in 2016.
Reports of the NRA’s bolstered support come as the group becomes increasingly active in the 2018 midterm congressional elections. As part of the game that American politics has devolved into, the NRA’s backing is either used to demonize or praise candidates for office. Most recently, the group has publicly backed Marsha Blackburn for Senate. Blackburn is currently serving as one of Tennessee’s Representatives in Congress.
“Marsha Blackburn is a champion of our Second Amendment freedoms and has always stood strong to protect the constitutional rights of law-abiding Americans,” the NRA’s Chris Cox recently said in a statement.
Similarly, the group has been very active in exposing political candidates who pay lip service to the Second Amendment who then go on to vote against it. This week, this has included Montana Democratic Senator John Tester. According to the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action, the senator flaunts his Second Amendment credentials by presenting himself as an avid hunter. As the NRA recently revealed, the senator hasn’t held a hunting license in six years.
Ultimately, these numbers are good for the NRA. The bump is likely due to the intensified nature of America’s political climate, resulting from both the midterm elections and the heightened push for bans on semi-automatic weapons by progressive pundits and lawmakers alike.
~ Firearm Daily
