It seems the New York Attorney-General has filed suit to dissolve the National Rifle Association (NRA) in response to what she calls "fraud and abuse".
Attorney General Letitia James claims in a lawsuit filed Thursday that she found financial misconduct in the millions of dollars and that it contributed to a loss of more than $64 million over a three-year period.
The suit alleges that top NRA executives misused charitable funds for personal gain, awarded contracts to friends and family members, and provided contracts to former employees to ensure loyalty.
There's more at the link.
On the one hand, I'm reluctant to see the NRA disappear, because it does so much good for the shooting community: education and training programs, assistance to local shooting ranges, etc. On the other hand, as I've said in these pages before, the open corruption exhibited by its current leadership is inexcusable. There's no way I'll donate to or support the organization unless and until a wholesale house-cleaning has been conducted, and Wayne LaPierre and all his cronies and supporters are evicted from the NRA once and for all.
I'm very conflicted about this lawsuit. It's been filed by an Attorney-General who's been outspoken in her determination to tackle the NRA as a symbol of the "gun culture" she deplores. I'm sure there's political animus involved on her part. On the other hand, if she's right about finding corruption and illegal activity in the NRA, she's entirely within her rights to file for its dissolution - and that may not be a bad thing. Indeed, if LaPierre and his cronies are determined to hold onto control no matter what, it may be the only way to get rid of them. The problem will be to stop them moving into other organizations and mounting a take-over bid. Prison terms might be the only way to avoid that.
Whatever happens, the shooting sports community will be impacted by this mess. I suggest we all do our best to support other activist groups who'll work to support our Second Amendment rights - organizations such as Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment Foundation, etc., as well as regional and local groups. I also hope right-minded individuals within the NRA are already taking steps to "export" its training programs and other important operations to other groups, so that if the NRA disappears, they can continue seamlessly under another umbrella.
Even if the NRA survives, there's the problem of what to do with those complicit in any illegal or corrupt acts. I hope they go to prison. They deserve no better, and they've forfeited our trust. Strip them of their ill-gotten gains, and let them rot behind bars.
Peter
18 comments:
"she's entirely within her rights to file for its dissolution"
Is she? I would have thought that filing criminal charges against those who actually engaged in illegal activity would be far more appropriate. Does she have any legal authority to dissolve an Organization because some of it's leadership abuses their positions, especially when there is a long record of members (both general and board) trying to expose the corruption and change the leadership. If she did not have such a visceral hatred of the NRA ("It is a terrorist organization") then she might be pushing hard for criminal charges and a consent agreement on how the Organization is run that involved some serious changes to the Bylaws, changes that allowed the members and board to see the financials and have more of a say in the operations which are currently (AFAIK) pretty much 100% run by the Executive Board and LaPierre.
I have not supported the NRA since North tried to deal with the corruption and Wayne and cronies ousted him. What is a better organization for gun rights?
tweell...Gun Owners of AMERICA...CCKBA..2ND AMND. foundation..ISRA...TEXAS STATE Rifle Assoc....Your States Rifle Association. NRA has done the right thing by suing the IGNORANT TW?T.
Truth is though, we NEED a lobbyist for our rights... sad that we need a lobbyist for our God-given RIGHTS... at the federal level. I guess the solution is either to rout the corruption from the NRA, or nationalize another reputable gun-rights organization.
The corruption of the NRA has been known about for years... to members and opponents alike. Strange, the NY AG decides to pursue this... RIGHT NOW... Funny; she thinks she can silence the legal, law-abiding gun owner in such a way... Let's take her to school... on Election Day...
Just because the leadership of the NRA is corrupt and using NRA funds to live lavish lifestyles is no reason to disband the NRA.
If so, then go after the March of Dimes. Go after United Way. Go after all the pet 'charities' of the United Nations, especially the United Nations Children's Fund. Go after the NAACP. Go after the NCAA. Go after US Olympics.
Seriously, she and others are using the corruptness of NRA leaders as an excuse to kill the NRA. Which doesn't fly. Prosecute NRA leaders for embezzlement, for corruption, for all the illegal things they do. Yes, Looking at you Mr. LaPierre!
But dissolve the corporation? No. That's just being a vindictive... bad name for a female. And a tad bit of overreach.
As NYAG, she could use the powers of her office attempt to force a leadership change, but kill the organization? Tad bit of overreach there.
The NRA has always been a FUD player in the Gun Rights World. Yes, they do good work but their lack of support of the whole spectrum of 2A rights is not shocking, considering they push hunting and shooting sports, and have from Day 1.
