Well..... theres a pretty strong argument that the NRA is the only reason we still have any 2nd Amendment left to quote.
Without them, and without discounting the efforts of the VERY FEW hardcore progun citizens in this country, we would likely be in the same fix as our Canuck, Aussie and UK brethren.
What NRA bashers tend to forget is that ours is a government of consensus and compromise, and no amount of martyrdom or self righteousness about natural rights is going to change that.
Idealism is nice in a vacuum, but short of taking up arms against the government the NRA is all we've got -soccer moms outnumber machine gun owners in this country by about 4 million to one.
Think anybody in congress is scared of GOA? Think again.
But until WE change the attitudes of about 225 Million fellow Americans, the GOA position will remain fringe and outflanked.