I Am Heading to the NRA Annual Meeting Next Week

What should I be on the lookout for?

In concluding my previous post on the tyrannical tendencies that worry me about the Trump administration, I (cheekily) wrote, “Someone call the NRA.”

Next week, I am heading to Atlanta for the 154th National Rifle Association annual meetings and exhibits. I don’t expect there to be much concern about the threat of tyranny there, except probably at the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum and only directed at Democrats.

---

This will be my fifth time attending the NRAAM. I usually only go every few years: 2013 in Houston, 2016 in Louisville, 2019 in Indianapolis, and 2024 in Dallas. This is my first time going in consecutive years.

I committed to the meetings this year not because of their proximity to North Carolina. It costs me as much to attend the NRAAM in Atlanta as it does in Dallas.

Rather, I am at a point of transition in my work on guns. The publication of Gun Curious last year — discussed at the National Firearms Law Seminar and released at the NRAAM in Dallas, in fact — literally and figuratively closed the book on my first 12 years of wandering around trying to understand American gun culture.

So, I am attending the NRAAM this year with my eyes open to what I might have to say about guns in the future.

Below are some storylines that I will be pursuing.

What else should I look for?

---

(1) Hunting and Recreational Shooting. In January, I went hunting for the first time. Hunting is an important part of American gun culture that I avoided for personal reasons for too long.

As with recreational shooting, both informal and competitive, hunting is a topic that scholars — myself included — have neglected. So, I will spend more time in the Gun Culture 1.0 sections of the exhibit hall than in the Gun Culture 2.0 sections this year.

(2) Inaugural Trainers’ Symposium. I have spent an inordinate amount of my time in gun culture studying the civilian gun training cottage industry.

The last time I remember the NRA announcing a big new training initiative at the annual meetings was in 2017 when it debuted Carry Guard. Recall that this program set in motion legal processes that almost brought down the entire organization.

So, I hope to check out the NRA Education and Training Division’s Inaugural Trainers’ Symposium. Nine different one-hour seminars will be held over two days. The sales pitch: “Don't miss out on this incredible opportunity to develop and improve as an instructor and as a businessman! Learn from the best, discover tips, tricks, and techniques to enhance your skills, and connect with top-tier industry leaders.”

---

(3) Annual Meeting of Members. The most dramatic events at the last two NRAAMs I attended took place at the annual meeting of members.

Videos from those members’ meetings are among the most viewed on my Light Over Heat YouTube channel. (See the debate over a resolution to move the NRA to Texas from 2024 and Richard Childress reading a letter from Oliver North in 2019.)

In 2024, I noted that the NRA was at a crossroads. It continues to work through its wounds, most of which seem to me to be self-inflicted. There remains a struggle for control of the NRA Board of Directors between the old guard and reformers. My longtime friend and Dean of Gun Bloggers, John Richardson, ran for the NRA Board as part of the NRA 2.0 ticket and won.

I will be interested to see how the 2025 Annual Meeting of Members goes and what that suggests about the direction the NRA as an organization is headed.

(4) Gun Building Project. I have a rifle lower that I have been meaning to build into a functional firearm for some years now. With a .30 caliber suppressor on its way (pending ATF approval), this may be the year.

I have never built my own firearm before, so I will be doing a little self-education on parts, tools, and accessories needed to complete the job.

What Else?

What other topics, issues, or products should I be attuned to?

Let me know!

---