washingtonpost OP t1_jebkidy wrote
Reply to comment by stumpdawg in We’re Washington Post journalists who spent the past months investigating how the AR-15 became a symbol of the gun control debate, political identity and mass shootings. Ask us anything. by washingtonpost
From Todd Frankel:
We looked at the role the NRA played in promoting the AR-15. The NRA is far from alone in supporting the AR-15. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, Gun Owners of America and others do, too. Our reporting did find that while NRA membership has declined in recent years, members who are AR-15 owners and supporters became more important to the organization. And so the NRA has become one of the most ardent opponents of any laws that would restrict the AR-15.
But the rise of the AR-15 did not start with the NRA. As our “American Icon” story showed, the NRA did not openly welcome the AR-15 at its conventions in the 1990s or early 2000s.
From our story:“We’d have NRA members walk by our booth and give us the finger,” said Randy Luth, the founder of gunmaker DPMS, one of the earliest companies to market AR-15s.
That eventually changed. The AR-15 is today largely the star of gun conventions and trade shows.
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