Wayne LaPierre resigns!

[Tennessee Gentleman]

Long over due IMHO. We members (I am a Life Endowment Member) need to get real reform and accountability over our funds. The misuse of which caused us great political and public relations damage over the years.

https://apnews.com/article/nra-natio...186f403da83849

[HiBC]

Good!

[Aguila Blanca]

HALLELUJAH!

I wonder, though, if it's too late. And too many of LaPierre's sycophants remain on staff and on the board. The NRA won't safe and able to start a comeback until the whole house has been cleaned.

[LeverGunFan]

The key question is who will replace him, and will they be able - or be allowed - to right the ship?

[Mike Irwin]

25 years too late.

[Nathan]

Someone needs to tell me why…..I’m not getting it.

[Mike38]

Nothing will change. The same rules in the NRA books that allowed such corruption are still in place. The same board of directors that allowed such corruption are still in place. I hope the NRA folds and 50% of the BOD rot in prison. There, I said it.....

[Japle]

I quit donating to them years ago. They're sliding more and more into the Christian Nationalist camp.
In the current magazine, they praise the latest "NRA Country" singer for his Gospel songs and his "love of God". They carry religious ads and sell "In God We Trust" glassware in their catalog.
Apparently, if you don't love country music and aren't a Christian, you don't measure up to NRA standards.
My money goes to SAF.

[Metal god]

I quit donating to them years ago.

Yep and my 5yr membership is about up and I keep getting emails t renew . I always reply with the same message . I will never give the NRA another penny of my money . There are several other choices that are much better options . FPC is one .

When was the last time we heard of a huge court win that the NRA was heavily involved in that didn't involve there corruption haha ?

[Tennessee Gentleman]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Someone needs to tell me why…..I’m not getting it.

They misused the money we sent them for LaPierre's personal use. Like expensive suits and vacations.

[Webleymkv]

Ding dong a grifter's gone

[Mainah]

Late Friday news dump, I suspect there's more to this.

[Nathan]

Originally Posted by Tennessee Gentleman

They misused the money we sent them for LaPierre's personal use. Like expensive suits and vacations.

I get that. Why would Wayne step down? He has ALL the power. He could have just road the NRA’s asset pile to the bottom. I worry what caused the step down.

[ligonierbill]

"Let's make a deal" ???

[natman]

Originally Posted by Nathan

I get that. Why would Wayne step down? He has ALL the power. He could have just road the NRA’s asset pile to the bottom. I worry what caused the step down.

My guess would be for damage control so he's no longer the head of the organization if, or more likely, when he's found guilty of financial misconduct. He may also get a better severance package if he resigns than if he'd forced out after being found guilty.

[BarryLee]

I hope the NRA can "reboot" and get back to their basic mission. Keep in mind that the NY AG is no friend of the NRA member or the average gun owner for that matter. She is out to deny all of us our Second Amendment Rights, so let's not celebrate Lil Wayne's fall too much because ultimately, they're after you.

[tlm225]

Glad to see him go. Those on the BOD who turned a blind eye to his theft of NRA funds need to resign.

The NYAG thankfully failed in her attempt to dissolve the NRA as an entity but as much as I dispise her antigun efforts she has done the NRA a favor by following up on the corruption in the leadership.

I now hope that there will be real change, that members will return, and contributions to the cause of guns rights resume. I am one who would not donate while WLP is in office. Once he is out I'll resume donating and continue to do so if they clean up their act.

[scpapa]

I also quit sending money years ago. I donate to SAF and CCRKBA. They do more the NRA has in a very long time.
Rick

[Cirdan]

It's a start. More corruption to come out.

[Tom Servo]

The NRA won't safe and able to start a comeback until the whole house has been cleaned.

Problem is, he got a bylaw passed a while back that required a unanimous vote from the Board to remove him. I'm not sure if that applies to Arulanandam as well.

[FITASC]

I stopped last year when I joined the GOA - much better run and actually gets things done. All the NRA ever seemed to do was threaten elected folks with telling their members to vote against that person

[Nathan]

Yea, the problem is the NRA gives out low ratings based on party, not based on voting history.

Anyways, I look forward to changing rules, better alignment to 2A freedoms and a reduced alignment to the whack job wing of the Republican Party. I need gun rights focus, not focus on wealthy donors, not focus on healthcare, not a focus on non-firearms taxes, not a focus on misrepresentation of facts in ads to me, less focus on elections unless it is to specifically inform me of voting record…..just focus on fixing the rules to allow turnover of leadership and return/expansion of 2A rights and shooting sports.

[Mike38]

I get that. Why would Wayne step down? He has ALL the power. He could have just road the NRA’s asset pile to the bottom. I worry what caused the step down.

Rumor has it, LaPierre had a $17 million dollar Golden Parachute clause in his contract. If he wasn't set for life before, he sure is now. Why not take the $17 million now and retire? Better than showing up to work every day.

[Paul B.]

Still sitting in Dallas as I type this. Just want you to get the lay of the land... The NRA BOD meetings have a no phone or computer policy. Your phone has to be locked into some sort of electronic blocking case - and as you exit the room you can hand your phone over to be unlocked. There were 58 or 59 of the 76 BOD members in attendance.

Wayne LaPiere tendered his resignation in executive (closed door, confidential to the board) session about 10 am. He stated that it would be effective on 1/31/24

As I sat there wondering what I was going to do with the info, while knowing it was a secret that could not leave the room until the NRA made it public, and knowing that it was too juicy to not get out...

