LaPierre resigns

[Ysabel Kid]

Just saw a blurb that Wayne LaPierre is resigning his position with the NRA. Haven't verified it yet, but it makes sense given the lawsuit in NY.

[OldWin]

Yeah, I see old Wanker Wayne is gone.
Want a bet membership rebounds? He's the reason we all left at my house. Last few years it's like it had been run by democrats. They did nothing for anyone but themselves.
We'll see what happens......

[Ysabel Kid]

My son and I are both Life members.

I agree, this will be good for the organization. I just hope they get a pitbull of a leader who won't compromise with the leftist.

[TedH]

My son and I are both Life members.

I agree, this will be good for the organization. I just hope they get a pitbull of a leader who won't compromise with the leftist.

+1

[Sixgun]

I’ve been a member since Feb. ‘73. We had a million members at that time and when Wayne took the helm he got us up to 5 million……he made the NRA a regular name on TV and the newspapers where for years it was rare to see the NRA on the news.

That DA from New York is a Soros funded nobody and any charges are the akin of a typical Donald Trump witch hunt…

The NRA is no different than any other big organization….theres always a detractor and his following who want the throne.

Anybody at anytime can have charges brought on them if they get too powerful. Liberals especially hated Wayne’s ranking system from A-F regarding how gun friendly congressman and senators are…..some big shot lawyer from DC, remarked after one of Trumps charges, “you give me a blank check and all the time I want……I can have the Pope guilty of murder.

Wayne make a lot of loot and lives well. Good, he deserves it………but he is also 74 and it has been needed for about the last 5 years. Couldn’t imagine Wayne getting like Joe Biden….get out before you embarrass yourself and leave a decent legacy.—-006

[Scott Tschirhart]

Life member for many years but I’m not happy with the NRA over recent years. Seems like GOA and others are more in the fight.

[Bill in Oregon]

Sore subject at my house. I am a Life member as well, but have come to despise that man and the damage he and his corruption have done to the NRA. The old club needs reform -- cutting the board from the ridiculous current 76 to 10 or a dozen who can be held accountable. It also needs to respect its roots.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of the historic international rifle match at the Creedmoor Range on Long Island between the Irish team with their Rigby muzzleloaders and the upstart Americans with their Remington and Sharps breechloaders. The NRA was only three years old when it was thrust into the world spotlight organizing and hosting this legendary match. Rick Weber is ramrodding the celebration of the Creedmoor match starting this Oct 12 at Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He has a great Facebook page -- "Creedmoor 150 (1874-2024)" -- if any are interested.
One would think the NRA would be all over this event, wouldn't one?

https://www.facebook.com/groups/361707117741162

[marlinman93]

I also have been a Life member for many decades having switched to Life member in the late 1970's. I was proud to tell people I was a Life member then, and for long after, but in recent years not so much.
I'm pleased that LaPierre is gone, but not hopeful yet. There are those still a part of the board who supported him, even took part in sharing his ill gotten gains, and they also need to be held accountable and exit along with hm. In fact I'll go so far as to say anyone who turned a blind eye to what he was doing should also quit.
Major changes need to follow LaPierre's exit, and one of them is changing his old job to be a position voted on by the general membership, not the board! Until this position is held accountable to the membership it has the chance of remaining a dictatorship as it's been under LaPierre. During his reign anyone who dared even question his spending was run off, and that was done by LaPierre and his cronies banding together at Wayne's direction.
I hope things change bigtime, but I'm in the wait and see mode right now.

[Bill in Oregon]

Thoughtful reply, Vall, and very true.

[Deaf Smith]

Well considering his age... ABOUT TIME!

And yes the NRA (I'm a Endowed Member) needs some very aggressive leaders not only to defend the 2nd Amendment but to promote the NRA as more than just a magazine.

Love to see more NRA matches in Texas. Especially East Texas (finding 800 yards of land to shoot ain't so easy.)

[earlmck]

I'm in there will Bill and Val, glad to see Wayne gone and hopeful we'll get a "good 'un" in there but rather apprehensive as long as we have that ridiculous number of board members who elect us a "dictator-for-life" under the present arrangement. Five member board should be about right. And three might be better yet.

[stretch]

It WAS time for Mr. LaPierre to go.

