How the Firearms Industry and NRA Market Guns to Black and Latino Americans

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) and the Firearms Industry

While the National Rifle Association functions as the unofficial trade association for the firearms industry, the NSSF is its official trade association. The role played by the NSSF within the gun industry is not unlike that which was played by The Tobacco Institute for the tobacco industry. NSSF issues a constant stream of publications both to support and defend the firearms industry in the marketing of its products.

NSSF marketing publications (some publicly available, others limited to NSSF industry members) that include a focus on outreach to minorities include: Recruitment of Hispanic Hunters: Using a Case Studies approach to gain insights into Hispanic values toward wildlife, and motivations and participation in hunting (2017); Changing Faces of the Shooting Sports: Meeting the Needs of an Increasingly Diverse Customer Base (2015); A Hispanic Market Study: Firearms and the Shooting Sports (2015); and, Understanding Diversity in Hunting and Shooting Sports (2013).¹⁰

The birthplace of the long-term, organized, and coordinated effort by the firearms industry and gun lobby targeting non-white potential gun owners was the 2015 NSSF Industry Summit, which occurred in June of that year in Savannah, Georgia.¹¹ As a press release issued by NSSF after the event explained:

“The central theme of the 2015 Industry Summit, diversity, is one that proved the industry is preparing to significantly change the way it does business. ‘We’ve talked loosely about diversity for years,’ said Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, ‘but there’s never been a cohesive effort across the industry as a whole to address this subject and innovate change. This year’s Industry Summit showed us that we’re about to experience a ground-swell shift in that attitude. Summit attendees came fully prepared, arriving with focused, on-point questions about what changes they need to make in their businesses to embrace a new consumer audience.’”¹²

As seen by presentation slides shared on Twitter by Summit attendees, speakers offered overviews of the potential shooters they were targeting, breaking racial and ethnic groups down by “demographics,” “psychographics,” and “technographics.” The demographics for “African American Shooters” included: “Very high male skew; More similar to NH [Non-Hispanic] White household; Age, income & household composition; Less likely to be married and to be a college grad.” Psychographics were listed as: “Hard-working, career driven, success-minded; Job and work very important; Will sacrifice time with family to succeed; Image conscious and brand driven, appearances matter; Social, outgoing, experiences-driven, live life to fullest.” Technographics were listed as: “Very comfortable with social media; Sees self as a role model, leader, someone who is respected; Is expressive and confident socially, in a crowd.”

The demographics for “Hispanic Shooters” included: “11 years younger; Lower HHI [household income] and education (but higher than Hispanic overall); More likely to have kids in HH [household], multi-gen HH; More acculturated (49% acculturated, 41% bicultural.” Psychographics were listed as: “Less tough/independent guy, more group oriented; Influenced by pop culture and people around them; Much more trusting of advertising and celebrities; Enthusiastic, social, non-conformist; Likes introducing people to each other.” Technographics were listed as: “Highest level of mobile ownership; Tech savvy and comfortable with new technology; Extremely high engagement with social media; More likely to trust social Media, to post, to learn new [missing word].”

Among the speakers at the meeting was Chris Cheng, a one-time Google employee whose notoriety was based on his having won the History Channel‘s “Top Shot” shooting competition without any formal training or having won a prior shooting award. Cheng has worked on behalf of NSSF, with one NSSF article’s author describing him as “one of the more unlikely people I can think of to become a top shooter. He not only breaks many shooting sports molds, but rumor has it he even has the mold-makers on the run. Cheng is a techno-nerd, an Asian-American and openly gay — three things the stereotype monitors tell us you’re not supposed to find in the shooting sports.”¹³ Cheng has also served on NSSF’s Inclusion and Outreach Working Group.¹⁴

“What a difference this is from just a few years ago when the industry was lamenting that it was becoming stale, male and pale.” — Steve Sanetti, NSSF president and CEO

Cheng’s presentation was titled “Diversity: The Next Big Opportunity,” with the hoped-for result being “new shooters, and new gun owners, and new Second Amendment advocates….” As Cheng addressed his audience, he asked:

“Now, what is diversity and why is it important…For the context of today’s talk, we’re talking about ethnicities like we’ve been talking about for most of the day. Hispanics, Asians, whites, Blacks. Now, this is important because in the context of America, we are a country of immigrants…[W]e then have to understand that a lot of immigrant families do not have traditions of firearms ownership, of hunting, of sports shooting. And therein lies the opportunity for us to promote the Second Amendment, to promote hunting and sports shooting to this new demographic and make them a multi-generational customer and a lifelong Second Amendment advocate.”

