The Shit Storm that is the NRA Today & How We Got Here

[DMF13]

So are all the "not another dime" crowd going to change their tune now the he's out?

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Some of us have been clear that Lapierre is not the only problem. https://pistol-forum.com/showthread....re#post1470534

[Stephanie B]

I am wary about the new CEO being a WLP-brand sock puppet.

[Jamie]

I'm glad WLP is finally out. But I will remain cautiously optimistic as to where this goes.

I maintain an NRA membership as it's a requirement for my outdoor range and me being an SO for the indoor range there.

I fear the corruption in the NRA runs deep.
I appreciate @joshs and his input here regarding the NRA/ILA.

This is gonna be a bumpy year.

[BillSWPA]

Charlie Cotton will be stepping in. I believe he's a member here. I can't remember his user name.

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If Cotton is the one stepping in then nothing has really changed, so no, I need actual change before I send more $.

I will maintain my annual membership and instructor certification, but nothing else unless more of those who allowed the problems to continue leave.

As a former board member of a local nonprofit for 6 years, I can say that very few people on the NRA board did their job as board members. The job of the board is actual oversight.

Pete Brownell and others who resigned from the board absolutely made the correct choice, particularly in the window when they had no director’s insurance. Once it became clear that they were too small a minority to cause actual change, leaving was the only way to protect themselves as well as to make a statement. Their publicly stated reasons for leaving were attempts to avoid alienating those who still think the NRA can do no wrong. Staying apolitical is wise when running a business. I would have made the same decision in their situation, and hold nothing against them.

[PNWTO]

I am wary about the new CEO being a WLP-brand sock puppet.

Agreed, I think if you look at the macro-trajectory of the NRA in the past few decades; WLP was a symptom, not the disease.

[BillSWPA]

As I posted upthread, the standards linked below, in modified form to take the purpose of the organization into account, are what I need to see in place before I open my wallet to any organization.

https://www.ecfa.org/Standards.aspx

The NRA is not alone in caring more about the lavish lifestyle of its leadership than the actual cause for which it was formed. I have been disappointed too many times by too many organizations to open my wallet for anything less than the above-linked standards.

[RoyGBiv]

If Cotton is the one stepping in then nothing has really changed, so no, I need actual change before I send more $.

I will maintain my annual membership and instructor certification, but nothing else unless more of those who allowed the problems to continue leave.

As a former board member of a local nonprofit for 6 years, I can say that very few people on the NRA board did their job as board members. The job of the board is actual oversight.

Pete Brownell and others who resigned from the board absolutely made the correct choice, particularly in the window when they had no director’s insurance. Once it became clear that they were too small a minority to cause actual change, leaving was the only way to protect themselves as well as to make a statement. Their publicly stated reasons for leaving were attempts to avoid alienating those who still think the NRA can do no wrong. Staying apolitical is wise when running a business. I would have made the same decision in their situation, and hold nothing against them.

Quoting because I can't give more than one like.
This captures my current thoughts pretty much exactly.

When Brownell, West and North (ok, that's funny) only stick around for a short time, in middle of the crisis, that's a bright red flag for me. I certainly wouldn't blame them for checking out quickly if they found malfeasance they were not in a position to address.

[HCM]

The dominoes are starting to fall...NRA Operations Director Joshua Powell pleads guilty to fraud and agrees to testify against WLP


https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fo...1015e591&ei=13


Former NRA executive pleads guilty to fraud, agrees to testif

Former National Rifle Association operations director Joshua Powell has settled civil claims of fraud and abuse brought by the New York Attorney General's office.

The admission comes hours after Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the NRA, announced his resignation ahead of a trial scheduled to begin Monday. LaPierre cited health reasons, according to the NRA. The resignation will be effective Jan. 31.

Powell was employed by the NRA from 2016 through January 2020 and in that time "Powell breached his fiduciary duties and failed to administer the charitable assets entrusted to his care by using his powers as an officer and senior executive of the NRA to convert charitable assets for his own benefit and for the benefit of his family members," the settlement agreement said.

"Joshua Powell's admission of wrongdoing and Wayne LaPierre's resignation confirm what we have alleged for years: the NRA and its senior leaders are financially corrupt," New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement Saturday

The attorney general is suing the NRA, which is registered in New York as a non-profit charitable corporation, and its senior management for misappropriating millions of dollars to fund personal benefits, including private jets, family vacations and luxury goods.

The NRA tried to file bankruptcy in 2021 but a federal judge rejected its petition, saying "the NRA did not file the bankruptcy petition in good faith."

James' lawsuit seeks an independent monitor to oversee the NRA's finances.

As part of his settlement, Powell admitted he breached his fiduciary duties of care, loyalty and obedience by using the NRA's charitable assets for his own benefit and the benefit of his family. He also admitted he failed to administer the charitable assets entrusted to his care properly.

He agreed to pay $100,000 in restitution and accept a permanent bar from serving as an officer in a nonprofit. He also agreed to testify against LaPierre and others at trial.

LaPierre previously said the New York AG's lawsuit was an "unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the NRA -- the fiercest defender of America's freedom at the ballot box for decades."

[DMF13]

The dominoes are starting to fall . . .

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/fo...1015e591&ei=13


Former NRA executive pleads guilty to fraud, agrees to testif


Former National Rifle Association operations director Joshua Powell has settled civil claims of fraud and abuse brought by the New York Attorney General's office.

The admission comes hours after Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the NRA, announced his resignation ahead of a trial scheduled to begin Monday. LaPierre cited health reasons, according to the NRA. The resignation will be effective Jan. 31. . .

Gee, I'm sure Powell's deal, and Lapierre's resignation, are just a complete coincidence.

[fatdog]

I currently believe that for a couple of decades a majority or near majority of NRA members have not fully understood what was going on. They either just sorta blindly remained loyal to the organization based on the fund raising scare tactics and the desire to support rkba, they were boomers like me, many life members who had been part of it for 4 decades and most had not paid attention, or else they were like many who simply had to have a membership because of the insurance covenants their clubs had with the NRA insurance providers.

This whole trial is going to cause the scales to drop from the eyes of many. It will cease to be just about getting the NRA as LaPierre painted it, and as it truly was in the goals in the prosecutor. Air and sunlight appear to be on their way. It might be too late, or there might be a new and useful NRA that emerges from the swamp of corruption.