What is the NRA and how does it work?

First and foremost, the NRA is it's membership -- Millions of Americans representing a diverse contrast of age, sex, race, and religion. Americans have joined us from every state in the union, from every economic background, from every political affiliation. What members share with every other member is an appreciation of the shooting sports, belief in our constitutional right to keep and bear arms and, most of all, a love of country.

NRA members are Americans in the finest patriotic sense. They believe in the Constitution and uphold its tenets. They believe in fairness, equality, and the law. They actively pursue some of this country's oldest and finest traditions, including hunting and recreational shooting. They work hard to support law enforcement and fight hard to keep special interest groups from infringing on our Second Amendment rights.

The NRA was incorporated in 1871 to provide firearms training and encourage interest in the shooting sports. Our organization has grown steadily, and now is directed by a 75-member board of directors elected by our voting members. The NRA membership's broad range of interests and activities is represented by 36 standing and special committees.

Service to our membership requires the talents and expertise of a dedicated staff. Over 300 highly professional and extremely motivated men and women work every day in our Fairfax, Virginia NRA headquarters. In addition, the NRA membership is served by a staff of field representatives located across the nation. The scope of this operation requires an annual budget of approximately $80 million.

NRA structure includes divisions representing our firearm safety effort, firearms training, law enforcement programs, junior shooting activities, women's issues, hunter services, recreational shooting, competitions, gun collecting, and defense of the Second Amendment -- without which all of the above would be impossible. NRA staff works with such diverse groups as the Boy Scouts of America, 4-H clubs, The American Legion, VFW, hunting and shooting clubs, schools and law enforcement organizations.

Our activities encompass national, state and local efforts on behalf of the shooting sports and are performed by staff, state associations, over 14,000 clubs and many thousands of volunteers. In just over 100 years we've grown into a vast and complex organization. Yet the NRA has never forgotten that the needs of each individual member must remain first and foremost in whatever we do.