Cheng concluded with a “call to action” including: “more targeted messaging towards ethnic groups…, sponsoring or attending diversity events such as the NSSF First Shots Program…, [a]nd then finally highlight people of color in firearm ads, media articles and other marketing collateral.” Cheng promised, “Diversity is the next area of success for our industry.”¹⁵

Following the Summit, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Chris Dolnack discussed the trade association’s marketing efforts:

“[O]ver the years many of us have discussed how to expand shooting participation numbers beyond the traditional predominance of Caucasian males. We’ve made tremendous strides in welcoming women into the sport in the past couple decades,¹⁶ but we haven’t been as successful when it comes to ethnic diversity. And the thing is, there are legions of African-American, Hispanic and Asian recreational and competitive shooters out there, as well as hunters, but they aren’t part of the greater family of gun enthusiasts most are familiar with. We need to change that, need to create the avenues that will welcome these shooters into the fold, and that’s what this year’s Summit focused on.”¹⁷

Or as NSSF president and CEO Steve Sanetti summarized, “What a difference this is from just a few years ago when the industry was lamenting that it was becoming stale, male and pale.”¹⁸

In the months following, the Industry Summit and its diversity goals were hailed in gun industry publications. Shooting Sports Retailer, in an article titled “Shooting Industry Must Talk the Talk With New Generation,” noted:

“The summit theme was recruitment to replace the Baby Boomer generation that has done so much for the shooting sports…The NSSF believes that rapidly retiring demographic is unsustainable in the long run, and hence this meeting sought to alert attendees to looming population trends and to send folks home with an agenda: reach out to women and minorities.”¹⁹

The article also warned:

“And of course, the problem with failing to recruit and grow is that numbers equate to political power. In an era when the private ownership and use of firearms, the right to ‘keep and bear arms,’ has come under increasing pressure, numbers and a young, vital membership are critical.”²⁰

Among the photos supplied by NSSF for the article was that of a cheerful Black couple leaving a gun store. The text accompanying the photo stated:

“By the year 2050, minorities will number more than half of all U.S. citizens. To preserve the future of the shooting sports in America, it is necessary to begin changing our message and presentation so that everyone feels welcome at the shooting line, in the deer woods and in our retail stores.”²¹

In its “Outlook For 2016,” Shooting Industry, under the heading “New Customer Base is Key,” observed:

“When it comes to increasing diversity in the shooting sports, the industry has taken note — which is great news! [Consulting firm] Southwick Associates has been helping NSSF identify opportunities to engage with new customers and their motivations. There’s a huge untapped demand within the multi-cultural markets…It’s important for the industry to adapt to multi-cultural preferences and expectations, which will help welcome them into our ranks as active customers…Stay tuned: These new markets have the potential to start the next wave of growth for our industry.”²²

Bob Owens, editor of the pro-gun website Bearing Arms, who also participated in the NSSF event, wrote:

“While there were a wide range of topics covered by the 21 speakers…, the clear intent of the 2015 Industry Summit was to reach out to minority communities, including African-Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and women.”

“This shows that the industry has been responsive to the increase in the number of young, urban, and female shooters, and is now try to be proactive so that the industry is poised to welcome diverse populations to the shooting sports. This is a Very Big Deal, as we’ve long stereotyped as the realm of ‘fat old white guys’ or the ‘pale, male, and stale.’”

“It was refreshing to see these sessions packed with industry leaders listening intently and taking notes on how to better meet groups on their own terms, in their own spaces.”

“The more effort we spend in sharing our love of shooting, the more friends and allies we will make, and the better we will be poised to protect and reassert our Second Amendment rights.”

“The future is bright.”²³

“The spectrum is not one color but full of beautifully different hues…It is time for us to embrace our differences. To not only see them, but also see beyond them to appreciate what makes us all the same. What is that? A love of firearms, and a desire for safety, education, and responsibility in every aspect of the shooting sports.” — Tisma Juett, NSSF

Since the 2015 Industry Summit, a focus on “diversity” has remained central to NSSF’s research and marketing efforts:

• At the 2016 Industry Summit held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, plenary topics included “Engaging the Multi-Cultural Target Shooting Audience,” while breakout sessions included “The First Steps in Hispanic Outreach.”²⁴

• A 2016 NSSF blog described new programs being tested by the organization regarding their effectiveness in expanding their customer base:

“[S]tatistics show our core base of customers is still overwhelmingly comprised of older Caucasian males, while the face of America is increasingly heading in different directions. To help the industry adapt to changing times, NSSF is testing how to effectively engage new and diverse audiences through hands-on pilot initiatives.”

“Diversified customers can refer to many things: different races, ethnicities, ages, genders, and more. Therefore, identifying which customer segments offer the best growth opportunities, and how to successfully engage them, is the first task. Developing and testing tactics that retailers, ranges and others in the industry can effectively implement locally is the next step. In 2014 and 2015, NSSF has been engaged in these research and pilot testing efforts, and will continue to improve and expand in 2016 and beyond.”²⁵

• In 2017, NSSF published the marketing report Recruitment of Hispanic Hunters: Using a Case Studies approach to gain insights into Hispanic values toward wildlife, and motivations and participation in hunting.

