Conservatives have long viewed use of force by federal agents as tyrannical — even when that threat of force was entirely made up.

Although he liked to portray the NRA as representing grassroots gun owners, LaPierre was a corporate lobbyist and his major clients were the corporations whose profits grow when there are few restrictions on the sale and ownership of guns and ammunition.

The gun group might be less sturdy than it appears.

The NRA’s more than 150-year history spans three distinct eras.