In Cutting Programs to Cover Mounting Administrative and Legal Costs, the NRA Risks Losing Even More Members

Brian Mittendorf, The Ohio State University The National Rifle Association’s financial firepower, which arose in part due to its large and loyal membership base, has long been one of the gun group’s main sources of strength. But the NRA has in recent years faced a financial tsunami, one that came to light after the 2016 … Read more

The NRA Convention is Threatened Again as Many of the Largest Industry Exhibitors Pull Out

The National Rifle Association has a lot of problems on its hands. Aside from the now familiar allegations of cronyism and corruption, the NRA was forced to cancel its annual meeting and exhibits in Nashville last year. That was a huge financial hit for the association, given that the the event routinely draws 65,000 to … Read more

NRA’s Wayne LaPierre Rambling, Sometimes Regretful in Bankruptcy Hearing Testimony

By Jake Bleiberg, Associated Press Wayne LaPierre flies exclusively on private jets, he sailed around the Bahamas for “security” and he never sends emails or texts in the course of his work running the nation’s most politically influential gun-rights group. LaPierre’s testimony this week during the National Rifle Association’s high-stakes bankruptcy trial offered a rare … Read more

Wayne LaPierre’s Executive Assistant Used $40,000 of NRA Funds to Pay for a Wedding

In bankruptcy court hearing testimony yesterday, The Washington Free Beacon’s Stephen Gutowski reports that National Rifle Association secretary and general counsel John Frazer revealed that Wayne LaPierre’s longtime executive assistant and gatekeeper, Millie Hallow, was discovered to have diverted $40,000 of Association funds to pay for her son’s wedding. While under questioning from lawyers representing … Read more

The New York Attorney General’s Assault on the NRA Is About More Than Greed and Mismanagement

Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works and NRA member, said his only reaction is that it was completely unsurprising the state of New York would start such an investigation. He added this is the NRA’s own fault — not for allowing alleged fraud or abuse, but for being incorporated in such a notoriously … Read more

Dell’Aquila: Wayne LaPierre Must Go

[David] Dell’Aquila spent an intense year working around the clock, putting questions to the [NRA] chief executive and the board but rarely getting answers back. Employees, he said, began privately coming to him with inside information. If he has criticisms of LaPierre, he reserves his biggest complaints for the board of directors who have remained … Read more

The Shoe Finally Drops on the NRA and the Outcome is Far From Certain

When allegations of corruption, unchecked spending and self-dealing at the NRA finally broke into the open last year following the virtual street fight at the Indianapolis convention, we called the situation exactly what it has turned out to be; an existential threat to the organization. The situation was that serious because, due to inertia, inattention, … Read more

New York AG Suit Targets Millions Paid to Former NRA President Marion Hammer

The complaint describes payments made to “Board Member No. 5,” a person identified as the executive director of the Unified Sportsmen of Florida. State corporate records list the 81-year-old [former NRA president Marion] Hammer as executive director of the group. She has routinely identified herself with the organization when testifying on gun legislation at the … Read more

MacBride: I’ve Finally Found the Source of the NRA’s Power

Quartz contributor Elizabeth MacBride attended the NRA annual meetings and convention in Indianapolis back in April. It’s apparently taken her nine months to recover from the experience and synthesize her thoughts about the horrors she witnessed there. She seems to have concluded that the source of the NRA’s power isn’t its money or its five … Read more