I strongly disagree with throwing the baby out with the bathwater.
If there is evidence of corrupt mismanagement of the organization, then by all means, arrest them and hold them accountable.
To legally terminate the NRA would be penalizing three million + members for the deeds of a few individuals. Not at all the way America was intended to self-govern. Use of government power by elected officials to eliminate powerful opposition to their unconstitutional laws is not a good thing no matter how one looks at it, and it stinks of corrupt anti-American, political thuggery. Something to be expected in a banana republic.
Some observations:
- NRA is not part of any government structure. They are a not-for-profit organization that is bound by the laws governing such organizations.
- It seems evident that WLP and his cronies has spent at least the last decade, if not more, with a primary objective of lining their own pockets, and a secondary, or perhaps tertiary focus on protecting 2A rights and furthering shooting sports
- As much as this is not the fault of any given individual NRA member, the membership has allowed this to take place through feeding into the incessant drumbeat of 'send us money now or your guns will be gone tomorrow!' without stopping to ask where the money is actually going and how it is being spent
- If WLP gave two sh!ts about the protection of 2A, the NRA membership and NRA being an organization that exists to protect 2A rights and further shooting sports, he would have done the honorable thing years ago - admit being too long at the helm and agree to a re-org that introduced better transparency and accountability. This could have staved off this kind of lawsuit, or at least reduced the ammunition for the NY AG. Instead he doubled down, forced out anyone who was not a die hard yes-man, continuing the dubious schemes and self enriching
- As a result we are now in a situation where there is a very real risk of the NRA being dissolved! And I am willing to bet good money that the only reaction from the NRA leadership to this is going to be to email/call/mail the membership, and say 'the barbarians are at the door, send us more money!!!', to try to squeeze some last dollars out of the membership and into their own pockets
- Furthermore, if the NRA does ride out this storm and WLP ends up staying at the helm, do you know what changes would occur at the NRA? Absolutely nothing! Perhaps the current schemes for lining pockets would be wound down and new, more subtle ones spun up, but that's probably it
In a perfect world, the current leadership would resign, a re-org would take place that would put in place real accountability and transparency, and the NRA would go back to serving its membership by focusing on its true goals - protecting 2A rights and furthering shooting sports. But how? The only way would be for the current leadership to willfully step down since they have corrupted the organizational structure to prevent the members from being able to enact change. And WLP is not stepping down. He is holding the NRA hostage and seems dead-set on watching it burn to the ground rather than to look out for the well being of its members.
I say all this as a NRA member. Yes, the NY AG is out to screw us, but the reason why they have a great chance of succeeding is because of WLP and his cronies having corrupted the organization and have been allowed to do so for many many years.
