The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association's annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights, despite the group's eroding revenues and an opposition movement that's growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on.
Even amid internal turmoil and legal woes, the gun ownership culture and movement that the NRA helped build remains formidable. And the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment last summer has given new strength to gun-rights activists seeking to invalidate firearm restrictions across the country.
