A little history first. The NRA was formed right after the Civil War to teach marksmanship because so many soldiers couldn't fit the broad side of a barn while standing inside it. Gun safety went hand in hand with marksmanship.
Up through the 1950s the NRA's mission was squarely on the side of safety and outdoor sportsmanship. During the '50s American demographics began to shift to a more urban-centric population and hunting as well as other shooting sports began to decline. Gun sales followed that trend until the late '60s when the civil rights movement and the counterculture flourished. The white middle class became frightened of the riots, drug use, black people in general and rapid change. There was a feeling of impotency against the fear and lack of control.
Gun manufacturers saw a demand for home and self defense firearms and the NRA shifted direction. In 1970 Wayne Lapeirre was hired as a lobbyist to foster a new approach to gun marketing. Lapierre was a lobbyist and knew nothing about firearms. It was said that the safest place to be when Lapierre was handling a gun was in another state, but he knew Washington and he knew marketing.
Gun makers shifted emphasis from hunting to defense and machismo. They needed a lobby in DC and found it in the new NRA. The signature of the new direction was 'give an inch, lose a mile' and no one will protect you and your family except yourself. Marksmanship and safety took a distant back seat to fear, fear of 'them', and fear that if you didn't get a gun soon there woludn't be any when you needed one. The NRA's funding now came from gun and ammo manufacturers, not the membership.
The NRA is still marketing fear and has added masculinity to the program. Guns make men powerful, more attractive and more desirable. It's no longer about safety and marksmanship, it's about sales. The legislative agenda is now aimed at getting guns in places and into the hands of anyone with cash. Gun laws shifted from a personal background check by local law enforcement to an instant NICS check ab 'shall issue'. Stand your ground laws replaced duty to retreat when possible even though deadly force was always part of self defense.
More guns, that's the NRA's sole mission now.
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