Nicholas Kristof: Inside the N.R.A.’s campaign of hysteria

After Thousand Oaks, examining the N.R.A.'s evolution View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, November 8, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Kristof »]( [We tracked the N.R.A’s evolution from a largely apolitical group of hunting enthusiasts to a far-right political organization through its magazine covers.]( We tracked the N.R.A’s evolution from a largely apolitical group of hunting enthusiasts to a far-right political organization through its magazine covers. Photographed by Tony Cenicola Another day and another tragic shooting, this time at a bar in Thousand Oaks, Calif., with 12 reported dead so far in addition to the gunman. There are disturbed or violent people all over the world, but only in the United States do we give them ready access to assault weapons and bump stocks. That’s partly because of the N.R.A., so we put together [this multimedia look]( at the organization’s evolution toward extremism — told through its own magazine. I can already hear some people objecting that one shouldn’t politicize a tragedy. But it seems to me that we should learn lessons to save other lives. That’s what we do with other tragedies, and there has been a particularly robust effort to learn from auto accidents to improve vehicle safety. The result has been seat belts, air bags, padded dashboards, graduated licenses for young drivers, crackdowns on drinking and driving, divided highways, roundabouts, better street lighting, and so on. We’ve reduced the auto fatality rate per 100 million miles driven by more than 90 percent since the 1920s. In the same way, we can’t eliminate every gun death, but we could reduce suicides, homicides and accidents with universal background checks, red flag laws, safe storage, buybacks, etc. An educated guess is that we could reduce the death toll by about one-third, or about 1,000 lives a month. The reason I [focus on the N.R.A.]( is that I think it is a powerful reason the U.S. hasn’t pursued this safety approach, and because I think the organization is vulnerable. Polls suggest that N.R.A. members themselves do support sensible regulations, even as the N.R.A. resists, and there are some signs that more voters are turning against the organization. Hence our piece on the N.R.A.’s [evolution to extremism](. You’re wondering how we managed to get this piece done in a few hours? Actually, here’s the terrible secret: We have been working on it for months, knowing that there would be a mass shooting. We were almost finished with it yesterday evening, and then I woke up and saw the shooting news, so I wrote a new top that referred to the California shooting and my colleagues Jessia Ma and Sahil Chinoy made some tweaks — and there it was. It’s a horrible thing that we can be confident that there will be a mass shooting in America quite regularly. This will technically be my Sunday column, but I’m sending out the newsletter early because [the piece was just published online]( and I wanted my newsletter readers to see it first. The big question about Jeff Sessions’ ouster is, of course, what this does to the Robert Mueller investigation. Since the new acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, has already criticized the investigation and explained how it could be gutted by defunding it, he may have to recuse himself from presiding over it. [Here’s a good explainer]( by my colleague Charlie Savage. Repressive governments periodically ban reporters, and I'm banned everywhere from Venezuela to Bahrain to Congo. But [it's appalling to see this happen in the U.S]( with the White House suspending the credentials of CNN's Jim Acosta — and then lying about him, claiming he grabbed a woman even though the video clearly shows he didn't. A basic principle of a democracy is that leaders don't get to choose the journalists who cover them. Now, [here’s my take]( on how the N.R.A. evolved to become the extremist organization it is today. Book Watch Isabel Sawhill is an economist who studies working class Americans. Her new book, “[The Forgotten Americans]( is a look at the economics behind the kinds of stories told in “[Hillbilly Elegy]( It’s wonky but, to me at least, very interesting in its policy recommendations. Inner Wonk Devah Pager, a first-rate sociologist at Harvard, has just died at the age of 46. She did outstanding work exploring racial discrimination in particular, and in her memory I’m posting [this journal article]( she wrote about an experiment that shows how much more difficult it is for blacks and Latinos to be hired. Indeed, blacks and Latinos with no criminal history found it as difficult to get jobs as whites just released from prison. RIP, Devah. ADVERTISEMENT You can connect with me on [Facebook](. If you have friends who might enjoy this newsletter, forward this email or tell them they can [sign up here](. Send feedback or tech questions to newsletters@nytimes.com. Recent Columns [Forget Excuses. What Counts Is Winning Elections.]( The midterms offered some painful lessons for Democrats. [It’s Time to Talk About the N.R.A.]( Saving lives is not just about changing laws, but also about defanging the N.R.A. What I’m Reading in The Times [Democrats’ Biggest Wins Are in Statehouses]( By BRYCE COVERT Forget Congress. State legislatures are where real progressive action is most likely to happen. [Think 2020 Will Be Better for Senate Democrats? Think Again]( By MICHAEL TOMASKY Without a smarter approach to rural America, liberals will be stuck in the minority for a long time. We’ve got more newsletters! You might like The Week in Good News.  It’s not all bad out there. Start your weekend with a smile. [Get The Week in Good News email.](  ADVERTISEMENT FOLLOW NICHOLAS KRISTOF [Facebook] [FACEBOOK]( [Twitter] [@nickkristof]( [Instagram] [nickkristof]( Get more [NYTimes.com newsletters »]( | Get unlimited access to NYTimes.com and our NYTimes apps. [Subscribe »]( ABOUT THIS EMAIL You received this message because you signed up for NYTimes.com's Nicholas Kristof newsletter. [Unsubscribe]( | [Manage Subscriptions]( | [Change Your Email]( | [Privacy Policy]( | [Contact]( | [Advertise]( Copyright 2018 The New York Times Company 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018