THOUGHT THAT COUNTS

NRA Considered Creating Columbine Victims’ Fund—but Didn’t

“The message that it will send is that even the NRA was brought to its knees, and the media will have a field day with it.”

The National Rifle Association considered establishing a $1 million donation fund for the victims of the Columbine shooting but ultimately decided to do little for them, according to a tape obtained by NPR of a 1999 meeting of NRA leadership held not long after the shooting, which left 13 dead. The gun rights group’s yearly convention was slated for just a few weeks later and a few miles from Columbine High School. Executives, including current CEO Wayne LaPierre, considered canceling it. NRA lobbyist Marion Hammer advised that scrapping the confab was unthinkable. She said, “The message that it will send is that even the NRA was brought to its knees, and the media will have a field day with it.” Then-president of the NRA Charlton Heston would later point a finger at the media in his address at the convention: “Why us? Because their story needs a villain.” The NRA responded to the tapes in a statement: “It is disappointing that anyone would promote an editorial agenda against the NRA by using shadowy sources and ‘mystery tapes.’”