What the NYT fails to understand, is that - I - and -you -, and every other law-abiding American that joins, are the NRA, not some paid lobbyist in Washington, D.C.
This is the heart of the matter, right here. I can't tell you how many times I've made the point to disbelieving libs that the gun-rights movement is really grassroots... that the NRA doesn't wield its considerable power due to industry money (the industry isn't that rich, really), but due to individual memberships from men and women scattered across the country.
The NRA really does represent a large number of people, and these people really do have strong opinions on gun control.