We need the NRA, a cleaned up NRA, for all its reach. Education being one of them. We also need the NRA to stay so it can provide covering fire for all the other gun-rights organizations.
If they're going to play that game, they'd better be looking at the Red Cross, the United Way, Planned Parenthood, The March of Dimes, Susan G. Kolman Foundation, and the several other corrupt charities.
NRA doesn't claim to be a charity, either. It is a member driven organization of like-minded members. The officers and board of directors are answerable for their actions to the membership.
Now, does the NRA need reformed at the top? Definitely. It has needed reform since the late 80's. I've always seen LaPierre as a grifter. Neal Knox was the most vocal about it back then, but he was always poo-pooed. After banging my head against the brick wall of reform for many years, I figured it was time for me to pull my money out and leave that club. But I sure do not want to see it dissolved.
Hey Peter;
I am torn; I support the training programs of the NRA and have for years, I teach boy and cub scouts to shoot every year safely every year plus the the occasional adult. I pay to keep my certifications current as I pay to keep my membership. I don't do more than that because of the corruption at the higher levels. The NYAG has been making noise about going after the NRA for years, in the 1990's the Clinton Justice Dept made a play for the membership list of the organization and I was concerned because of the vindictive nature AG Reno and her crowd. My concerns haven't lessened. What the NRA needs to do is to clean house and MOVE out of New York and recharter in a more gun friendly state like Texas or what have you but maintain an office in DC for lobby purposes because they are very good at putting pressure on congresscritters. They also need to step up their fight on 2A issues and not let the other gun organizations do all the heavy lifting and they allneed to get a united front because once the democrats get their crap together, they will be united because they are hive animals, we HAVE to be united to survive the onslaught.
@MrGaribaldi,
I don't think you're torn. As Ben Franklin said, we must hang together or we will surely hang separately.
There is no way for the membership to fix the problem, not with a BOD that large. For that matter, the board would seem to also be corrupt, or stupid, or naive at best. (The smart directors have already bailed.) Wayne has set it up so it can't be changed or fixed. Only a direct threat to the members of that board can effect a useful change, nothing less will suffice. Throw them all in jail, and start over.
I'll go with Micheal Bane's thoughts on this, considering the suits are being brought by our blood enemies, 90 days before a critical election....
About the NRA...
-- I support the NRA. i have supported the NRA my entire life and I will not stop now.
-- Wayne LaPierre is not the NRA. I made it clear a couple of years ago that I thought Wayne needed to resign with honor for the good of the organization. Wayne was a hero, a warrior for the 2A. But his time has past.
-- I understand fighting; I understand not caving under pressure. But intransigence is a horrible flaw I see in myself, and I know what it looks like. There is a point where hubris is utterly self-destructive, where you lose even if you "win."
-- WE ARE AT WAR. The AG of New York is a blood enemy, a person who seeks the destruction of the gun culture, and a great way to start is by destroying our primary lobbying organization.
-- As near as I can tell the entire state government of New York is a bunch of $20 whores trying to out-blow each other. There's not a damn one of them that is not as crooked as hell, and we would do well to remember that.
-- The goal is to strip the NRA of funds and give those funds to our enemies...think about that.
-- All the other gun organizations -- that I do indeed support -- do not have 1/100th of the NRA's sway. That is just the truth. I have no doubt that should the NRA disappear, WE won't disappear, and another organization will rise. But that takes time, and time is the one thing we do not have.
-- I do not agree with every decision the NRA has made, but I do understand that sometimes there are HARD F#%KING DECISIONS that have to be made. Decisions where much of what is going on is under the surface. I have in my time as an activist been involved in similar decisions, and I hated every moment of it. But let me say this again...WE ARE AT WAR, and we stand to lose everything if we fail.
-- The NRA Board of Directors have failed in their fiduciary and oversight responsibilities. Many of those BoD members are my friends, and it pains me to say that. It is nothing I haven't said privately as well. Nonetheless, this is not sufficient reason to burn down the house.
-- Our enemies are celebrating this...what does that tell you?
-- I unconditionally agree with and support the NRA's decision to support Trump early on, and I agree with them going all-in with Trump for this election.
-- NRA membership has been, I am told, is booming, and the organization is uniquitely situated to help and support the flood of new shooters.
This is from NSSF, our industry's trade association, today, and I'll leave you with it:
"NSSF, the trade association for the firearm industry, is troubled by the politically-driven decision of New York Attorney General Letitia James to seek to dissolve the National Rifle Association, America’s oldest civil rights organization. The lawsuit filed today by Attorney General James seeks to punish the over five million members of the National Rifle Association based on mere allegations of possible wrongdoing by a few individuals.