• In 2018, Tisma Juett, whose title at the time was NSSF manager inclusion & outreach, wrote in the organization’s SHOT Business magazine about how virtually all societal divides and misunderstandings could be overcome by acknowledging “what makes us all the same…a love of firearms….” Wrote Juett:

“The more different we are, the more we are all the same. Our country has been and is divided. Certain groups want to categorize people and put them into specific boxes to fit a particular agenda: black, white, conservative, liberal, straight, gay, revolver, semi-auto, MSR, bolt gun, young, old, baby boomer, millennial. Everything must be one or the other, without variance. Stay in your lane, on the straight road, don’t color outside your box.”

“The lines are not straight. The spectrum is not one color but full of beautifully different hues…It is time for us to embrace our differences. To not only see them, but also see beyond them to appreciate what makes us all the same.”

“What is that? A love of firearms, and a desire for safety, education, and responsibility in every aspect of the shooting sports.”

“We as an industry must become more inclusive and welcoming to those who do not know that we really are an industry for all law-abiding gun owners, conservationists, and outdoor enthusiasts. We must welcome those who want to join us regardless of race, color, country of origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or religion.”^{26 27}

• In 2018, Maj Toure, the founder of Black Guns Matter, which describes its primary goal as educating “people in urban communities in all 50 states on their 2nd amendment rights and responsibilities through firearms training and education,”²⁸ was a speaker at the NSSF-sponsored SHOT Show, the annual trade show for the firearms industry. Closed to the general public, the show is held each year in Las Vegas. During his presentation, Toure told his gun industry audience, “My job is to give you all the information to increase revenue as well as make a cultural shift.”²⁹ Black Guns Matter was also a “Bronze level” sponsor of the 2018 SHOT Show University. In a press release announcing Black Guns Matter’s financial sponsorship, NSSF explained:

“The era of cultural divide when it comes to firearms ownership should be a thing of the past, and thanks to the work of Maj Toure and Black Guns Matter, we’re a lot closer to that being a realization…He’s putting his money where his mouth is through this sponsorship, but his real impact will be in the ‘Black Guns Matter: Engaging Urban Communities in the 2nd Amendment Fight’ Retailer Seminar he’ll be conducting. All I can say is reserve your spot for this seminar now before it sells out.”

“During his seminar, Toure will present a highly interactive session on the misconceptions, myths and successes of engaging urban communities in the 2nd Amendment fight. Toure will share lessons he’s learned through hosting his 50 States Firearm Education Tour, take questions from the audience on engaging urban communities and explain how companies and organizations can support the Black Guns Matter movement. Anyone who is interested in building deeper connections with the urban demographic should make attending this session a top priority.”³⁰

That same year, Toure was featured in a photo of NSSF’s 2018 industry summit.

• In 2019, Toure attended the SHOT Show again, and was a guest on “SHOT Show TV.”³¹ During the interview Toure detailed how Black Guns Matter was now working with handgun manufacturer Bersa as a part of the gunmaker’s #BeginwithBersa marketing program for first-time shooters.³² He also discussed how he was partnering with rifle manufacturer Head Down Arms in the design and marketing of the Solutionary (a term coined by Toure to describe himself) AR-15 style assault rifle to financially benefit his organization.³³

Examples of industry outreach and targeting efforts to potential Black and Latino gun buyers include the following.

A full-page ad appearing in the Spring 2013 issue of Junior Shooters³⁴ magazine shows two Black males, a youth and an adult, at an outdoor range, with the headline “Confidence to Live Your Life.” The ad, in which the youth is holding an ammunition magazine in one hand and a round in the other, states, “Shooting the best pistol means you can hone your skills and rise to any challenge. Backed by proven reliability, superior engineering and used by approximately 65% of law enforcement, GLOCK is a partner you can trust.”

An ad appearing in the June/July 2020 edition of the NRA’s America’s 1st Freedom (the organization’s activist magazine) for the KEL-TEC KS7 Shotgun warns, “Mi Casa No Es Su Casa.”

An ad appearing in the December 2019 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine shows a Black man looking askance as he pumps gas into his car at a filling station. The ad warns, “It’s a jungle out there” and urges the reader to “Protect yourself with the all new 9mm HELLCAT from Springfield Armory.”

“It’s a jungle out there” — Springfield Armory ad for its HELLCAT pistol

An ad for the Smith & Wesson M&P (Military & Police) 9 Shield EZ pistol that appeared in both the October 2020 issue of the NRA’s American Rifleman magazine as well as the November 2020 issue of Guns & Ammo shows a Black woman, presumably preparing to leave for work, placing the pistol into her briefcase side pocket. The headline on the ad reads, “Protection Made Easy.”

Yet despite the joint efforts of the NSSF and gun manufacturers targeting non-white communities, and the ongoing research that in theory guides such efforts, NSSF’s own research reveals that one of the primary hurdles to overcome in engaging Blacks and Latinos in gun ownership is that although NSSF and gunmakers have, for their own purposes, identified communities of color as a great “untapped market” to exploit, the objects of their attention frequently don’t feel welcome in the firearms community as a whole, and gun stores in particular — despite NSSF’s stock photos to the contrary.

