What are pressure groups and is it accurate to say that they are elitist?

Pressure groups in the UK and the US are bodies of activists who campaign on and seek to influence areas of government policy which they have a common interest in. An example of a UK pressure group would be the CBI (Confederation of British Business), a group which represents business owners (also known as a membership or representative pressure group), and an example of a US pressure group would be the NRA (National Rifle Association), which campaigns for gun rights (also known as an issue pressure group).

Pressure groups are often said to be elitist and concentrate power, as the biggest groups yield the most influence on the system due to their huge finances and resources compared to smaller groups. This was evident with the NRA's $95,000 campaign which led to the rejection of Propostion 63 in Sacremento, California, which would have restricted gun purchases. However others argue that all presure groups are equal under their right to expression under the First Amendment, and that the US system of politics is in fact pluralist.