The gridlock, which remains even as public opinion supports some tighter gun laws, offers testament to the enduring influence of gun rights groups, which have spent $171 million lobbying the federal government since 1989. But in 40 years of working to loosen gun laws, the NRA has largely set the cultural tone on the right and is still the most prominent. “The NRA is becoming really a shell of its former self,” said former NRA board member Rocky Marshall. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun sellers, spent over $4.8 million on lobbying last year, reaching parity with the NRA. For gun owners who traveled from around the country for the convention, the NRA remains a lodestar.