And I agree with Earl - when boards get too big, it's too hard to
get done what needs doing.

Oh, and I'm a Life Member as well.

-Stretch

[1894cfan]

Good riddance, problem is he's getting a 17 MILLION severance package, on top of the millions he's embezzled over the decades he was there!

[lthardman]

It is time for Wayne to go. When he first rose to the leadership position, I believe his intentions and his actions were honorable. He walked the talk. But there is an old quote I am sure you have heard: "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." And in my opinion that is what happened to Mr LaPierre. He consolidated his power, and power creation and preservation became the goal. And while the honorable goals did not disappear, they had to compete for attention and funding with much less honorable priorities.

I am a Benefactor Life Member, and have been for awhile. But my financial support of the NRA has dropped due to my uncertainty regarding where and how the money is spent.

I hope we get a good leader at the top. And, I agree that the number of Board members needs to be drastically cut. There should be ten or less. With a smaller Board individual accountability is easier to establish. Board members should have actual responsibilities which can be objectively measured. And elections take on greater meaning and enable a comparative analysis of candidates. I want the NRA to succeed. The NRA must succeed. Or the Second Ammendment is lost. And worse.

Just my opinion, yours may vary.

[AmBraCol]

For years now I've been asking the NRA phone callers, "Is LaPierre still holding any office at the NRA?" Since the answer was always in the affirmative my next statement was "I told you last time - don't call me until he's gone."

Saw a blurb today about someone else in the leadership at NRA that plead guilty to fraud and promised to testify against ol' LaPierre. I'm glad they're both gone, but don't hold much hope for an organization that would allow his corruption to go unchecked for so many years. They've lost touch with the man on the street, the folks that have been bankrolling their operation. They have become what they supposedly were fighting - corrupt career politicians who are out of touch with their base. I managed to get up to Endowment level Life Member before I finally decided that LaPierre doesn't need any more money to flush down his cesspool. We'll see how the organization reorganizes. He's in place until the end of the month.

[AmBraCol]

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/ny-ag ... n-command/

[Scott Tschirhart]

I personally do not know this man. I don’t know if he is a good man or a bad man.

I don’t know if he is being prosecuted/persecuted because he is effective or because he is crooked.

So I won’t be casting stones.

[Bill in Oregon]

Wayne's corruption trial starts today in New York.

[Walt]

The NRA lost their nonprofit status because of him and a couple of others.

[marlinman93]

There's enough proof of WLP's antics to make me believe if only a fraction of it was true it's unacceptable. Being given a 1/4 million dollar yacht by a contractor doing work for the NRA, and not claiming the gift? Or taking expensive trips to exotic locations for him, his family, and friends, and charging it all on his NRA expense account? Or using private jets to shuttle family members to non NRA functions? Not to mention putting nearly 1/4 million a year on his expense account for clothes? Who buys that kind of clothes a year on an expense account?

[jnyork]

The New York trial supposed to start this morning (8 Jan), will be mighty interesting reading the transcripts. I have been a Life Member since 1980 and still hold with the principals and goals of the NRA, but have become totally disgusted with the chicanery of Uncle Wayne and his cronies. Let's hope a good housecleaning will enable us to get back to where we belong.

[Bill in Oregon]

NEW YORK, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Wayne LaPierre ran the National Rifle Association (NRA) as "Wayne's World" for decades, a lawyer for New York state said at the start of the gun rights group's corruption trial, three days after LaPierre suddenly resigned as chief executive.

New York Attorney General Letitia James had sued the NRA and its longtime leader in August 2020, saying the group diverted millions of dollars to fund luxuries for top officials, including travel expenses for LaPierre to several resorts.

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In her opening statement, state lawyer Monica Connell told the six jurors and six alternates that NRA officials failed to obtain board approval for conflicts of interest and insider transactions, arranged no-show contracts for associates, and retaliated against whistleblowers who suspected wrongdoing.

"The NRA allowed Wayne LaPierre and his group of insiders ... to operate the NRA as 'Wayne's World' for decades," said Connell, alluding to the 1992 movie starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. "Wayne LaPierre and his friends effectively suppressed the voice of anyone who challenged his leadership."

[Ysabel Kid]

Bottom line, we need the NRA. It is/was the most effective Second Amendment protection organization in the country, or at least the one most feared by the leftist trying to take away our rights and take away this country's freedoms.

