they found no significant the national rifle association and its allies have found their political influence under fresh scrutiny as gun control advocates push for new restrictions and corporations sever their ties in the wake of the deadly high school shooting last month in parkland , florida .
dr. anupam jena , the study 's senior author and an associate professor of health when gun enthusiasts gather for the national rifle association annual conventions , when about 80,000 gun owners spend a few days focused on seminars , events and meetings , america seems to be safer , new research suggests .
reuters john sommers ii the authors say it ’s evidence that firearms - even in the hands of experienced users - are inherently dangerous and accidents do n’t just happen among novices .
but outside the gun control debate in washington , membership in the nra and gun rights groups across the country , which includes more than five million americans , is spiking , according to people familiar with the numbers .
the spike is n’t a surprise , as such increases happen whenever people feel their second amendment rights are under threat , and many groups reported similar surges after the 2012 shooting at sandy hook elementary school in newtown , connecticut .
 
( reuters health ) - gunshot - related deaths and injuries temporarily show a dramatic decline when the national rifle association is holding its annual convention , according to a new analysis in the new england journal of medicine .
the researchers behind the work — health policy expert anupam jena , md , phd of harvard medical school and economist andrew olenski of columbia university — also looked at crime rates during those times .
further reading making a different case for guns as a public health issue the finding was based on an analysis of insurance data on gun injury rates during nra conventions from 2007 through 2015 , as well as rates three weeks before and three weeks after each of the conventions .