NRA insiders question whether group has become too political

Lisa Marie Pane, Associated Press Published 10:57 a.m. ET April 25, 2019 | Updated 10:57 a.m. ET April 25, 2019CLOSE The annual convention that bills itself as "15 acres of guns and gear" opens Friday at the Indiana Convention Center. Stephen J. Beard, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. National Rifle Association is used to battling forces that criticize its fiery and unbending efforts to protect gun rights. But as the group gathers for its annual convention this week in Indianapolis[1], the NRA may be facing its toughest foe in decades: its own members.NRA insiders and longtime observers describe an organization at war with itself over a central question: Has it strayed too far from its original mission of gun safety and outdoor shooting sports and become too political?It is rare for the NRA to betray any hint of internal turmoil. But it erupted very publicly recently when the NRA sued its longtime public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen, accusing it of refusing to hand over financial records to account for its billings. In 2017 alone, the NRA paid the firm $40 million.Ackerman McQueen has been by the NRA’s side for two decades and has crafted its aggressive messaging, including the “From my cold dead hands” line uttered by actor Charlton Heston in 2000 as he vowed to resist any effort to take away his guns. The line became a rallying cry for gun owners around the country.Ackerman McQueen also created and operates NRATV, the online channel whose hosts not only aggressively defend the NRA and its cause but often venture into political debates not directly related to firearms, such as immigration or diversity on children’s TV. In its lawsuit, the NRA said some of its members have questioned NRATV’s weighing in on “topics far afield of the Second Amendment.”The long history between the public relations

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