One early NSSF study, Understanding Diversity in Hunting and Shooting Sports, found that although nine to 14 percent of those surveyed “don’t feel welcome at a firearms retail establishment or range many don’t have any suggestions for how to improve the situation. For those who do have suggestions, there are no significant differences between ethnicities.” The “common suggestions” included, “Be less suspicious of non-whites/be more welcoming of other cultures.”³⁵

Under the heading “Suggestions for Making People Feel Welcome,” Black respondents quoted in the study observed:

• In my area it seems to be a closed club for mostly single white men and their current girlfriends. Find a way to remove racial stereo-types on all fronts — White — Black — Hispanic, and others so that we all can enjoy what there is in this type of ‘sport.’ I believe unfortunately this is one area where stereo-typing and racial prejudice is still prevalent.³⁶

• I would like to see more salespeople stop looking at me as if I stole something.³⁷

These comments were echoed by Latinos interviewed for the study:

• I would like for the employees at shooting ranges to NOT have preconceived ideas about who would or would not be a good customer for them.³⁸

• Sometimes because of your ethnicity and attire shop or range owners and employees tend to single you out for lest then [sic] stellar treatment. This has happened to me and my family at local and larger places.³⁹

• Don’t make assumptions based upon color of skin. I walk in with my white father-in-law and he immediately gets waited upon.⁴⁰

• Treat everyone equal and don’t judge by the color of skin or because someone has an accent.⁴¹

• Wider range of diversity. Would be nice to enter these locations and see someone other than a late/middle white gentleman behind the counter.⁴²

The National Rifle Association

The NSSF and its industry partners are joined in these marketing efforts by the National Rifle Association. As noted earlier, while the marketing efforts of the NSSF are designed to ensure the financial success of the gun industry, for the NRA new gun buyers represent the ranks from which future foot soldiers can be drawn to protect its political and financial interests.

While historically the NRA has focused its outreach efforts on women (one recent example is its NRA Women campaign sponsored by gunmaker Smith & Wesson) and more recently on children, like NSSF it has jumped on the diversity bandwagon.

In 2015, the NRA Family website, under the headline “American Hispanics: The Newest Second Amendment Enthusiasts,” breathlessly cited the findings of NSSF’s research on Latinos:

“There is a market out there that is 57 million strong, has a buying power approaching $1 trillion and, for many, have a positive interest in firearms and the shooting sports. Can you guess who it might be? The answer might surprise you: our American Hispanic population. The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) commissioned a study to learn more about Hispanics’ interests in firearms and the shooting sports. The study showed that, of the Hispanics surveyed, 18 percent own firearms and 25 percent would like to, 41 percent have been to a shooting range and 42 percent would attend a training class or seek firearms instruction…This is valuable information! This survey has informed us of a barely tapped population that can broaden our pro-gun community, increase participation in the shooting sports and boost NRA membership and our political presence.”⁴³

In its efforts, the NRA has taken two approaches. The first has been to present Black and Latino spokespeople in its public education and marketing efforts. The second has been to profile and publicize groups, as the NSSF’s Juett states, “whose memberships are considered non-traditional.”

Until its collapse in 2019 as the result of a power struggle between the National Rifle Association, its long-time public relations firm Ackerman McQueen, and principals on both sides, the NRA’s online “network,” NRATV, was the primary means by which the organization conducted its outreach activities to its hoped-for new markets.

In 2013, Colion Noir, a pro-gun Black YouTube personality joined the NRA as one of the organization’s commenters and show hosts on NRATV and other media platforms. In his role, Noir not only was presented as an “authentic” pro-gun Black voice, thus burnishing the NRA’s outreach bona fides, but also was deployed to attack politicians, advocates, the news media, organizations, and institutions. Noir filled an awkward, self-conscious void at the NRA. A ceaseless self-promoter, Noir was perhaps the only official NRA commentator who freely used profanity (perhaps as a gauge of his authenticity). In one NRA ad, Noir stated:

“No one wants to fight for their protection, they want the government to do it. The same government who at one point hosed us down with water, attacked us with dogs, wouldn’t allow us to eat at their restaurants and told us we couldn’t own guns. The only person responsible for your safety is you. Cops can’t always be there. Obama definitely can’t be there.”⁴⁴

At the same time, on his various platforms (NRA and personal) Noir was a consistent pitch man for the gun industry and its products. With the end of his NRA tenure, Noir’s profile as an industry pitchman has only grown, as illustrated by the February 2022 issue of Guns & Ammo magazine, in which he’s featured in two firearms industry ads.

An ad for Sturm, Ruger’s MAX-9 handgun features “Firearms Enthusiast” Noir holding the concealed carry pistol. The ad copy promises, “The MAX-9 is your next handgun. Whether you’re new to firearms ownership, or you’ve been an enthusiast for years, the versatile MAX-9 is sure to meet your personal protection needs. Comfortable enough to conceal in an inside the waistband holster or pocket holster, this micro-sized pistol has it all ꟷ without compromising on capacity or features.”

