Te NRA Institute for Legislative Action

Protecting
our Second
Amendment
Freedom and
Hunting
Heritage
What is NRA-ILA?
A Message from the NRA-ILA
Executive Director
Te NRA-ILA shall have sole
responsibility to administer the
legislative, legal, informational
and fundraising activities of the
Association relating to the defense
or furtherance of the right to keep
and bear arms
NRA Bylaws, Article X, Section One.
Te NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-
ILA), established in 1975, is the NRAs lobbying
and political arm. Our reputation as the largest and
most eective defender of the Second Amendment
freedom and hunting heritage of law-abiding
Americans is well known.
Less well known is the full scope of our activities,
and the record of success we continue to build.
NRA-ILA is a single-issue organization, but that
includes every issue that directly or indirectly aects
rearms ownership and use. Tese topics include
not only Second Amendment rights, but also
hunting, wildlife conservation, law enforcement
issues, product liability, and criminal justice reform.
Even less well known is the fact that NRA-ILA
operates almost exclusively on donated funds, above
and beyond the regular membership dues paid by
NRA members. Without the contributions made
by hundreds of thousands of donors, ILA simply
wouldnt have the resources to undertake the critical
eorts in which we engage every day.
After you read about these activities, it is my hope
that you will join our supporters on the front lines
in defense of freedom.
Sincerely,
Chris W. Cox
Legislative Action
Te Bottom Line Comes When the
Votes Are Counted
From the halls of
Congress to town halls on
Main Street, NRA-ILA maintains
a vigilant watch over our Second
Amendment freedom. When politicians
propose pointless restrictions on our Right to
Keep and Bear Arms, NRA-ILA is there. We do the
research and come armed with the facts. We explain
the real-world impact of gun control schemes to
lawmakers who might not know otherwise.
Most importantly, our ability to ght successfully
for the rights of Americas law-abiding gun owners
is a direct reection of the support of NRAs nearly
four million members. When restrictive legislation
is proposed at any level of government, we marshal
our grassroots supporters to make their voices
heard. NRA members are alerted, and they respond
in droves with letters, faxes, emails, phone calls and
personal visits.
Politicians understand the need to be responsive
to the voters who elected them. NRA-ILAs power
does not come from Washington, D.C. Our power
comes from millions of supporters from every
corner and community of the nation, who are
ready, willing and able to take an active role in the
legislative and political process. Tats why NRA
has won the number one slot in Fortune magazines
Power 25 list of the most inuential lobbying
groups in America.
Legislative action is a
constant war, fought
on multiple battleelds
simultaneously. And like any
successful campaign, it takes
resources to win.
Political Action
If they Dont See the Light,
Well Make Tem Feel the Heat
Te quickest way to change policy is to change
politicians. When lawmakers target our freedoms,
we target their careers.
Te NRA Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) is
a federally registered Political Action Committee.
NRA-PVF is one of the most important tools in
the NRA-ILA arsenal, and is funded solely by
the generous contributions of NRA members.
Tousands and thousands of small contributions
add up to fund one of the largest PACs in operation
today.
Unlike many other PACs, however, NRA-PVF
does not limit its scope to simply making direct
contributions to campaigns. Te PVF war chest
is deployed by NRA-ILAs top strategists in every
election cycle to communicate powerful messages to
the general electorate.
Political targets are identied. Massive campaigns
of advertising, direct mail, and phone calls are
developed. Te NRA message blankets the media
markets and moves numbers. Lawmakers win or
lose.
Its all on the line every Election Day. Not just in
top-line presidential races, but also in senatorial,
gubernatorial, and congressional races not to
mention nearly ten thousand elections for state
legislative seats.
If a lawmaker can aect our freedoms, NRA-PVF
is watching. And when a lawmaker threatens our
rights, PVF stands ready to strike.
Judicial Action
Defending Our Rights
in the Courts
Legislative and political action programs cover the
Executive and Legislative branches of government.
But the third branch, the Judiciary, has become an
increasingly important battleground in our defense
of the Second Amendment.
When our political adversaries cant win on the oor
of Congress or in the voting booth, they run to the
courts. Tey have invested heavily in sta and trial
lawyers to attack our rights under legal theories they
call novel and we call reckless. But it still takes
time, eort and resources to ght every courtroom
battle.
NRA is ghting back. We proudly helped pass
the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act,
which blocks reckless lawsuits against rearms
manufacturers. Americas gun makers faced a certain
peril. But we stepped in and saved the industry.
Just as our opponents use the courts to attack our
rights, our legal eorts have used the courts to
solidify them. From representing law-abiding gun
owners in the hurricane Katrina conscations, to
enforcing state preemption laws, to defending right
to carry permit holders throughout the country,
NRA-ILA is at the forefront of the ongoing ght for
our freedom.
When the
Second
Amendment
is on trial,
NRA-ILA is
its defense
team.
Promoting Our Hunting Heritage
Defending the Right to Hunt
To promote hunter safety, and to promote and to defend hunting as a shooting sport and as a viable
and necessary method of fostering the propagation, growth, conservation, and wise use of our renewable
wildlife resources.
NRA Bylaws, Article II, Section 5.
Te NRA Institute for Legislative Action
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030
800-392-VOTE (8683)
www.nraila.org
NRA is the largest pro-hunting organization in the
world. NRA-ILA has actively fought to preserve
and enhance hunting opportunities throughout
the United States. In this century, NRA-ILA
has defeated nearly every anti-hunting eort in
Congress promoted by the radical animal rights
extremists.
ILA takes the ght to our opponents by lobbying to
eliminate barriers that keep young or novice hunters
from taking to the eld. We continue to work for
passage of laws that guarantee No-Net-Loss of
public hunting lands in all states and at the federal
level. We defend hunting rights on property that
is forcibly annexed by local governments, and we
protect critical hunting habitat from being paved
over in the name of expanding development.
Were taking the battle to the public by winning
the ratication of meaningful state constitutional
amendments arming the right to hunt, including
hunting with traditional methods and the pursuit
of traditional non-threatened species. And were
launching campaigns against the enemies of
hunting, by battling aggressive, extremist and well-
funded animal rights groups such as the Humane
Society of the United States (HSUS), and People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
NRA-ILA is hunting for success. Te season is
always open, and theres no bag limit.