The Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) is a left-of-center firearms advocacy group that claims to promote “a supportive and inclusive community… [that can] rebuff against reactionary right wing firearms culture.” 1
According to its website, the SRA consists of roughly 10,000 members in local chapters across the country as of 2025, with funding from member dues. 1 SRA has previously hosted gatherings and advocacy events to promote mutual aid. 1
History
Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) claims to have been founded in 2018 through incorporating smaller gun-rights organizations as a not-for-profit LLC based in New Mexico, while tax records show it did not form until 2019. The group claimed it wanted to create an alternative to the National Rifle Association, which is perceived as politically right-leaning. 1 2
In a July 2019 The New Republic article, the SRA was reported to have 2,000 members at the time. It was claimed that one-third identified as LGBT with eight percent identifying as transgender. 3
As of October 2025, SRA claims to have over 50 chapters and 10,000 members in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. 1
Background
As of 2025, the Socialist Rifle Association’s (SRA) founding document claims the group seeks to “advocate for, and advance an inclusive, safe, and healthy firearms culture in America to combat the toxic, right-wing, and exclusionary firearm culture in place today…[and] the implementation of an anti-capitalist platform for protecting and promoting the inherent human right to defend oneself and one’s community.” 4
The founding charter further prohibits members from participating in “exclusionary social ideologies…[like] racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or religious discrimination.” The charter also prohibits members who “have been expelled from other sympathetic or otherwise leftist organizations.” Existing members can be kicked out of SRA for engaging in “fascism, nazism, or neoconfederatism.” 4
According to a 2019 YR Media article, the “Communist Manifesto” and “ABCs of Socialism” were available to view on the SRA’s website at that time. 5
Activities
The Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) claims to oversee local chapters based in all 50 U.S States and Puerto Rico. According to the website, each local chapter provides “range days, social get-togethers, mutual aid, community gardens, and instruction[s]” for members. 1
SRA engages in mutual aid events and advocacy since its founding while claiming to have started by having its North Georgia chapter providing aid to communities in South Carolina affected by Hurricane Florence. 1
The SRA has claimed not to be a “militia,” further declaring that local chapters are allowed to participate in protests and other grassroots events. 1
In September 2025, the SRA released a statement on its website opposing a U.S. Department of Justice proposal to ban firearm ownership for transgender individuals, claiming “we condemn anyone who wishes to sacrifice our trans comrades on the altar of the culture war.” 6
Financials
The Socialist Rifle Association (SRA) has only one publicly available tax record filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) from 2019. On the SRA’s website, the group acknowledged that its tax-exempt status was automatically revoked by the IRS for failing to file tax returns since then. In August 2025, the SRA hired an accounting firm to “do historical bookkeeping” to file past tax returns to “reactivate” its tax-exempt status while acknowledging it owes the IRS penalty fees. 2 7
On its website, SRA publishes annual budgets while claiming to collect roughly $400,000 in annual dues from its members. According to the documents, half of the funds go towards salaries and taxes, one-third of these funds are donated to local chapters, while another quarter go towards operating expenses. 7
Leadership
Alex Tackett is the executive director of the Socialist Rifle Association (SRA), holding the role since 2020. Tackett previously worked as the group’s president from 2018 to 2020. Prior to this, Tackett worked in positions in tech support, manufacturing, and cell phone repair. 8 9 3
Jason Hamilton was a co-founder of the SRA and was listed as its secretary by 2019. Hamilton was previously listed as a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL). He died in 2020 of cancer. 10
In an August 2019 article, transgender socialist activist Faye Ecklar was listed as the SRA’s vice president. 5
References
- “About.” SRA. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://socialistra.org/about/.
- “Socialist Rifle Association Inc.” ProPublica Accessed October 16, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832146166.
- Pein, Corey. “Antifa Is Arming Itself Against a Trump Crackdown.” The New Republic. July 2, 2019. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://newrepublic.com/article/154110/antifa-arming-trump-crackdown.
- “Bylaws.” SRA. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://socialistra.org/bylaws/.
- Johnson, Mitchell. “What Does A Leftist Gun Club Look Like?.” YR Media. August 23, 2019. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://yr.media/news/what-does-a-leftist-gun-club-look-like/.
- “Official Statement on Recent DOJ Discussions.” Socialist Rifle Association. September 13, 2025. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://blog.socialistra.org/official-statement-on-recent-doj-discussions/.
- “Finance Department.” SRA. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://socialistra.org/departments/finance/.
- “Alex Tackett.” LinkedIn. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-tackett-25b47111a/.
- “Socialist Rifle Association Form 990.” ProPublica. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/832146166/202013209349200416/full.
- “Jason Hamilton (1994-2020).” Liberation News. Accessed October 16, 2025. https://liberationnews.org/jason-hamilton-1994-2020//.