The NRA was founded after the [[American Civil War]] by former Union soldiers seeking to improve the shooting skills of the population at large.
The NRA is non-partisan and has endorsed both [[Republican Party|Republicans]] and [[Democratic Party|Democrats]]. It most often endorses Republicans, as that party is more prone to fielding candidates receptive to Second Amendment rights.
In 2004 the NRA successfully opposed renewal of the federal assault weapons ban of 1994, which banned many features of certain semiautomatic rifles and certain types of removable magazines, against a campaign to make the ban permanent and expand it.<ref>http://www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=886</ref> The ban expired at midnight, September 13, 2004.{{fact}}