Over the past two years, there's been an explosion of interest in the right to keep and bear arms in the Jewish community, and for good reason. With a growing number of attacks synagogues and Jewish worshippers across the globe, including the Bondi Beach terror attack in Australia and the recent attack at a Michigan synagogue that was thwarted by armed security, many members of the Jewish faith are taking a vested interest in their own security and safety.
That, in turn, has led to the creation of a number of gun clubs and firearm training associations aimed specifically at Jews, including Lox and Loaded, which was founded just a little more than a year ago. Ahead of the NRA's Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas this weekend, the organization announced that it's partnering with Lox and Loaded to "expand access to training, education, and community-based self-defense."
NEW: Amid a rise in antisemitic attacks across the U.S., now is the time for Jewish Americans to arm themselves and be ready.
— NRA (@NRA) April 15, 2026
NRA’s partnership with @LoxandLoadedLlc is helping expand access to training, education, and community-based self-defense. pic.twitter.com/yDocMouc3u
Gayle Pearlstein, the founder of Lox and Loaded, says the partnership stems from conversations with NRA officials at SHOT Show back in January.
[NRA Director of Public Affairs Justin] Davis, who was one of the people she met that day, said the NRA had been paying attention to the rise in antisemitic attacks and was eager to help.
“Meeting with folks from Lox & Loaded has been incredibly eye-opening,” Davis said, “to see the transformation that’s happening — the community of folks who are realizing that they have to take their safety into their own hands.”
That newfound Jewish enthusiasm comes at a ripe moment for the NRA, which has been beset in recent years by government efforts to break it up and declining revenue overall. Its former chief executive was found guilty of financial misconduct. And the organization filed for bankruptcy, only for a judge to block its petition.
For Pearlstein, the benefits were clear: the NRA still has the resources to throw behind additional training and club recruitment, as well as safety courses that are considered the industry standard. Pearlstein emphasized that Lox & Loaded “does not push guns in people’s faces.”
The Forward insinuates that the NRA is hoping to increase its membership through its affiliation with Lox and Loaded, even though the outlet says that the Jewish gun club has "more 1,000 members" nationwide at the moment. Even with the NRA's waning membership figures, 1,000 or even 2,000 people isn't a lot, and while I'm sure the NRA would be thrilled if every Lox and Loaded member sprang for a $35 NRA membership along with their annual dues of $118 to Lox and Loaded, I'm not convinced that the NRA's primary motivation behind the partnership was to pad the membership rolls.
On the legal front, the NRA has increasingly been partnering with other Second Amendment organizations; something that we never saw during the Wayne LaPierre era. NRA 2.0 seems to be far more willing to engage in coalition building than the previous regime was, and I think that's to the benefit of the organization and its members.
The NRA has always been a big-tent organization. Groups that cater to one segment of gun owners, like Lox and Loaded and the Liberal Gun Club, are not. They may share the same support for the Second Amendment, but their membership is focused on specific demographic groups, even if they're technically open to all. I think it's important that the NRA (and every other national 2A group) remain ecumenical in their defense of the right to keep and bear arms, and in that respect, I'd love to see the NRA partner up with more of these specialized 2A groups in the future. .
There are all kinds of groups out there catering to a various portions of the gun-owning public, and I think it's great that they provide places where their target audience can find an open and inviting introduction to gun ownership and the right to keep and bear arms. Many of them could probably benefit from partnering with the NRA on firearms training and education as well, and I guess time will tell if there's any interest from any of these groups and/or the NRA in doing so.
Editor’s Note: Second Amendment groups across the country are doing everything they can to protect our right to keep and bear arms and the right to armed self-defense.
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