NRA holds convention, has lobbying cash after Texas school shooting

The National Rifle Association has a bevy of cash at its disposal to influence the gun policy debate after the latest shooting massacre of schoolchildren in Texas, despite financial stress and internal turmoil that have reduced the group’s reach.

The NRA went ahead this week with its annual convention in Houston, days after a gunman shot 19 children and two adults dead less than a five-hour drive away in Uvalde. Reflecting the group’s continued clout, former President Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other national GOP figures will go ahead with plans to speak at a forum hosted by the NRA’s lobbying arm on Friday afternoon.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will not speak as planned, as he will return to Uvalde. Lt Gov. Dan Patrick also dropped out of speaking at the NRA meeting, saying he would not want his appearance to “bring any additional pain or grief” to families of the victims.

Gun safety advocates who have called for new restrictions in response to mass shootings this month in Texas and Buffalo, New York — including President Joe Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer — have renewed their criticism of the NRA for opposing repeated efforts to tighten firearm regulations to attempt to curb carnage around the country. While the NRA’s power has taken a hit in recent years, financial filings and lobbying disclosures show the group still has the means to try to influence gun policy talks in the coming weeks — along with the midterm elections that will decide which party controls Congress next year.

The NRA will likely wade into the policy discussion as senators restart gun control talks and key midterm races unfold around the country. Lawmakers are deliberating a wide range of gun measures. Proposals include a national “red flag” law, which could allow police or family members to petition a court to order the temporary removal of firearms from a person deemed dangerous, and measures that could strengthen gun background checks.

A spokeswoman for the NRA did not return a request for comment.

The NRA’s 501(c)(4) organization, which by law can lobby, went into 2021 with nearly $50 million in net assets, according to records. In the first quarter of this year, nearly a dozen NRA representatives including the group’s CEO, Wayne LaPierre, engaged with the federal government on gun-related bills. The NRA spent more than $620,000 on lobbying during the quarter.

The organization spent the most it ever has on lobbying in a single quarter last year, only a few months after it announced in January 2021 that it was filing for bankruptcy and planned to move its operations from New York to Texas. The NRA spent more than $2 million during the second quarter of 2021 lobbying Congress and the Biden administration on gun reform bills, a disclosure report…