On Thursday, August 6th, 2020, a pair of lawsuits were leveled at the NRA, seeking to put the organization out of business, accusing it of playing foul with its money. The New York Attorney General went after the National Rifle Association for allegedly funneling funds to pay for the lavish living of top executives, while claiming large losses across the fiscal year. Simultaneously, after a year long investigation, the Washington D.C Attorney General accused the NRA Foundation of using donations to attempt to help pay for luxurious lifestyles and keep the parent company afloat.
Four people are named directly, CEO Wayne LaPierre, a former chief of staff Joshua Powell, John Frazer, their corporate secretary, and Woody Phillips, who formerly acted as treasurer and CFO. While most reporting is centered around LaPierre due to his public profile, all four are implicated in the misuse of non-profit funds.
The latest investigations are heavily centered around the actions of Wayne LaPierre. However the effects of the lawsuit will be felt by over five million members of the NRA.
The crux of the arguments against the NRA pivots on the use of donations to pay for private jets, vacations, and other luxurious expenses, which were allegedly concealed in secretive fiscal practices. When the organization went from reporting a roughly $28 million surplus in 2015, only to claim a $36 million deficit in 2018, it sent red flags for some, and opened them up for political attacks when the leadership didn't appear to be affected by the losses. The claim of mismanaged funds was paired with an allegation that the NRA Foundation, which serves as a charitable conduit of the organization, made loans and bailed out the bad behavior of the leadership.
The charges list examples of $500,000 spent on eight trips to the Bahamas, and the transfer of funds from the Foundation to the NRA in the form of at least $10 million in loans that received extensions upon request. The NRA has already begun organizing a counter-suit against the New York AG, and this is expected to produce a long legal battle. Both sides are already accusing each other of using this situation for political gain. Although none of the four men have been charged with a crime, the civil lawsuits are seeking hefty fines, barring LaPierre from non-profit boards in New York, and to either overtly dissolve the NRA or make it fiscally untenable.
In the political climate of 2020, attacks against the NRA quickly get lost in the noise.
The NRA and the Second Amendment itself share common ground, as both face threats on social and legal fronts from those who no longer hide their intentions. Despite its long history, the NRA cannot make the mistake of believing it is too big to fail, or lean too heavily on its political relationships.
While it’s argued that the loss of funding and popularity of the NRA has come about as a result of the politicization of mass murders, distrust for the organization over their past position on the Assault Weapons Ban and their readiness to abandon bump stocks has drawn the ire of more than just political opponents. While the NRA takes pride in its long heritage, others think that they are a little long in the tooth, and no longer represent the rights of gun ownership in America.
With the massive spike in gun sales across the country, one would expect that the NRA should be seeing an increase in membership as 2020 fails to be boring. At the same time, considering the upcoming election, the timing of the lawsuit certainly raises suspicion of being more than an investigation for the sake of justice – tying up the funds of an organization pivotal to the re-election of President Trump three months before the election is sure to raise eyebrows. The National Shooting Sports Foundation has already stated that the lawsuit is an attack on the over five million members of the NRA.
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I,am a life member.However,if they misused members funds to enrich themselves then they have not only violated the law but have defrauded its members. They have been accused of theses irregularities in a civil suit and it will be up to a jury to make the final decision.If they loose some other organization will fill the void and perhaps do a better more ethical use of its members funds.
Yes E.F.... No doubt all 5M NRA members are going to jump ship with you and sign up to be a new members of one of the many other ineffective wannabe gun advocacy groups. Good luck with that. (No disrespect intended towards GOA, SAF, JPFO, et.al. They each do amazing work in support of the 2A, but they don't even come close to effectiveness and power of the NRA)
things have been going badly the last few years. we lost a few good people fired with not much said. I have sworn that if wayne stays I will not give money & I mean it.
The problem is gun owners are easily manipulated. You can see even in stuff like comments on youtube how easily people can get gun owners to attack our own, and never to attack the actual people who keep boiling the frog with new gun control.
The problem is even if people don't like the NRA, they don't participate in any 2A organization. Gun owners have never really had any political pull because we are not participating in fundraising or voting. As a consequence we are easily manipulated to attack each other through divide and conquer tactics and we gain nothing.
