On March 24, hundreds of thousands of people protested across the United States calling for stricter gun laws. These demonstrations came in reaction to the latest school massacre in Parkland, Florida, where 17 students died and another 17 were wounded.

While the student leaders of the protest vowed they aren’t going away, their opposition has been around since 1871. The National Rifle Association is one of the most powerful lobbying organizations in the U.S.

Love them or hate them, the NRA’s record of success is indisputable. The last nationwide gun control law was passed 24 years ago. Since then, a series of NRA-supported laws were passed at state and federal levels expanding the rights of gun owners and manufacturers, including laws allowing concealed or open carry of firearms in public places.

The NRA is known for pouring money into political campaigns and directing its 5 million members to vote for or against politicians. As a financial goliath leading a block of single-issue voters, the NRA ensures that only the most pro-gun candidates win primaries and general elections.

The NRA obtained almost $434 million in 2016 from a variety of sources. Dues for its five million members are about $30 per year. Donations, advertisements, grants, and other sources cover the rest.

With those funds, the NRA employs over 1,000 people, including content developers, lobbyists, lawyers, and executives. The organization also produces media and sponsors events. Much of its spending is for programs and services, making it a cultural institution in much of the U.S.

The NRA also donates about $10 million each year to political campaigns. Gun control groups, in contrast, donate less than $2 million per year.

This is a lopsided political struggle between two very different strategies. Gun-control advocates organize marches, while gun-control opponents fund a massive and durable lobbying, campaigning, and legal machine.

The NRA has achieved political invincibility with its strategy. Meanwhile, gun control advocates’ strategy can make headlines, but has been legislatively fruitless for decades. Does anyone remember the Million Mom March eighteen years ago?

The latest nadir in the movement occurred at a town hall event where local senator Marco Rubio stuck with his pro-gun stance even under questioning from a Parkland High School survivor and a grieving father. Rubio knows the NRA will probably get him re-elected, and that alignment with gun control advocates would certainly not.

Observations for Freethinkers

Should freethinkers draw the following observation from the gun control debate?

            A strategy of building cultural-political institutions leads to political success, and a strategy based on protest marches leads to political failure.

In the latest polls, 67% of Americans support stricter gun laws. Guns are present in only about a third of U.S. households. Yet, it is safe to say no gun control laws will be passed any time soon.

The NRA itself comprises only 1.5% of the U.S. population (5 million / 325.7 million). In other words, the threshold for political invincibility appears to be organizing just 1.5% of the public and having them donate $30 per year. A tiny but politically dedicated minority can attain political invincibility.

These are amazing findings from the perspective of freethinkers, who are also an unpopular minority. Religious “nones” comprise a fast-growing 22.8% of the population and 9% agreed with the statement they “Do not believe in God”.

A second observation comes to mind:

Political influence comes from strong organization, not popularity.

If gun control seems a bit off-topic from church-state separation, consider how the religious right also pursues a strategy of building a vast array of cultural-political institutions, including churches, private schools, universities, media networks, camps, businesses, non-profits, funds, and lobbying organizations. How will freethinkers respond? With our own institutions?

Actually, we already have such institutions, and they need our support. Consider the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Americans United, American Atheists, and the Secular Coalition for America. If these groups could organize a tiny fraction of the quarter of Americans with no religious affiliation, or work together with religious people opposed to a church-state merger, we too could have political invincibility.

Reasons Not To

Do these observations mean freethinkers should build a cultural-political force in the mold of the NRA? Perhaps a National Reason Association?

Not necessarily, say some freethinkers.

One objection is if we joined organizations, we would no longer be freethinkers. Hierarchies would form and we would soon face the same conformity pressures we once escaped.

Here the NRA’s model might actually offer a solution. NRA membership means sending money, receiving your magazine and bumper sticker, and optionally attending events. A low-input organizational model such as this could preserve our independence and individualism while still being effective.Another objection is reluctance to pay other people’s salaries. Large cultural-political organizations require executive leaders and experts such as lawyers and programmers. Their high salaries would come from the working families comprising the membership. This strikes some as a backward redistribution of wealth.

We don’t tend to think this way when buying products and services, but when our values are triggered, we do. The religious right has no problem paying competitive salaries to people supporting their values, so perhaps this is an issue freethinkers need to rationalize.

There are also concerns we might create an organization that eventually deviates from our values. Perhaps our organizations would become dogmatic, exclusionary, or petty.

In this case, we must simply trust democratic governance processes within our groups, and establish a wide range of choices in case any one organization fails.

Toward Effectiveness

Freethinkers draw conclusions from observation. Most of us have values that feel under attack in this era of resurgent religious authoritarianism.

Our observations can show us how to be effective at promoting our values. If we feel secular government, tolerance, and a scientific worldview are critical to humanity’s future, then we must pursue that effectiveness.

There’s nothing magical about the NRA. Their power is available to all.

By all means, protest, but don’t forget to join the movement.

Join the Arkansas Society of Freethinkers and your local secular group. We ARE the movement.