That is what we need again out of the NRA. The focus needs to be on the basics:

(1) Vigorously defending our Second Amendment rights. No capitulation or compromise on any point. Make anti-gun leftists fear the NRA again and the votes that can be directed against them.
(2) Supporting safety training at every level (youth through law enforcement and military (leverage the expertise they have)
(3) Engage the next generation early (safety training, competition, hunting, etc.) so future generations will as vigorously support our rights as we do today

Stick to those. Do them better than any other organization. That will keep them plenty busy.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

(1) Vigorously defending our Second Amendment rights. No capitulation or compromise on any point. Make anti-gun leftists fear the NRA again and the votes that can be directed against them.

This is why I let my membership lapse many years ago. They fought to keep the Heller case from going to the Supreme Court. They were not about protecting our rights ... they were about keeping the controversy alive to keep their donations flowing. Look at all of the major court rulings today that are advancing our rights and you will not see the NRA unless they join late once things look like they are going to go our way. All of these other state and national groups exist simply because the NRA wasn't doing the job we were expecting. There are several to which I give $100 annually ... but not the NRA.

I recall not long ago a group of insiders tried to oust LaPierre and save the organization ... and they were crushed by the board. Now the organization is in serious trouble ... for lack of the board's spine. I am happy that this guy is getting what he finally deserves and I can only hope that there are a whole host of board members that will soon follow.

I'm sure it was once a great organization ... maybe 40 years ago.

It reminds me what Old Ironsides used to call him ... The Vichy. He was right on the nose with that one.

[Streetstar]

I’ve been a member since Feb. ‘73. We had a million members at that time and when Wayne took the helm he got us up to 5 million……

Those are darn solid numbers - dude was effective at what he was good at for a while for sure

[Streetstar]

I personally do not know this man. I don’t know if he is a good man or a bad man.

I don’t know if he is being prosecuted/persecuted because he is effective or because he is crooked.

So I won’t be casting stones.

Pretty much how I feel too. What Six said about the growth in membership in the guys tenure was big league though. But don’t know how much were his ideas or schemes , or natural progression

[Ray Newman]

NRA benefactor-life member here. And what six Gun posted rings true in many, many ways.

Rimfire McNutjob said “This is why I let my membership lapse many years ago. They [NRA] fought to keep the Heller case from going to the Supreme Court. They were not about protecting our rights ... they were about keeping the controversy alive to keep their donations flowing.“

That caught my eye, so I spent some time finding out the history of the Heller case. What I found on Wikipedia was interesting:

“Attorney Alan Gura, in a 2003 filing, used the term ‘sham litigation’ to describe the NRA's attempts to have Parker (aka Heller) consolidated with its own case challenging the D.C. law. Gura also stated that ‘the NRA was adamant about not wanting the Supreme Court to hear the case. These concerns were based on NRA lawyers' assessment that the justices at the time the case was filed might reach an unfavorable decision. Cato Institute senior fellow Robert Levy, co-counsel to the Parker plaintiffs, has stated that the Parker plaintiffs ‘faced repeated attempts by the NRA to derail the litigation.’ He also stated that ‘The N.R.A.'s interference in this process set us back and almost killed the case. It was a very acrimonious relationship."

“Wayne LaPierre, NRA's chief executive officer, confirmed the NRA's misgivings. ‘There was a real dispute on our side among the constitutional scholars about whether there was a majority of justices on the Supreme Court who would support the Constitution as written’ Mr. LaPierre said. Both Levy and LaPierre said the NRA and Mr. Levy's team were now on good terms.

“Elaine McArdle wrote in the Harvard Law Bulletin: ‘If Parker is the long-awaited clean’ case, one reason may be that proponents of the individual-rights view of the Second Amendment – including the National Rifle Association, which filed an amicus brief in the case – have learned from earlier defeats, and crafted strategies to maximize the chances of Supreme Court review.’ The NRA did eventually support the litigation by filing an amicus brief with the Court arguing that the plaintiffs in Parker had standing to sue and that the D.C. ban was unconstitutional under the Second Amendment.
***
“Immediately after the Supreme Court's ruling, the NRA filed a lawsuit against the city of Chicago over its handgun ban, followed the next day by a the NRA filed a lawsuit against the city of San Francisco over its ban of handguns in public housing. (emphasis added RCN)

As an aside, SCOTUS decided Heller on a 5-4 vote.

