It was supposed to be the mass shooting that finally galvanized the country and forced lawmakers into action: 17 people dead after a massacre inside a high school. Emotional calls for gun reform. “I want to feel safe at school.” Then, in came the N.R.A., with a slick campaign and access to the Oval Office, to grind momentum almost to a halt. So how did the N.R.A. pull this off? The president needs N.R.A. endorsement to rally his support base, especially in an election year. Because of that, the N.R.A managed to secure meetings with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Parkland school shooting, when calls for reform were the loudest. The N.R.A. has catchy, succinct slogans that are easy to remember and drive their point across. “To stop a bad guy with a gun, it takes a good guy with a gun.” After Parkland, the N.R.A. spokesperson went head to head with student victims on TV. “Well, I think the A.T.F. is deciding about bump stocks right now. The president ordered the D.O.J. to look into it.” “I’m asking your opinion as a representative of the N.R.A.” “That’s what the N.R.A.‘s position has been. The N.R.A. came — “What’s yours?” “I’m talking for them. These are the 5 million members that I’m here representing.” And on the group’s own channel they broadcasted stuff like this: “These kids ought to be marching against their own hypocritical belief structures. They hate machines that cause death except, hold on, no, you ain’t never going to take their cars away. They hate the idea that guns save lives, except the only reason we’ve ever heard of them is because guns didn’t come soon enough.” The N.R.A. aggressively mobilized a membership drive a few weeks after Parkland. “Now is the time for all of us to join together in defense of the principles that make America the greatest nation on earth.” They claim to have over 5 million members. But that figure has not been confirmed by any outside party. After Parkland, Florida lawmakers passed the first significant gun control bill in more than 20 years: raising the age limit to buy rifles from 18 to 21. The N.R.A. promptly filed suit. The calls for gun reform after the Parkland shooting haven’t stopped, and neither have the N.R.A.‘s efforts to thwart them.