National Rifle Association's 154th Annual Meeting & Exhibits
Some Brief Observations on a Multifaceted Event
I’m back from a 5-day trip to Atlanta for the 154th annual meeting and exhibits of the National Rifle Association (NRAAM). Unlike last year, when I spent most of my time selling my book Gun Curious, I did not have a single clear objective for this year’s meeting.
I tried to attend the NRAAM “with new eyes” — seeing things that I didn’t see in previous years because I was so myopically focused on my book.
Here are some brief initial thoughts on what I saw. You will note how thoroughly the NRA’s recent troubles with legal issues and financial misconduct has affected the organization.
SHOW FLOOR/EXHIBITS
Like the NRA itself, the annual meeting is many things. Most centrally for attendees, it is a huge (14 acres, according to the NRA) gun show with over 600 exhibitors.
These ranged from Action Trackchair, all-terrain wheelchairs, to Zvetco, one of many companies selling firearms optics.
More on the vibe of the show floor in a later post, but speaking of attendance, the NRA reported “over 70,000” gathered at the Georgia World Congress Center over the weekend. As with the reported attendance of 72,000 in Dallas last year, I think of this figure as akin to the “alternative facts” put forward about attendance at the 2017 US presidential inauguration. There didn’t seem to be anywhere near as many people as the 80,000 in Louisville (2016) or 83,000 in Houston (2013), two other years I attended and felt the people crowding me physically.
MEDIA ROW
The shuttering of NRATV and the move of “Cam & Co.” to Bearing Arms created a broadcast void at the annual meetings. It was filled this year by the creation of a media row, several booths occupied by TV show hosts, podcasters, YouTubers, and other personalities.
These included (gun culture) household names like Michael Bane of Michael Bane TV, Ryan Gresham of Guntalk, Amanda Suffecool of EyeOnTheTargetRadio, Charlie Cook of Riding Shotgun with Charlie, Matt Mallory & Klint Macro of Meet the Pressers, Stephen Gutowski of The Reload, and Tony Simon of The Second is For Everyone-2A4A podcast.
I had the opportunity to speak with Cam Edwards of Cam and Co., Alex and Mike Ooley of Forge of Freedom podcast, and Rob Beckman of The Firearms Trainer podcast during the meetings and will link to those conversations once they are published.
SEMINARS
The biggest seminar held adjacent to the NRAAM is the National Firearms Law Seminar (NFLS). I have given the lunchtime keynote at the NFLS twice — 2019 in Indianapolis and 2024 in Dallas. Attendance at the NFLS was down considerably in 2024 compared to 2019, but from what I saw and was told, attendance rebounded some this year.
The NFLS costs to attend, but other seminars at the NRAAM are free to all attendees. These range from self-defense (e.g., refuse to be a victim) to history (e.g., the men and guns of MACV-SOG) to various “how to” courses for long-range shooters, reloaders, and hunters.
One seminar I sat in on was “Everyday Self-Defense” by Matt Mallory of Public Safety and Education training. Despite the hyperbolic course description — “With all the crime and depraved people out there, sometimes it is better to just stay home” — the content was more similar to the level-headed self-defense training I chronicled in my book. In a phrase that could have been directed at 2010 me, Mallory insisted, “I’m not saying don’t be a Good Samaritan, but be a smart Good Samaritan.” He also highlighted the need to have a range of tools at one’s disposal beyond a gun, since most assaults are simple assaults in which no lethal force would be justified.
I also popped into the “NRA Clubs & Associations Workshop.” Associations are state-level organizations officially affiliated with and recognized by the NRA that engage in Second Amendment advocacy and promote local clubs. NRA clubs are community-based organizations that focus on shooting — primarily gun clubs as I understand it.
Attendees at this session heard that the NRA has “taken some body blows recently” but “is reinvesting” in its clubs and associations. It recently hired a new club manager and is actively seeking three part-time regional staff. I learned from Mark Vaughan, recently elected first vice president of the NRA, that the number of NRA-affiliated clubs has dropped from 15,000 ten years ago to 8,000 today. But, he assured us, “The support at [NRA headquarters] is there. We’re not going to turn our backs on you.” He insisted that the reform movement among the NRA Board of Directors — NRA 2.0 — would “stem the tide” and help “turn around” the organization.
I also attended the “NRA Trainers Update” presented by the Education and Training Division. According to its director, John Howard, the division is “coming through dark times the last five years.” National Instructor Trainer Martin Sprick acknowledged the division had been “struggling to tread water without enough staff” — due, presumably, to the hundreds of millions of dollars in legal costs and lost revenue from the troubles. He listed any number of education and training projects — like updating the basic instructor training process — that had basically been on hold due to low staffing.