Read all ‘bout it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/District_ ... _v._Heller

[Sixgun]

I like to sum things up by looking back and seeing the changes myself….like I said earlier, I was there when the NRA was not mentioned outside of its members or gun clubs.

What do we do with a leader who has accomplished so much in the face of adversity……and as he ages, he gets a bit too comfortable and has “lost the fight” in himself that’s all too common in most men. That’s why sports coaches, CEO’s of big corporations, senators, congressmen, and just about any individual who is in a position of power that originally got into that position because of a need of change needs to retire.

No different than any of us when facing multiple issues at home or work….after it’s accomplished we sit down and take a breather with a few beers and a small vacation.

Wayne and his team did a LOT. Everyone knows that power comes from the quantity of its members and the more quantity, the more money and the more money, we rule as probably 98% of all people are motivated by money so if Wayne and his team were/are money whores, well, God Bless them. NO organization, person, country etc. get to the top by “being nice and playing by the rules”.

Dropping your membership or to stop donating is putting the power in the hands of Soros funded “Destructionships”. Hey! I made that up.

Look at our own Founding Fathers who we revere as Saints……they were corrupt in their own way and history points that out….

Could you all imagine what it would be like if the NRA was run by “leaders” from BLM? Instead of a monthly publication of the “American Rifleman” we’d get a subscription of “Ebony” or “Jet”. …..and the inside covers would have a “scratch & sniff” of greasy chicken.——006

[Rimfire McNutjob]

I didn't mean to disparage all of the NRA with my emotional post earlier. I think it's the corruption of the core leadership over time that is the problem. The state of Florida forged the way on concealed carry thanks in large measure to the work of Marion Hammer for example. There are many hard working members in the NRA. I just think that, like many politicians on the national level, they get to a point where they believe their own press and that whatever they do is the right way because it once was the right way. They can't see that they've lost their way.

I really hope it doesn't end up destroying the organization. I'm not read up on the current case enough to know if the organization itself is in jeopardy or if it's just the cronies that needed culling anyway that are in legal trouble.

[Old No7]

I didn't mean to...

I'm a Life Member and I think many of us feel the way you do, and share the same concerns. That was a well-written post, by the way.

Old No7

[Ray Newman]

NRA Benefactor-life member here. I feel that there probably was some mismanagement at the NRA. But I have no ideas as to what level, especially since the anti-firearms and mainstream media are having a wet dream with anti-NRA and LaPierre news stories. I keep asking myself "Just how much of it is true? " And much is repeated by both pro-firearms and anti-firearms groups and personalities. As the ol’ saying goes “Divide et imperator” (divide and conquer).

From what I read and what family members in NY tell me, the NY Attorney General is very aggressive and appears to be or is building her qualifications to be the first NY State Black female governor based on the NRA and the Trump cases. I recall a NY Times (??) article where she (or her office) claimed there was rampant financial wrongdoing at the NRA by misuse of members financial support. As a result, she will hold the NRA management and the organization itself accountable, and remove NRA/NY State corporate status, thus dissolving the NRA as an organization.

In my opinion, if she could remove/fine/incarcerate the top NRA management and dissolve the NRA, she would gain immortal political fame. Plus, anti-firearms organizations would or attempt to copy her legal strategy to bring suit on the other pro-firearms organizations. When blood is in the water, the sharks will strike....

[marlinman93]

All the good things WLP did in his early years have been so seriously tarnished by abuses he did in latter years that those abuses far out shadow the good. That doesn't mean we forget the good part, but it's impossible to draw some imaginary line and call it Wayne I and Wayne II, and act like it's two different people.
He began acting in the NRA's and member's best interest, but at some point this changed when he decided he could do more for himself at the expense of the NRA, and it's members. And he seemed to not care about giving the NRA and it's members a black eye by flaunting his abuses for all to see. With the other side always scrutinizing everything the NRA did, he certainly gave them plenty of ammo to go after him and the NRA.
I can be glad for what he did in his early years, but what he did in his later years is so bad I can't ever forgive those actions.