During the days and weeks after the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the leaders at the National Rifle Association nearly set a precedent that would’ve confounded the people in charge of the NRA today: they were going to express sympathy to the victims.
According to secret recordings of discussions among NRA leaders that NPR obtained, the association leaders considered providing a $1 million fund to help the victims of the school shooting, which started a new era when school shootings are someone commonplace. The conversations were secretly recorded by one of the parties involved, and NPR verified their authenticity with multiple others.
The tapes also demonstrate the contempt NRA leaders had for their members, with staff calling the more radical members “hillbillies”, “wackos”, “nuts”, “crazy” and “fruitcakes” who might go off script after Columbine and embarrass them in the media. At the time of the school murders, the NRA was planning its annual convention in Denver, 15 minutes north of Columbine, and some leaders proposed delaying or canceling the convention, but it wasn’t feasible, they decided. They could also use the convention as a platform to promote their agenda without it being dominated by the extremists.
The leadership was on another call when the topic of the juxtaposed optics of people partying and laughing at the NRA convention over the video of the children’s funerals arose. Leaders started discussing what they could do to show their support for the victims.
NRA OFFICIAL KAYNE ROBINSON: Is there something concrete that we can offer? Not because guns are responsible, but because we care about these people? Is there anything? … Does that look crass or …
NRA LOBBYIST JIM BAKER: You mean the legislative?
ROBINSON: No, I’m talking about something concrete …
PR CONSULTANT TONY MAKRIS: Like a victims fund …
ROBINSON: Yeah, we create a victims fund, and we, uh, we give the victims a million dollars or something like that, uh. … Does that look bad, or does it look uh …
MAKRIS: Well, I mean, that can be twisted too. I mean, why … why are you giving money? You feel responsible?
BAKER: No. … Well, you’re — true. It can be twisted, but we feel sympathetic and …
NRA SPOKESPERSON BILL POWERS: Respectful.
Ultimately, the NRA created no victims’ fund.