“The National Rifle Association (NRA) and its lobbyists have too much control on what happens in Washington. The NRA represents the gun manufacturers in this country. They are working to maximize their profits,” Stephen Clermont, the director of policy and research at Every Child Matters, told Mint Press News.
Clermont, along with dozens of other gun reform advocates, gathered in Washington, D.C. Thursday before marching to the front doors of five lobbying firms that have worked on behalf of the NRA. The coalition effort of Occupy the NRA has been ongoing, long after the demise of the Occupy Wall Street movement that called for reform of the banking system following the 2008 economic crisis.
Organizers were undeterred by the low turnout at the recent rally in which just a few dozen people attended. “When we started in Zuccotti, we had the same number of people in the park,” said Aaron Black, an Occupy the NRA organizer. “This takes time to grow.”
With roughly 10,000 homicides involving firearms across the U.S. each year, many activists have called for reforms, including background checks that are supported by a majority of gun-owning Americans. “We are interested in gun violence because 2,500-3,000 children die every year because of gun violence. Those numbers should be reduced. Adam Lanza had no right to get his hands on guns. There is way too much gun violence in Chicago, New York [and] across the U.S.,” Clermont said.
Organizers of the growing campaign point out that the NRA, a pro-gun advocacy organization claiming 4.5 million members, works to derail gun reforms that clear majorities of gun-owning Americans support.
According to recent opinion polling published by the Houston Chronicle newspaper, 87 percent of NRA members say they believe enforcing Second Amendment rights coincides with keeping firearms out of the hands of criminals.
Seventy-one percent of rank-and-file NRA members say they support barring people on terror watch lists from purchasing firearms, and 74 percent believe criminal background checks should be required for anyone intending to buy a gun, according to the same survey.
“We are not targeting members; most NRA members are responsible gun owners who want guns to be in the hands of other responsible gun owners. Unfortunately when you look at the NRA, it isn’t financed by the dues of its members, it is financed by the gun manufacturing industry. They [gun manufacturers] have only one interest — selling the most guns in order to maximize profit,” Clermont said.
Despite strong support nationwide for what Occupy the NRA calls “common sense” gun reforms, the U.S. Senate rejected a firearm background check compromise bill earlier this month cosponsored by Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.).
Many occupiers believe the NRA was one of the main reasons the bill was rejected because of the group’s substantial campaign donations and lobbying efforts. In 2012, the NRA gave Crossroads Strategies, a PR firm, $240,000 and SNR Denton, $120,000.
This is in addition to the considerable $1.4 million in campaign contributions during the 2012 election cycle. To illustrate this point, organizers marched to the headquarters of NRA lobby firms with giant checks displaying these figures as police barred individuals from entering the offices of the PR firms.
“The NRA represents the gun manufacturers in this country. They are working to maximize their profits,” said Clermont. “They have the most clout in Congress.”