An ad for FN’s SCAR assault rifle features a quote from Noir, “It’s the little things that make the biggest difference,” above a set of photos of him with the military-bred weapon. The ad copy explains, “Every SCAR tells a story. Every legend leaves a lasting impression. The same holds true for every rifle in our FN SCAR Family. With an unmatched history of military excellence and an almost never-ending list of features….” Beneath the company’s logo, text urges the reader to “Carry the Future.”

Joining Noir as an NRATV commenter was Gabby Franco, a Latina and the first female shooter to represent Venezuela in the Olympics as well as a contestant on the History Channel’s show “Top Shot.” Franco’s gun industry links have included a “marketing alliance and sponsorship” agreement with Remington Outdoors Company and serving as a “brand ambassador” for Walther Arms. She also hosts Tips & Tactics, sponsored by sporting goods store Cabela’s on the NRA Women’s Network, which is sponsored by gun manufacturer Smith & Wesson.⁴⁵ Like Chris Cheng, Franco has been a member of NSSF’s Inclusion and Outreach Working Group.⁴⁶

Writing on the NRABlog for Hispanic Heritage Month, Franco explained:

“I am passionate to protect the constitution of the USA because I know what happens when politicians start changing it, which is what had happened in my home country Venezuela for decades.”

“You can say that I am an American that knows how to speak Spanish and dance merengue or you can say that I am a Hispanic that speak English and love the American flag. Either way you are correct!”⁴⁷

A 2015 online America’s 1st Freedom article titled “Not Your Father’s NRA?” featured a composite photo of Noir and Franco rising out of an idyllic valley against a backdrop of mountains and touted a “seismic shift” in the organization’s membership:

“The common image of the National Rifle Association portrayed in the media is that of what Colion Noir has humorously dubbed the OFWG—the ‘old, fat white guy.’ But one of the most remarkable trends in American society right now is how interest in guns is expanding and obliterating demographic boundaries. The prominence of women in NRA and the gun-rights movement in general has been widely noted in the last decade — but less attention has been paid to the growing racial diversity within the ranks of gun owners.”⁴⁸

“What all of this means for the future is a new generation of NRA members that might look quite a bit different from its predecessors, but will have the same goal of protecting our Second Amendment rights. We’ll likely see a far more equal blend of men and women, gathered from all racial backgrounds. The youngest gun owners signing up to stand behind the Second Amendment are quietly enabling a seismic shift in the organization’s demographic makeup.”

In July 2016, an NRA blog post announced “NRA Releases Powerful New Ads Featuring Millennial Women,” one of whom was Antonia Okafor, a Black woman described as a “passionate advocate of women’s issues who is the Southwest Regional Director of Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.” According to the blog:

“Antonia [Okafor] has been told her whole life that as a black woman she shouldn’t support the Second Amendment, that she shouldn’t want to have the right to protect herself, and that she should fall in line. Antonia didn’t listen. She’s a millennial woman who refuses to be put in a box. Antonia doesn’t care what names anti-gun bigots call her. She refuses to be a victim. And she’s talking to women just like her every day.”⁵⁰

In the video ad, Okafor states:

“I’ve been told that Black women aren’t supposed to support the Second Amendment. I’ve been told I shouldn’t want to be able to protect myself. I shouldn’t teach my fellow students about their rights, and I shouldn’t speak my mind. Thank God I didn’t listen. To all of those who have called me a sellout, an Uncle Tom or a pawn for someone else, here’s what should scare you. I never changed my beliefs. I woke up and realized that you don’t represent them. You don’t speak for me and you don’t think for me. I am not the victim you need me to be. And I’m talking to more women like me every single day. I’m the National Rifle Association of America and I’m freedom’s safest place.”⁵¹

Like Maj Toure, Colion Noir, and Gabby Franco, Okafor has her own online store.⁵²

During this period, the NRA also promoted Maj Toure and Black Guns Matter, who in a June 2016 YouTube video titled “Maj Toure on the NRA,” urged viewers to “get more informed with the NRA and what it does for us….” Said Toure:

“The other thing that’s very important is especially for people in an urban demographic, you got to get more informed with the NRA and what it does for us and what it has been fighting for. Now, I know a lot of people have a skewed representation for whatever reason of the NRA, the National Rifle Association, and what it is and who their members are, but you’d be doing yourself a tremendous, again, disservice to not at least look into them. You know, you wouldn’t want someone to assume that because you’re from the urban area that you’re going to run up on him and rob him. So it’s not our job to assume that the NRA is just, you know, good old boys with pickup trucks and it’s not. So go onto NRA’s website, they are the largest gun rights advocate, Second Amendment fighting for group in the world. It’s a political organization. It’s a civil liberties organization. So you definitely should go check that out, you can become a member. But before you even decide to do that, you need to do your research and look into the NRA. They have plenty of information.”⁵³

Yet, by April of 2019, Toure had turned on the NRA, telling BREAKERMAG:

“I am no longer an NRA member. I don’t fuck with the NRA. They’re not doing what they say they’re going to do. I don’t see them doing the work in urban America like we are. They say they want to. I just see them taking cool pictures.”

