National Rifle Assoc

In this slashing attack, the executive director of the Violence Policy Center depicts the National Rifle Association as a sinister organization of immense power. Sugarmann establishes that the group is not monolithic but embraces members who view it as a force to encourage hunting, target-shooting and comparable activities as well as others who see in any curb on the ownership of any firearm an attempt to undermine the American way of life. He reports that the latter faction has dominated the NRA for some time, adding that the association has hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, of members and lots of money for lobbying, and is in bed with the federal government, which continually sells its adherents ``surplus'' weapons and ammunition. Set back by the 1991 passage of the Brady bill, the NRA is now trying to recruit more women, children and blacks. Sugarmann offers a new agenda for the NRA, including a call to end its lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C., which most readers will likely find unrealistic. A chilling expose. Photos not seen by PW. (Nov.)