For example how many gun owners talked about supporting HPA or Conceal Carry Reciprocity? Next to none. In contrast see how many people complained about bump stocks which no one cared about because there were better and cheaper FA simulators? We turned gun ownership into a liability issue since we attack our own supporters, rather than a stronghold of political strength.
As a Patriot Life Member I'm not surprised in irregularities. Dig deep enough into any large organizations books, and you'll most likely find similar irregular fiscal footwork (the DNC, United Way and Red Cross are examples). The NRA is not a charity, and it isn't governed by the same rules that applies to charities, and from the list of potential criminal acts the AG is accusing the organization of, it appears she's made that charity assumption mistake. As this draws out, we'll see whether a judge agrees or not. While this may mean leadership will have to change, attempting to dissolve it isn't in the AGs purview, it resides with the membership of the NRA itself.
The NY State attorney general AND the Washington DC attorney general did not made any mistakes when they filed their lawsuits against the NRA and NRA Foundation, respectively. They know exactly which laws apply to non-profit organizations and they have been investigating their cases and gathering evidence for more than a year now. The big mistakes were made by LaPierre and his cronies when they thought they could get away with stealing from the NRA membership. And both AGs CAN revoke the non-profit statuses of NRA and Foundation if they are found guilty.
I understand NRA members being upset over the misuse of funds. If that's true, the perpetrators should be prosecuted. However the NRA is the premiere and most effective organization standing between us and subjugation. We must support the NRA to maintain our freedom!
NRA - Not Really Activists. The 'party' is over and has been over for quite some time. Financial irregularities, etc., Wayne & Crew have thrown California under the bus then used it to scare others into contributing their 'fight' for the 2nd Amendment. I will not support or contribute as long as Wayne & Crew are in power.
As a Life Member and one of the five million members, I will not be "dissolved". >:-( But I'm having trouble understanding why LaPierre is still at the helm. Trying to get rid of an organization because of embezzlement of its management doesn't make sense to me... These miscreant AGs better have ten million eyes on the back of their heads because they are going to need them. ;-)
And the complaining "never-NRA" bitches need to realize that when you put down the NRA, you are not just putting down LaPierre, you are putting down me and all the other members. When the NRA is gone, all the OTHER gun rights orgs will quickly be sued out of existence--then what?
And if you took a class to get your carry permit, chances are good you were trained by an NRA-Certified Instructor. Let's not forget all the GOOD the NRA does...
I am a Benefactor Life Member, who put the NRA above all else except my family. I have had the organizations 6 for many years, and when I needed them, I got the help I requested. However, for the last several years I have felt that there was a skunk in the mailbox. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but somehow I knew Wayne LaPierre was at the bottom of it. Then with the sudden exit of Ollie North and Chris Cox with no detailed explanation I knew we had problems. I read several possible reasons for two highly ranking officers disappearing but nothing from the organization except a letter from the present President Carlyon Meadows where she expressed her trust and loyalty to Wayne LaPierre. Now I was really confused. If there was a problem with LaPierre, why would she defend him in print. I never want to see the NRA disappear, because the organization is too important to everyone who uses a firearm for whatever reason. So, members please show your support for the organization and hopefully our officers can get it straightened out.
I can't say I'm happy about the alleged financial irregularities and expensive NRA law firms I have read about in the past year. However, I am also not about ready to overlook the good the NRA has done or its effectiveness in protecting the 2nd amendment. You just have to read "moderate" Joe's proposals for "gun safety' on his campaign web site to see what to expect if there is no effective resistance to it and the politicians that support those types of initiatives. History has shown it is more difficult to reverse bad legislation than to prevent it. I sent the NRA a check this morning. If you have a more effective means of protecting your 2nd amendment rights, then go for it. If your plan is to sit back and see what happens down the road, then don't complain about whatever comes your way.
Smarten up. If the NRA goes, self defense becomes a footnote in history. Weed out the bad eggs and get on with it.
I am a Benefactor Life member and I agree with this 100%. We cannot abandon the NRA but upper management must go. If LaPierre really cared he would step away. I can hardly stand to look at him any more.