“When I see some genuine changes in that direction, not just hiring a person that happens to be black, then I’ll switch again.”⁵⁴

In addition to NRA spokespeople such as Noir, Franco, and Okafar, the NRA has also promoted organizations that aid its recruitment efforts beyond the traditional target market of white males.

In 2016 an NRA blog highlighted the one-year anniversary of the National African American Gun Association (NAAGA) with an interview with its founder, Philip Smith, who started the organization in February 2015 “in honor of” Black History Month.⁵⁵ The NRA has also aided and subsidized NAAGA’s legal activities. In just one example, in 2019 the organization submitted an amicus brief in the case Rogers v. Grewal before the U.S. Supreme Court.⁵⁶ The counsel of record for NAAGA’s brief was Stephen Halbrook and the brief itself “was funded in part by the NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund.” Halbrook, one of the gun lobby’s go-to attorneys, has published articles in NRA publications, received grants from the NRA, and has served as outside counsel to the organization.⁵⁷ According to Smith, who is not a member of the NRA, the two organizations have a “respectful” relationship.⁵⁸

NAAGA does, however, have an “Official Partnership” with handgun manufacturer Glock. In announcing Glock as the “Official Handgun” of the National African American Gun Association in 2018, Smith stated:

“We are extremely pleased and excited to have Glock as an official partner. They are a Global leader in producing one of the best pistols in the Industry. Our partnership with Glock will help us continue to build a safe and effective training environment for those in our community to learn about Firearms using a world-class semi-automatic handgun platform. Glock understands the big picture for our community and the 2nd Amendment.”⁵⁹

With the ascension to the NRA presidency in 2017 of Pete Brownell, the CEO of Brownells, a gun manufacturer and vendor of ammunition and gun accessories, the industry’s diversity goals and the NRA’s agenda were now publicly one. Brownell’s appointment by the NRA’s board was historic. For the first time in the organization’s history, a member of the gun industry was the titular head of the group. Brownells is also a member of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.⁶⁰

In a July 2017 “President’s Column” published in America’s 1st Freedom headlined “NRA Will Focus On Outreach With a Broad Spectrum of Programs,” Brownell expressed the desire to reach out to the Black community, and emphasized the NRA’s self-proclaimed role as America’s “oldest civil rights organization,” stating:

“Serving to save the rights that protect the liberties of all Americans, we are indeed the oldest civil rights organization in the country. Among the prouder marks of our history, which began in 1871, is that after the Civil War and during the difficult years that followed, the NRA was perhaps the only organization that was totally colorblind.”

“Among our top priorities is an aggressive effort to represent peaceable gun owners from every segment of our society. We will be telling our story. And in doing so, I am certain we will represent a diverse cross section of firearm owners who should be in our family, thus bringing more women and more minorities into to [sic] our community of safety, sport and preservation of freedom.”⁶¹

In the next month’s column, titled “Second Amendment Belongs to All Americans, Regardless of Race, Creed or Gender,” Brownell stated:

“The Second Amendment belongs to every American. The freedom secured by the Second Amendment cannot be put asunder by any conceivable element of discrimination — not by color, race, age, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political ideology or national origin.”

“This is the simple, direct message of the National Rifle Association to all Americans. I’m proud of our minority outreach efforts to date, but more work needs to be done. A central focus of my NRA presidency is to help the NRA be more inclusive than it’s ever been.”

“The Constitution does not care about the tone of your skin, whom you love, which political party you’ve vowed to support or which language you speak — if you’re speaking the language of freedom. If you’re willing to protect your family no matter the cost, and if you want to have a say when it comes to your rights as a law-abiding, responsible American gun owner, then I want you to join us.”⁶²

Brownell blamed the inability of the gun lobby and firearms industry to engage Black and Brown communities on the image created by “anti-gunners,” stating:

“Millions of our fellow Americans, many of them minorities, are becoming gun owners for the very first time. Unfortunately, some seem to have been deceived by false rhetoric about us peddled by anti-gunners. It’s on us to quash the rhetoric. It’s on us to prove anti-gunners wrong.”⁶³

Brownell concluded by emphasizing the duty of the NRA and its members to reach out to these minority communities, citing YouTube videos featuring Colion Noir and noting that the NRA Board’s Urban Affairs Committee had was now renamed the Outreach Committee.⁶⁴

Brownell continued to state the group’s diversity goals in a subsequent NRA profile:

“The long-term success of this 146-year-old organization depends on what we do today. For the NRA to be viable and healthy 30 years from now, we must embrace diversity. Now, more than ever, it’s critical to get our youth out hunting, shooting, fishing and just enjoying the outdoors. It’s equally critical to attract minorities, women, and farm-to-table advocates who represent the next generation of outdoorsmen and -women.”^{65 66}

