We don’t need to the NRA to buy and use weapons. Besides, the NRA did enough damage to our purchasing abilities with their 1934 NFA and their 1968 GCA that prohibited all types of sales. If it weren’t for them we could be buying guns in the mail, across State lines, and without NICS.
The NRA didnt start its lobbying arm, the NRA-ILA, until 1975. To blame them for prior legislation is dishonest.