I have been a member of the NRA throughout the (short) period that I have been shooting.
I, also, have felt annoyed by the endless requests to update my membership, some of them arriving within 90 days after I have done so.
What I have chosen to do instead of endlessly extending my membership is to send money directly to the NRA-ILA, and to their Political Action Committee. I am currently a student, and I had sworn that I would not make any political donations until I was working 40 hours a week again. However, the times are just too critical. I just sent the PAC a check which is one of the largest political donations I have ever made.
I agree with what was said above about the need for more progun activism in the media. However, the NRA cannot do it all themselves. All of us who know the truth as it has been documented by Lott, Kopel, and other researchers need to do our part to get these facts out in letters to the editor, guest editorials in our local papers, and in any other forum we can. The facts are overwhelmingly on our side, but getting them out is our responsibility.