Fact-Check: Is the NRA Really in Decline?

Axios ran a story on November 27 presenting the NRA as in decline and suffering financially because of it.

Axios reported, “The NRA’s total income in 2017 dropped by nearly $55 million, with the agency reporting $312 million compared to the $367 million it made in 2016.” They added, “A sharp decline in membership dues and contributions are largely responsible for the dip.”

They credited the Daily Beast with breaking the news, but did not bother explaining the other details the Daily Beast revealed. For example, Axios did not mention the Daily Beast’s observation that 2017 finances were closer to those of 2015. And that makes sense, as both 2017 and 2015 were non-election years.

In other words, the suggestion of sudden decline for the NRA is neither realistic nor accurate.

The NRA’s Andrew Arulanandam spoke to Breitbart about the matter, saying, “The NRA has approximately 5.5 million dues paying members today – the highest level ever in the history of our Association.  The historical fact is nobody has fought for and produced results in defending Second Amendment rights and American values like the NRA.”

Arulanandam spoke directly to the way giving fluctuates between election years and non-election years, describing it as the “normal ebb and flow” of things. He noted that when President Trump took office in 2017 it brought relief; that gun owners took a deep breath in 2017 for the first time in a long time. But the Democrats are taking control of the House in January, and that promises to disrupt the tranquility gun owners enjoyed after Trump was inaugurated.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.