As recently as 2008, there were 67 congressional Democrats given an 'A' grade by the National Rifle Association (NRA). Fast forward to the most recent election cycle and there were a mere 3 in 2018. As a new New York Times analysis has shown, Democrats are turning their backs on the powerful gun lobby.
The NRA assigns a grade to all politicians elected to Congress according to their postion on gun rights and restrictions. An 'A' grade signifies somebody that consistently advocates gun rights and opposes any restrictions and this decreases in increments to an 'F' grade - where the position is considered the opposite of an 'A' grade individual.
The list of grades is provided to voters to help inform the decision making process of those concerned about gun rights. 'A' grade politicians are usually then endorsed and potentially also receive money and campaign support from the Association. Looking at the whole of Congress, as of 2018, 43.5 percent had an 'A' grade, while for the first time in a number of years the majority (52.5 percent) had an 'F' grade - implying a weakened position of power for the NRA.
