I do not believe they would have taken our guns at any time in history if the NRA was non existent back in the 60's or any other time...because we personally would not have let that happen, and they know it.
They can't even disarm criminals, let alone millions of gun owners. They know that, they also know that even if a very small number of people would resist, their resources run out very fast. 2 Million people a year have the courage to defend themselves against criminals, so there is 2 million right there without even looking that would defend, that is more than the feds can handle right there and there are not that many solders deployed in the war. The NRA was a good organization years ago, they been around a long time, and have done many good things. But they are different now, which is all I will say, I have complained about them before, so I won't do that again, but I have the right to complain because I pumped so much money into them for so many years. Not any more for me, my own choice. If they change to what I want, I will join again maybe. For now, I do not trust them to keep my rights at all, that is my job now.
I do think we need to stay active all the time in whatever organizaton we choose, and also alone with no organization, a few phone calls a month is more than possible.