I heard and saw the shock in the faces of many board members, and saw the grief in the reactions of others. Some of these folks have been friends with Wayne for 20+ years, while others looked up to and grew up with Wayne. My views are that no matter your opinion of Wayne, he did some really good stuff over the years. And the various law suits are taking their tole on him. He looks worn out and not healthy.

Executive session was paused while we took a lunch break (12:50 pm) and within 10 minutes my phone was blowing up. Saw the FOX news report as the first official news report. From there I could respond with the report and the public info that was shared.

Lets pause here and get the lay of the land.
is
NRA facing the BIG lawsuit that starts monday the 8th. A public search will give you the background on this for those looking for details, but not only is Leticia James and NY going after the NRA, they sued 4 persons personally. Those four were instrumental in running the offices of the NRA. Wayne, John Frasier, Josh Powell and Woody Phillips.

Wayne resigning does not impact his involvement in the lawsuits because he is staying on till 1/31/24 and so will still be EVP during all this. AND he is still personally named.

Josh Powell just settled (think it came out publicly on 1/5/24) with NY and so is out of the mix. Since he had been terminated by NRA he was on his own for legal bills. Search and you will find his details of settlement. May I suggest the blog of John Richardson at OnlyGunsAndMoney he has been an NRA watcher for years.

Now lets go to what happens next. Did you see the news that Joe DeBergelis (spelling??) was terminated about 3 weeks ago. Its in play too. He ran the operations of the org under Wayne. And based on the money being poured into the lawsuits - to protect the NRA, doing it on a skeleton crews and drastically slashed budget. Remember, NY's goal is to take down and end the largest 2A organization in the US. The NRA is somewhere around 300 times the size of the next largest organization in the USA.

The NRA does not have a lot of depth of crew right now. With COVID reductions, then the lawsuit stacked on top of that - who wants to be there, who was replaced when someone left ( and did they have the budget for it?) You each hear not one more dollar statements, those have had an impact, probably not the impact each was looking for, but an impact none the less.

So Joe DeBergelis's replacement is Andrew Arulanandam who had been the communications guy. He has been with the NRA for quite a while.

To understand Andrew's place in this - he was the connection between the PR firm Ackerman McQueen and the NRA. He released statements, approved who could speak for the NRA, insured a unified and directed statement for things when things get ugly. Remember, when something happens, they want a tight, thoughful and consise public statement that will give the world an idea where the NRA is going, whats going to happen and how the NRA will continue to support their 2A rights.

Andrew A has been learning Joe's position for the past three weeks, then this bombshell happens. Many knew Wayne would leave at some point. He is of a certain age, this has been ugly and hard for he and Susan, etc. But no one knew it would be now. I am extremely certain that the Executive Board did not know... till it happened.

Per the Bylaws, Andrew in his new position, will roll up to fill Waynes position as of 1/31
He will continue to do that until the next Board meeting which will take place in May at the annual meeting in Dallas.

From there the Board has to make a decision of what's next. At this time, no one has an idea of what's next, we know the actions to take, but not timing, or candidates, or etc... Much up in the air.

Now - back to the fact that in that 2 hours that the board was enclosed in executive session with thier phones in lock down. Andrew and his crew did a stellar job of putting out a press release, getting the story out in the way THEY wanted it out, and controlling the narative in a time when rumors and opinions run rampant. THIS shows leadership, and something that I personally have not seen for a while ( since the time that NY went after NRA, and Ack Mc splintered away and many wondered what their new roles were)

So for a bit - I think the NRA is in hands that will try to sort things out, handle things as they come up and help guide the ship through the lawsuit waters. Once we come out the other side, we will start to gather all the deck chairs and see what we have to work with.

FMC...

FMC handle is Frustrated Middle Child on the Ruger Owner's Forum who was elected this year to the NRA's Board of Directors. Her name is Amanda Suffecool and you can find short bio in the Feb 2023 issue of the NRA.

t is my understanding that resigned or not, Ms. James not only plans tp prosecute Wayne but continue her fight to shut the NRA out of existence.
Paul B.

[44 AMP]

The reason given was that he was stepping down for "health reasons".

It is possible that, by "retiring" now, he will get to keep his benefits package. It is also possible that he's an old man now, and the "great game" no longer has its charm for him.

Another possibility is that, if he's no longer the President, he might not face the same penalties when the NY lawsuit brings the hammer down on him.

LaPierre did some good work for us, in the beginning, but when he went off the rails and made himself "President for Life" (or as close as was possible) and then began using the NRA treasury as his own personal piggy bank, he failed us all, miserably.

Fox news is now reporting that Joshua Powell, the executive director and chief of staff has reached a settlement with the NY AG. He will testify at the trial, pay the NRA back $100,000 and "forego further non profit involvement".

The NY AG publicly stated her goal was to "destroy the NRA", and while a court ruling won't allow her to sink the ship, with the trial date approaching, it seems that at least some of the rats at the helm are abandoning the ship and seeking to cut their own deals.

There is no doubt in my mind that the state of New York, through their AG, will work very hard to convict someone of something. And when they do they will declare victory, the end of their territorial demands in Europe, and send us home with a paper declaring "peace in our time".
(intentional sarcasm)

Until they want more.....