Indianapolis convention key to NRA finances

Donald Trump speaks at the National Rifle Association's NRA-ILA Leadership Forum during the NRA Convention at the Kentucky Exposition Center on May 20, 2016 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — With an anticipated 75,000 attendees and an economic spin-off estimated at $35 million, the NRA’s 148th annual meeting in Indianapolis this week is obviously important to the city’s convention business. Just as crucial is a strong showing to boost the financial outlook of the gun rights organization. A recent study by Ohio State University Business Professor Brian Mittendorf looked at the NRA’s Form 990 filing with the IRS in 2017, which indicated the organization had an almost $32 million unrestricted asset deficit. This week’s conference will mark the second of three NRA annual meeting appearances within a decade in Indianapolis, following the initial convention in 2014. “We learned that Indianapolis was very popular in the minds of the NRA attendees and the exhibitors,” said Visit Indy Senior Vice President Chris Gahl. “Candidly, they had a very productive and positive show here in Indianapolis that produced a lot of revenue, as they host many ancillary events that help raise money for the NRA.” The arrival of the conference comes as state lawmakers are wrapping up their session at the General Assembly, where gun rights supporters recognized attempts by groups even farther to the right of the NRA to water down compromises on firearms bills. “We’ve seen stories about how NRA fund raising is falling off, and I don’t think they’re comfortable with defector talk,” said Dr. Jody Lynee Madeira of Indiana University, who expects more messages this week about the nation’s imperiled Second Amendment rights. “The NRA comes out and says, ‘This might be it, this might be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,’ and I think that further spurs so called

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