The “viable and healthy” NRA predicted by Brownell that would result from its embrace of diversity was soon derailed by a series of financial controversies, internal power struggles, and revelations of alleged corruption surrounding Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other senior officials that engulfed the organization soon after and continue as of this writing (including an August 2020 lawsuit filed by the New York State Attorney General to dissolve the organization because of its alleged financial malfeasance).⁶⁸ In May 2019, the NRA filed suit against its longtime public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen.⁶⁹ Among the firm’s responsibilities was running the NRA’s online “news” outlet NRATV, which was the most public face of the group’s efforts targeting minorities and incessantly promoted Noir and other NRA-branded pro-gun “personalities” (it was later revealed that Noir was actually an employee of Ackerman McQueen, not the NRA). In June 2019, the NRA, as part of its battle against Ackerman McQueen, pulled the plug on NRATV, removing the primary platform for its proponents of pro-gun “diversity.”⁷⁰

The NSSF and NRA Exploit COVID-19 In Their Marketing Efforts

The NRA and gun industry have a long history of exploiting crises (real and perceived) and civil unrest not only to market weapons, but to justify even the most extreme arguments in support of gun ownership.

In March 2020, as concerns over COVID-19 took hold across the nation, the NRA released a four-minute video featuring Carletta Whiting, a disabled Black woman with a fibromyalgia-related disability who is also a breast cancer and domestic violence survivor.⁷¹

In a tweet publicizing the video, the NRA stated:

“Americans are flocking to gun stores because they know the only reliable self-defense during a crisis is the #2A.”

“Carletta Whiting, who’s disabled & vulnerable to #coronavirus, asks Dems trying to exploit the pandemic: Why do you want to leave people like me defenseless?”

In the video she warns:

“Here’s something for you to think about. You might be stockpiling up on food right now to get through this current crisis; but if you aren’t preparing to defend your property when everything goes wrong, you’re really just stockpiling for somebody else.”

By July, in the wake of increases in firearm sales, the National Shooting Sports Foundation was quick to assert that an increase in gun sales was the latest proof of the industry’s success in its diversity efforts. In an article that relied on argument by assertion bolstered by carefully triaged word choice published on the organization’s website titled “Diversity in Gun Ownership Nothing New to Firearm Industry,” NSSF chief Larry Keane proclaimed:

“Throw out the stereotypes on American gun ownership. They’re just wrong.”

“Against the backdrop of historically high firearm sales, one major theme is shattering misconceptions that America’s gun owners are ‘old white men.’ A surge in gun buyers across the country in 2020, more than 2.5 million since March alone, has boosted the diversity of the firearm-owning population.”

“While surprising to some, it’s not to those in the firearm industry. Today’s gun buyer looks more like the rest of America. They represent all walks of life and those buying firearms today increasingly are women, minorities and more urban than in previous generations.”⁷²

Tying the organization’s outreach activities to its battle against gun violence prevention efforts, NSSF promised that “increasingly more voices of a diverse American gun owner are responding. The impacts will be significant on the future of Second Amendment rights in America.”⁷³

These assertions were echoed by the NRA in October 2020 in an article titled “New Gun Owners and the Election” that appeared in the organization’s America’s 1st Freedom magazine. Promising that “no, not of all them look the same” and that it was no longer the case that “gun ownership is merely the preserve of white men,” the article argued that:

“many of those new gun owners have a practical stake in the preservation of the Second Amendment, and in the prevention of draconian gun-control laws that attempt to criminalize their peaceful behavior and make scapegoats of the peaceful. Perhaps in the coming election, but certainly soon after, these alterations will yield a change in our political debate.”⁷⁴

The Reality of Black and Latino Americans and Guns

Not surprisingly, the firearms industry and its financial partners in the National Rifle Association never acknowledge the harm guns inflict on our nation, and on communities of color in particular. In 2018 alone, nearly 40,000 lives were lost in gun homicides, suicides, and fatal unintentional shootings. And while gun death and injury affects all Americans, its impact does not fall evenly. Blacks and Latinos are more likely to be victims of gun homicide, while gun suicide has a greater impact on white Americans.

In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, guns claimed 9,801 Black lives at a rate of 22.83 deaths per 100,000. That same year, guns claimed 4,018 Latino lives at a rate of 6.71 per 100,000 and 24,789 white lives at a rate of 12.33 per 100,000. The Black gun homicide victimization rate of 18.61 was more than 11 times the white gun homicide victimization rate of 1.66 per 100,000. The Latino gun homicide victimization rate of 3.66 per 100,000 was more than twice the white gun homicide victimization rate. While only 13 percent of the U.S. population, Blacks represented more than half of all gun homicide victims.