NSSF is deeply concerned about the apparent political agenda to silence the strongest voice in support of the Second Amendment ahead of the election in November.
This lawsuit, and one filed today by the District of Columbia Attorney General, should concern all Americans who cherish both the First and Second Amendments to our Constitution regardless of their views on what laws and regulations are appropriate to address the criminal misuse of firearms."
The NRA is incorporated in New York State. The NRA Foundation, the charitable arm of the organization, is incorporated in Washington, DC. Thus the reason for the identical law suit by the AG of the District of Columbia against the NRA Foundation. What stands out to me are two things.
1) Attorney Generals filing law suits to dissolve an organization over alleged corruption and misuse of funds. Civil suit instead of a criminal prosecution, or criminal indictments, or even a criminal investigation. That ain't fish I'm smelling, but it does stink to high heaven.
2) What happens every time the left attacks the NRA? The wider gun-owning community loses its' collective mind and gets out and votes Republican. With Antifa, BLM, NFAC, and all the other groups running rampant right now, do the Democrats REALLY want to win the election this fall? All those groups are being used by the Dems at the moment, but, if they win the election, the Dems won't be riding that angry lion any longer, they'll have gotten off of it while it's still angry. They'll be destroyed by the very monster they've created. So, I seriously have to wonder if it isn't an intentional attempt at sabotaging their chances in November with the hope that they'll be able to pick up the pieces better in 4 years.
(1) Questions of why today's actions in New York and in Washington DC are civil actions were addressed in the announcement. Specific precedents for dissolution as a civil remedy were discussed. The possibility of criminal actions by other offices remains open. The thrust of this action is failure of oversight especially not following rules and regulations for non-profits though it may be proven that Mr. La Pierre should have reported some of the spending on his account as income and paid taxes on the additional income.
(2) Please support any and all pro-gun organization starting first at a local level then a state level.
(3) The NRA Foundation does indeed claim to be a charity 501c3 and is being sued in Washington DC for allowing Mr. La Pierre to spend charitable donations on his own personal expenses. Not a charity in the sense that contributions are tax deductible but NRA General Operations does claim to be a not for profit for New York and national law. That why the civil suit in New York is appropriate with the possibility of later criminal charges very much open. I won't hold my breath waiting for the AG of New York to bring actions against organizations not subject to her jurisdiction.
(4) The NRA has both a general education and safety function such as Eddie Eagle as well as defending rights with knowledge and equally important a training function. Many state CCW rules contemplate NRA training. If the NRA goes away NRA support for Hunter Safety and CCW training goes away.
A word to the wise was not sufficient or Mr. La Pierre would long since have resigned. Notice Mr. Bane told him so years ago. If the Board and the Executive committee had exercised proper oversight the Complaints in NY and in DC would not allege such damning facts. In fact after an admittedly brief review of the complaints I think they are true. I see Mr. Brewer shooting the messenger and confusing an ad hominum attack with a legal defense. No doubt legal bills for trying the case in the papers will be even higher than legal bills for a proper legal defense.
Well, if deep seated corruption is grounds for dissolution, it seems to me that the (Democrat) Administration of the State of New York should go first.....
To CSPS,
Hell yes.
"On the one hand, I'm reluctant to see the NRA disappear, because it does so much good for the shooting community: education and training programs, assistance to local shooting ranges, etc. On the other hand...the open corruption exhibited by its current leadership is inexcusable."
I agree. But this is a politically motivated hit job, and just in time for the election.
If you are NRA and have not joined Save The 2nd, you should do so now:
https://www.savethe2a.org/
I quit the NRA after the gaping silence when Philando Castile was killed by a poorly-trained cop for letting him know he was armed. That, and I was tired of being cheap Chinese knickknacks at every turn. It stopped representing American gun owners years ago. This mess is WLaP's fault, and the fault of his sycophantic board. Blame the NY AG all you want; there have been lawsuits before. But never has the organization been so vulnerable, and so deserving of the charges.
Throw Wayne in prison, dissolve the NRA, and make the dedicated members a new organization.
I believe they know they cant win, so they are going for chaos, so much so no winner will be clear in Nov., and can claim Trump "stole" it, making his win illegitimate for 4 more years...
The problem with the NRA is partly that it was intended to be a training and sporting organization, but was forced into politics by the shrieks for "Gun control! Gun control!" that started with the Kennedy assassinations.
Post a Comment