In 1959, Orth accepted a position at the National Rifle Association, where he would remain for the rest of his life. At that time, the NRA was largely apolitical and primarily concerned with promoting marksmanship and recreational shooting. During Orth's tenure, the organization would take on a more active role in legislative debates in response to calls for new, more expansive gun control legislation amidst the political violence of the 1960s. This included the assassinations of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, and U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy in June 1968.