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The Catholic Church example is a good one, but I'd like to point out several key distinctions. First off, its an old enough institution that a separate History of the Catholic Church article exists, which makes the main article in reality The current status of the Catholic Church or maybe A summary of the Catholic Church, this is not the case for the NRA. We have a single article that is trying to address its entire history along with its cumulative activities, so the Lead needs to reflect that. Second, with all of the various controversy involving the Church, none of it mentioned until the last paragraph. Third, it's Lead 1st sentence is fairly generic simply stating that its the largest organization of its type and how many members it has. I would be fine with something similar, ""The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a nonprofit organization with 5 million members."" But quite frankly, that seems too simplistic and not terribly descriptive or informative.

Furthermore, if we take a clinical look at what they do today, its a variety of things that range from publishing and multi-media (television, internet, etc.) to training and certification programs to historical preservation along with lobbying and other political activities. So to describe the organization in the 1st sentence using any kind of phrase that includes ""gun control"", gun rights"", or the like is just bad writing and purposely ignoring significant parts of the article, hence my original suggestion for the Lead first sentence. At the very least, I don't see why the first sentence can't just be generically descriptive. Maybe something like, ""The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a nonprofit organization that primarily serves as an advocate for firearm related issues and activities. Originally founded in 1871 in New York by journal editor William Conant Church and General George Wood Wingate to promote marksmanship within the United States military, the organization has gone through several transformations as well as expanded its purpose and goals. In the 21st century, it has become one of the largest and most influential lobbyist groups in Washington D.C. as well as a large, multi-title magazine publisher, an advocate for hunters, outdoorsmen, and the , and one of the largest firearm training and certification program operators in the U.S.""

That said, I will try to find other examples, but given this list (:Category:501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations) it does not seem difficult to find an article with a Lead first sentence like I've described. By the way, I'm advocating for a rewrite of the ENTIRE WP:Lead, not just the 1st sentence. I think that Policy is fairly clear, but IMO to adhere to it properly in this case Editor's need, to quote the WP:Lead page, a specialized understanding of the subject in order to write it in a NPOV manner that a non-specialist will understand. This is something beyond what a magazine subscription or occasional mailing will provide.  (Talk) ☮ღ☺ "