Sprick presented some interesting numbers about individuals with some level of NRA certification at this session. [Note: As these figures fluctuate monthly, I received updated numbers from Sprick this week.] There are currently 103,000 individuals certified by the NRA. This includes 4,000 who only have a coaching certification and 29,000 who only have a Range Safety Officer (RSO) certification (this latter group includes me). Of 70,000 trainers certified to teach NRA Basic Pistol or higher-level courses, only about 10% are actually active in NRA programs.
Of course, 7,000 is still a large number of trainers. The reported 1,002,480 students who have taken NRA Basic Pistol courses over the past seven years — including 347,150 women (35%) — is also a large number.
I was happy to learn that the Education and Training Division is working to incorporate suicide prevention materials into their firearms training courses. I only wish they had chosen to partner with the best gun-friendly organization already working in this area, Walk the Talk America. Perhaps they still can.
The NRA Trainers Update was part of an inaugural “Trainer’s Symposium” that ran in two rooms for four hours each on Saturday and Sunday. NRA staff told me that there were about 150 people preregistered for the symposium, with about 50 walk-ins. Attendees received a free two-year renewal of their NRA credentials — so my RSO certification is good until 2027 now!
The symposium was designed to help trainers enhance their training business through presentations by companies like ShootingClasses.com, A Girl & A Gun, GunSafety4U, Mantis Tech, and InstructorsDash.com. I wasn’t able to attend any of these sessions, but will be interested to see if the Trainer’s Symposium becomes a regular part of the NRAAM.
NRA-ILA LEADERSHIP FORUM
Conspicuously absent from the NRAAM this year was the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) Leadership Forum. The political rally was quietly canceled after Donald Trump and others didn’t commit to attending the event.
(At the members meeting, NRA President Bob Barr made it seem like Trump couldn’t attend because he was at Pope Francis’ funeral in Rome, but the forum died before the pontiff.)
The absence was especially conspicuous because 2025 is the 50th anniversary of the founding of the NRA-ILA.
Personally, I didn’t miss what amounts to a Christo-Republican political rally. If you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all. Some of these festivities were taken up at the NRA meeting of members, though.
MEMBERS MEETING
The annual meeting of members has long played an important role in the life of the National Rifle Association. The famed “Revolt at Cincinnati” in 1977 took place at the members meeting. Neal Knox was a leader of that movement then. His son, Jeff Knox, is a leader of the reform wing of the organization today. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.
As can be seen in the video below, at the start of the members meeting in Atlanta, a Christian minister preceded his sectarian prayer by noting that the Lord chose NRA President Bob Barr to be at the organization’s helm.
Having attended five annual meetings, I can’t say I am surprised. I wrote at the conclusion of my first NRAAM (Houston 2013): “I came away from these experiences with the understanding that the National Rifle Association is a Christian organization.” This, too, has remained constant over the years.
[Afterword: Bob Barr introduced the opening prayer at the NRA Board of Directors meeting on Monday by declaring: “We answer to two authorities greater than us: Our Lord and the Constitution.”]
As it tries to right its ship and become a more forward-looking and inclusive organization (assuming it wants to do that), the NRA might consider trying to welcome Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, and other non-Christians.
[Speaking of becoming more forward-looking and inclusive, I will post my thoughts about Donald Trump’s video appearance at the annual meeting of members soon.]
The last agenda item at the members meeting takes up resolutions. This year, four were considered, two pressing for internal reform of the NRA. The resolutions highlight the rift between old guard board members who were aligned with Wayne LaPierre and reform-oriented board members elected to carry the organization into a new era, NRA 2.0.
NRA reform member Ronald Andring proposed a conflict of interest resolution. An old guard NRA Board Member Joel Friedman moved to refer the resolution to the board’s committee on bylaws and resolutions, where it would presumably die a peaceful death. The video below contains the debate over that motion to refer, as well as the vote on the motion and some of a paper ballot that was requested. The resolution to refer passed by a vote of 169 to 125, but the debate itself was informative.
My friend, fellow blogger, and recently elected member of the NRA Board of Directors, John Richardson, also introduced a resolution designed to create transparency and trust between the NRA leadership and the membership.
As can be seen in the video below, this resolution passed by an overwhelming margin, a potentially significant moment in the history of the organization.
ENTERTAINMENT, FUNDRAISING, ETC.
Those are just the events I pay attention to. There’s much more happening at the NRAAM than one person can absorb over a three day weekend.
These other events include but are not limited to: the NRA Country Sound Stage, the Women’s Leadership Forum Brunch, National Prayer Breakfast, Youth Day, and all sorts of VIP events for donors like the Ring of Freedom Cigar & Whiskey Reception.
If you attended this year’s NRA Annual Meeting & Exhibits, what caught your eye or ear?