Dear Democratic lawmakers: There is nothing you can do to win the approval of the NRA. There is nothing you can do to win the approval of the NRA because the NRA is an explicitly conservative organization whose "leaders" espouse explicitly conservative ideals (and peddle in explicitly far-right theories about government gun seizures, the danger of black youth these days, and the coming collapse of civilization). You can kowtow to them as much as you want and they will still
work to defeat you.
Last year, Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) voted against a popular proposal to require people who purchase firearms online or at gun shows first complete a background check. On Tuesday, however, the National Rifle Association announced a $1.3 million ad buy in Pryor’s home state of Arkansas supporting Pryor’s Republican opponent Rep. Tom Cotton.
Key words there are
popular proposal, because closing the obvious loophole of allowing violent or unstable people to get guns so long as they get them out of a traveling circus tent is a
popular proposal both in Pryor's home state and the rest of America. If you can't bring yourself to suppose that maybe we should be checking whether the edgy guy buying the AR-15 is wanted for armed robbery in five states, congratulations: you've fully internalized NRA paranoia about even edgy guys wanted for armed robbery in five states being allowed to get guns if the alternative is cruel, cruel paperwork, but it's not going to stop the NRA pouring money into your far-right opponent's campaign anyway.
Because, after all, the NRA is explicitly a conservative organization. They are extremists whose leadership preaches militia-based paranoias about needing to overthrow the government someday or battle the invading forces of the United Nations. They're not going to support you even if you backstab every last voter in your state on their behalf, because you are one of the suspicious types their pudding-brained members think they might need to overthrow.