FRQ Prompt 5

A) When it comes to politics, interest groups always play a part. There are many ways that such groups can participate and influence the government to support policies that favor them. Litigation is one such method. Litigation is the process of taking legal action. This method can be efficient and effective at most levels, especially the Supreme Court, to overturn laws or gain support against legislation and effect future laws and legislation. The Supreme Court is the only branch of the government that can deem laws unconstitutional and overturn them, making litigation appealing to certain groups. It is also a good for a group that does not have the numbers because it does not require mass support. Unfortunately, such a course of action can be costly and  is limited to groups who have a large pool of resources.
Contributing to a campaign is also a method that groups use to achieve their goals. Again, this does require a good amount of resources and money so it is not practical for smaller organizations. This does help with influencing the policy makers. Since the campaigns support individuals who could influence policies and the policy agenda, it is a very common way for groups to gain influence throughout candidate support.
Another technique that interest groups use is mass mobilization. This is usually used by a group who wants to overthrow the incumbent and is an effective way to spread a message, increase awareness, and forward reform or change. This does not necessarily require large amounts of money as do the other methods and can be used by groups without financial means but popular support.

B) The National Rifle Association uses campaign contributions as their main method of achieving goals. They are a large organization with a large pool of resources that has the ability to take such monetary steps. Contributions is their method of choice because the issue of guns is a volatile one, especially recently, and litigation would bring unwanted media attention of both the positive and negative nature. As for mass mobilization, the NRA has many members but they need people in office to block legislation to tighten gun controls. Since money plays such a large role in campaigns and the NRA has the means, it is logically the best course of action.