The New York attorney general is trying to break up the National Rifle Association over allegations of mismanagement and the abuse of member money.

Adam Winkler, a UCLA law professor who specializes in the Second Amendment, says this is just the start. The legal battle could go for another year or two.

If the NRA dissolves at that point, it would have a huge impact on American politics, but that doesn't mean the end of the gun debate.

“What happens is the resources of the NRA would be distributed in a way that is designed to match the donors' intent,” said Winkler. “And that means that money would go to gun rights organizations and would go towards fighting against gun control in most, most circumstances.”

Winkler says the NRA dissolving isn't the only potential outcome. The attorney general is also seeking less drastic repercussions, like removing certain in-house lawyers or board members. That includes Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president.

We don't yet know exactly what evidence there is. Winkler says the AG’s case has at least one advantage, the NRA’s former public relations firm, Ackerman McQueen, is cooperating.

“And so, the attorney general is going to have on her side an insider who's seen everything that's happened in the NRA for the last three decades,” said Winkler. “I think the NRA is in big trouble.”

He says the lawsuit could also impact the November election by energizing pro-gun voters looking to support the NRA and the Republicans.

Winkler says it's also likely to mean less NRA spending compared to 2016.

WASHINGTON —

The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear an appeal to expand gun rights in the United States in a New York case over the right to carry a firearm in public for self-defense.

The case marks the court's first foray into gun rights since Justice Amy Coney Barrett came on board in October, making a 6-3 conservative majority.

The justices said Monday they will review a lower-court ruling that upheld New York’s restrictive gun permit law. The court's action follows mass shootings in recent weeks in Indiana, Georgia, Colorado and California.

The case probably will be argued in the fall.

The court had turned down review of the issue in June, before Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.

New York is among eight states that limit who has the right to carry a weapon in public. The others are: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

In the rest of the country, gun owners have little trouble legally carrying their weapons when they go out.

Paul Clement, representing challengers to New York's permit law, said the court should use the case to settle the issue once and for all. "Thus, the nation is split, with the Second Amendment alive and well in the vast middle of the nation, and those same rights disregarded near the coasts," Clement wrote on behalf of the New York State Rifle & Pistol Association and two New York residents.

Calling on the court to reject the appeal, the state said its law promotes public safety and crime reduction and neither bans people from carrying guns nor allows everyone to do so.

Federal courts have largely upheld the permit limits. Last month an 11-judge panel of the federal appeals court in San Francisco rejected a challenge to Hawaii’s permit regulations in an opinion written by a conservative judge, Jay Bybee.

"Our review of more than 700 years of English and American legal history reveals a strong theme: government has the power to regulate arms in the public square," Bybee wrote in a 7-4 decision for the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The issue of carrying a gun for self-defense has been seen for several years as the next major step for gun rights at the Supreme Court, following decisions in 2008 and 2010 that established a nationwide right to keep a gun at home for self-defense.

In June, Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, complained that rather than take on the constitutional issue, "the Court simply looks the other way."

But Barrett has a more expansive view of gun rights than Ginsburg. She wrote a dissent in 2019, when she was a judge on the federal appeals court in Chicago, that argued that a conviction for a nonviolent felony — in this case, mail fraud — shouldn’t automatically disqualify someone from owning a gun.

She said that her colleagues in the majority were treating the Second Amendment as a "second-class right, subject to an entirely different body of rules than the other Bill of Rights guarantees."

DENVER, Colo. — Gun sales hit record highs across the United States in the last year, with more African Americans buying guns than in years past, specifically Black women.

Some believe political unrest is driving higher sales. Others say it’s the new presidential administration threatening to tighten gun laws.

For the 1770 Armory and Gun Club that just started towards the end of 2020, it was about creating a welcoming safe space to learn.

Anubis Heru co-founded the Armory, which is settled in Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood. He realized his community had no place of their own to learn about guns.

"It's important to have someone that looks like you," said Heru. "When you're learning certain things, you just naturally feel more comfortable when you're learning from someone who understands your walk and where you're from."

And after last year, he knew it was needed.

"A lot of people don't feel safe with, you know, the current climate, with certain political groups that are in operation," explained Heru.

Now, the Black community has a space within the Armory to learn a powerful lesson.

"Your Second Amendment is something that doesn't guarantee your safety. It guarantees your ability to be able to defend yourself or fight back," said Heru.

That's why he's all about gun safety, education and practice.

All that training is easier at the Armory because the shooting range is a dry-fire shooting range, meaning there are no bullets, just laser cartridges that attach to guns. This saves people from buying expensive ammunition and helps to make a less intimidating environment for beginners.

"Whether from our Latino brethren or LGBTQ family, they all say pretty much the same thing is like, 'Hey, you know, we feel comfortable here.' So, that's one of the reasons that we're here, and for women especially," said Heru.

Heru said he was surprised how many women immediately signed up for classes and came out to the club’s live fire range nights. He’s glad women are seeing this gun club isn’t a boy's club.

"I just actually fell in love with it," said Jeanine Haliburton, who just joined the club.

She’s not alone. Women made 40% of gun purchases in 2020, and gun sales to Black Americans were up by 60%.

Almost half of the record-breaking 20 million guns sold last year were to first-time buyers, like Sonya Edwards.

"I finally said, 'let's do it,' because I think this is something that needed to be done in my heart," said Edwards. "We just need to be protected because any and everything is happening right now."

Both these women joined the club to find safety in a time of uncertainty.

"I think that's a fear for, you know, anybody of color," said Haliburton of worrying about safety.

That's why this club gives them comfort.

"We're not that soft target anymore," said Edwards. "You know, we're gaining knowledge, and we're starting to become a hard target."

Every night at the range is helping do that by breaking down barriers and building community.

"I like the armory because while they are Black-owned, they're not Black exclusive," said Edwards.

The group is helping to make gun ownership more accessible while giving these women a space in a male-dominated world.

"We’re like sisters. We can learn together. We can build together. We can cry together. We can laugh together. Just come on down," said Edwards.

Heru agrees this club was built for everyone, and he hopes it only grows for years to come.

"We're here for the community. We were created for the community, and the community is of all walks of life, colors, creeds, sexual orientations," said Heru "We're really honored and privileged to be here in this neighborhood."