NRA memberships surge after gun protests

Something peculiar is happening in the wake of the anti-gun rhetoric coming from mainstream media and protesters demanding more gun control: Interest in the National Rifle Association and its memberships is soaring through the roof.

In fact, Google searches for the term "NRA membership" are up 4,900 percent since the Feb. 14 school shooting in Florida that took 17 lives, the London Daily Mail reported.

Google Trends shows Google searches for 'NRA membership' have soared 4,900 percent since the Feb. 14 school shooting

As WND reported, some student survivors of the Valentine's Day massacre at a Florida high school are planning March for Our Lives protests in 50 cities on March 24 to demand increased gun-control legislation. The effort has the backing of major left-wing activist groups and celebrities. Organizations such as MoveOn.org, Planned Parenthood, the Women's March LA, Everytown for Gun Safety, Giffords, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and the American Federation of Teachers are fueling the movement.

One of the most outspoken student survivors and anti-gun activists is David Hogg. Some casual gun-rights supporters said attacks by Hogg and the media inspired them to sign up for the NRA.

"Thank you David Hogg for inspiring me," a woman named Christine tweeted Sunday, along with a snapshot of an NRA confirmation email. "I gifted my husband with an NRA membership. I felt now was an important time to support them."

Another Twitter user, "Dan American Dreamer" declared: "Every time David Hogg tweets, an NRA membership gets its wings. Thanks buddy!"

Americans – and even people outside the country – have been tweeting their new NRA membership "thank you" notices under the hashtag #TweetYourNRA Membership.

"I am not an American and I don't own a gun, but I wanted to help support your 2nd Amendment anyway," wrote Justin Blake, who tweeted his new sign-up letter.

Keith Weitzel, who posted his confirmation, wrote: "New member due to the way the media portrays this group every time a tragedy like this occurs. I've educated myself on ALL the facts and see how the media only likes to show one side of the story. Thanks for opening people's eyes."

If the attacks are driving the membership spike, the NRA may see a flurry of new sign-ups after a new billboard was erected by the Mad Dog PAC that declares, "The NRA is a terrorist organization."

The following image of the billboard was posted on Twitter Sunday:

CNN hosted a Feb. 21 town hall on gun violence where angry gun-control activists attacked the NRA and called for increased restrictions on firearms ownership. As WND reported, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said anti-gun activists nearly attacked her at the event. Loesch claimed she feared for her life after the town hall because anti-gun activists rushed the stage at the CNN event and screamed, "burn her."

"You heard that town hall last night, they cheered the confiscation of firearms," Loesch said at CPAC the next day. "And it was over 5K people. I had to have a security detail to get out. I wouldn't have been able to exit that if I did not have a private security detail. There were people rushing the stage and screaming burn her. And I came there to talk solutions."

The CNN event reportedly inspired others to purchase firearms and join the NRA.

"After ten minutes of CNN's town hall 'debate,' I had already searched for gun safes, the closest firearms dealer near me, classes on gun safety, and an NRA membership," wrote Federalist columnist Robert Norman.

He added: "The town hall was a display of tyranny. For tyranny has never come from a single person, but rather from a mob cheering for the destruction of liberty and rights from those with whom they disagree."

Still, several corporations denounced the NRA and began withdrawing discounts offered to the organization's members, including MetLife, Enterprise care rental and Norton AntiVirus.

But favorability ratings for those companies reportedly tanked after consumers learned of their plans to sever ties with the NRA.

"There is no one. NO ONE. Who joins the NRA for a discount on a rental car," NRA member and Oklahoma state lawmaker Cleta Mitchell told Time magazine. "You can rest assured that the NRA will not lose a single member as a result of this. If anything, it should spur people to join the NRA as a means of demonstrating that we who believe in the Second Amendment will not be bullied by these left-wing multi-billionaire corporations."