In 2018, the Black male gun homicide victimization rate of 34.22 per 100,000 was five and a half times the Latino male gun homicide victimization rate of 6.22 per 100,000 and more than 14 times the white gun homicide victimization rate of 2.40 per 100,000.

For that year, the Black female gun homicide victimization rate of 4.24 per 100,000 was four times the Latina female gun homicide victimization rate of 1.05 per 100,000 and four and a half times the white female gun homicide victimization rate of 0.94 per 100,000.

In 2018, guns were used in: 54.2 percent of Black male suicides and 27.9 percent of Black female suicides; 41.3 percent of Latino male suicides and 20.1 percent of Latina female suicides; and, 59 percent of white male suicides and 34.0 percent of white female suicides.

In 2018, homicide was the leading cause of death for Black males ages 15 to 24 (95.2 percent involving guns) and ages 25 to 34 (91.7 percent involving guns). For Black females, homicide was the second leading cause of death for victims ages 15 to 24 (82.9 percent involving guns) and the fourth leading cause of death for victims ages 25 to 34 (76.9 percent involving guns).

That same year, homicide was the third leading cause of death for Latino males ages 15 to 24 (87.2 percent involving a gun) and 25 to 34 (79.8 percent involving a gun). For Latina females, homicide was the third leading cause of death for victims ages 15 to 24 (69.7 percent involving guns) and the fourth leading cause of death for victims ages 25 to 34 (56.9 percent involving guns).

In 2018, suicide was the third leading cause of death for Black males ages 15 to 24 (60.3 percent involving guns) and ages 25 to 34 (51.4 percent involving guns). For Black females, suicide was the third leading cause of death for victims ages 15 to 24 (29.9 percent involving guns) and the fifth leading cause of death for victims ages 25 to 34 (32.5 percent involving guns).

That same year, suicide was the second leading cause of death for Latino males ages 15 to 24 (46.2 percent involving guns) and 25 to 34 (39.6 percent involving guns). For Latina females, suicide was the second leading cause of death for victims ages 15 to 24 (23.7 percent involving guns) and the third leading cause of death for victims ages 25 to 34 (20.4 percent involving guns).

The Myth of Self-Defense Gun Use

While the centerpiece of the shared marketing strategy of the gun industry and NRA is the promotion of guns for self-defense, as noted at the beginning of this study, guns are rarely used to kill criminals or stop crimes.

As detailed in the 2020 Violence Policy Center study Firearm Justifiable Homicides and Non-Fatal Self-Defense Gun Use, in 2017, across the nation for all races and sexes, there were only 298 justifiable homicides involving a private citizen using a firearm reported to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program as detailed in its Supplementary Homicide Report (SHR).⁷⁵ That same year, there were 10,380 criminal gun homicides tallied in the SHR. In 2017, for every justifiable homicide in the United States involving a gun, guns were used in 35 criminal homicides. And this ratio, of course, does not take into account the tens of thousands of lives ended in gun suicides or unintentional shootings that year.

Of these 298 justifiable homicide incidents, 146 of the private citizens who used a firearm were Black (Hispanic ethnicity could not be determined because of the inadequacy of data reporting and collection). That same year, there were 7,809 Black homicide victims reported to the SHR. In 2017, for every time a Black American used a gun in a justifiable homicide, 53 Black lives were ended in homicides. And, once again, this ratio does not take into account Black lives lost in suicides or fatal unintentional shootings.

And while relatively few justifiable homicides are reported to the SHR, the question remains of how many times are guns used in non-lethal self-defense incidents. The most accurate survey of self-defense gun use is the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The survey has been ongoing since 1973. According to the NCVS, looking at the total number of self-protective behaviors undertaken by all victims of both attempted and completed violent crime for the three-year period 2014 through 2016, in only 1.1 percent of these instances had the intended victim in resistance to a criminal “Threatened or attacked with a firearm.” For the three-year period 2014 through 2016, the NCVS estimates that there were 16,115,500 victims of attempted or completed violent crime. During this same three-year period, only 177,300 of the self-protective behaviors involved a firearm. Of this number, it is not known what type of firearm was used or whether it was fired or not. The number may also include off-duty law enforcement officers who use their firearms in self-defense.

According to the NCVS, looking at the total number of self-protective behaviors undertaken by all victims of attempted or completed property crime for the three-year period 2014 through 2016, in only 0.3 percent of these instances had the intended victim in resistance to a criminal threatened or attacked with a firearm. For the three-year period 2014 through 2016, the NCVS estimates that there were 45,816,900 victims of attempted or completed property crime. During this same three-year period, only 123,800 of the self-protective behaviors involved a firearm. Of this number, it is not known what type of firearm was used, whether it was fired or not, or whether the use of a gun would even be a legal response to the property crime. And as before, the number may also include off-duty law enforcement officers. In comparison, a 2017 study estimated that there are approximately 250,000 gun theft incidents per year, with about 380,000 guns stolen.⁷⁶ Further, according to the NCVS, there were 470,840 firearm victimizations in 2018 alone.⁷⁷