Why has the US not taken action on gun violence?

Powerful lobbyist

Lobby groups have foiled almost all motions to enact laws for stricter gun control measures in the US, including the National Rifle Association, the National Shooting Sports Association, and the National Association for Gun Rights. The most influential is the NRA.

The NRA, established in 1871, has nearly five million registered members, with nine former US presidents among them.

In 2016, the NRA spent more than $50 million to back Donald Trump and several Republican Senate candidates, according to US non-profit journalism outlet The Trace. It spent $28.5 million on the 2020 election.

The NRA has also been a key proponent of an industry that has produced more than 139 million guns for the commercial market in the two decades since 2000, including 11.3 million in 2020 alone, according to a report recently released by the US Justice Department.

From 1998 to 2020, pro-gun groups paid $171.9 million in lobbying to directly affect legislation, according to OpenSecrets, a non-profit that tracks political spending in the US. The NRA alone paid $63.86 million in that category.

Lobby groups have also long helped anti-gun control politicians run ads. In return, the politicians who benefit will maintain or even strengthen their anti-gun stance when they take office.

A number of Republican politicians including former president Trump made remarks on the stage of the NRA convention in downtown Houston on Friday. They dismissed calls for stricter gun laws, claiming that's not the answer to preventing future tragedies, local media reported.