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Article snippet: The National Rifle Association (NRA) may be down, but it’s not out — and the group appears to have been successful in lobbying the most important player in the gun control debate. After saying earlier this month that he wants “very meaningful background checks” on gun purchasers, MORE has since changed his tune. He argued Tuesday that the U.S. already has “very strong background checks” and that officials need to be wary of a potential “slippery slope” where “everything gets taken away.” Democrats attribute that shift, and the language he used, to the work of the NRA. “My expectations that the president will break with the gun lobby and support bipartisan gun reforms were always low, but the speed with which he retreated on the statements he made earlier this month has been remarkable,” Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday. “The NRA is losing money and board members to corruption and mismanagement, but they clearly still have a vise grip on the president,” he added. The NRA in recent months has seen a decline in membership, a leadership exodus, allegations of misspending and a power struggle among its top ranks. On Tuesday, three additional NRA officials reportedly resigned. But in the wake of this month’s mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, that left 31 dead, the NRA has flexed its muscles. In the days after Trump offered his initial support for background checks legislation, he faced intense lobbying from gun rights ... Link to the full article to read more