NRA and LaPierre Pays up!

[Chuck R.]

It's a start!

The big news from the meeting was confirmation that Wayne LaPierre has tendered payment of over $4 million to the NRA. The payment covers the total judgment against LaPierre issued in last year’s civil trial, plus interest.​

LaPierre Pays Up $, Lawyer Brewer Resigns, Our Causes Advance : NRA Board After Action Report

Wayne LaPierre has tendered payment of over $4 million to the NRA. The payment covers the total judgment against LaPierre issued in last year’s civil trial, plus interest.

www.ammoland.com

 

[Mk-211]

Maybe they'll stop calling for awhile!

 

[Double Naught Spy]

That is just the financial damages so far. The distrust of the organization will continue to damage the NRA for years.

 

[AlexanderA]

The fact that he had that much money to fork over tells you everything you need to know about his past conduct and the NRA's complicity. It was a huge grift.

 

[JEBruns]

The fact that he had that much money to fork over tells you everything you need to know about his past conduct and the NRA's complicity. It was a huge grift.

Yeah, that my reaction too. Was he a rich man when he took the job, or did the job make him a rich man?

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

And they wonder why I haven't renewed...

 

[Legionnaire]

Good news. I've been a Life Member since before this all blew up, so it's been pretty irritating. In my opinion, they still need changes to the bylaws that will allow for more open elections. Most of my recent support for the cause has gone through GOA.

 

[JTHunter]

And they wonder why I haven't renewed...

They periodically send me flyers trying to get me to "upgrade". They get "round filed".

Good news. I've been a Life Member since before this all blew up, so it's been pretty irritating. In my opinion, they still need changes to the bylaws that will allow for more open elections. Most of my recent support for the cause has gone through GOA.

Ditto on the Life Member. Many years ago, I did upgrade to "Endowment" but have been reluctant to go any higher despite the "discounts" they have offered.

 

[Hunter 08]

Good news. I've been a Life Member since before this all blew up, so it's been pretty irritating. In my opinion, they still need changes to the bylaws that will allow for more open elections. Most of my recent support for the cause has gone through GOA.

I was never a life member, just would do a couple years. But they really inserted foot in mouth. As of late, any time I make a purchase on PSA, I'll donate a few bucks to GOA with each purchase. Isn't much but it's something.

 

[Basura Blanca]

That is just the financial damages so far. The distrust of the organization will continue to damage the NRA for years.

It's irreparably damaged in my not-at-all humble opinion.
In a small sense though, the allure of a powerful national 2A organization just isn't relevant any longer. The real changes come at the local level, which is where I concentrate putting my money and activism these days. RKBA is first and foremost a public relations effort and the NRA didn't add value to that. If anything, it did the opposite.

 

[CapnMac]

Was he a rich man when he took the job, or did the job make him a rich man?

He was a professional lobbyist before. Middle of the road, but, that's by Beltway standards, so in the middle 6 figures, like as not.

 

[LV Gun]

I did the Life Membership many years ago upgraded as far as I could go now all I get is they keep trying to get me to do the Golden Eagle part but since all the crap that has happened I give them almost nothing.

The majority of my 2A donations go to NAGR and Nevada Firearms Coalition the only money NRA gets is the roundup from online sellers I use for components.

 

[DeepSouth]

I’ll be surprised if he didn’t sink them. I expect them to file bankruptcy in the next few years, but it’s not like I’m up on their finances.

I suppose the anti’s managed to win this one, with help from the inside. Interesting how the one they hated so much was the means they used to virtually destroy the organization.

BTW: “Guns Crime, & Freedom” alone could have made Wayne rich. It was a good book that I believe was a bestseller back in the 90’s. I don’t have a problem with his money, I do have a problem with embezzlement.

 

[Insignificant bill]

The fact that he had that much money to fork over tells you everything you need to know about his past conduct and the NRA's complicity. It was a huge grift.

He was always their puppet the corrupt management used him to launder members money through Ackerman McQeen. The problems still haven't been addressed. The size of the board and all the corrupt people in management are still there.

 

[SterlingBullet]

More importantly, didn't one of the NRA museum docents post on THR his suspicions that parts of the museum's collection were disappearing.

Maybe one of the moderators can find the post and refresh it. I would like to read it again.

 

[SterlingBullet]

I found the post from Wilbur Mills on this thread.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/nra-headquarters…deteriorating.894779/page-3

 

[Legionnaire]

I found the post from Wilbur Mills on this thread.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/nra-headquarters…deteriorating.894779/page-3

Direct link to the post.

 

[BreechFace]

Wayne LaPierre was liable for $5.4 million, but he had already paid back $1 million.

The $5.4 million he has to pay back only covers monetary costs; there should be defamation suits against him as he represented in good faith the monies donated to the not-for-profit. This will no doubt haunt the NRA in their attempts of future fundraising.

I haven't donated one cent to the NRA for the past 8 years or so, my money has gone to GOA and 2A Foundation.

 

[Ohen Cepel]

I am Life Benefactor, I think Gold Ring is next but I won't be doing that. I did the Life membership on a payment plan 20+ years ago when $$ was tight but was proud to get it done as I thought I was doing something which would be important to me for the rest of my life. I also bought Life memberships for each of my Sons when they were born, as again, I thought it would be something which they would value over their lives, and I was contributing to a good cause. Man, I even stood in line years ago to have Wayne sign his book for me (which I have since thrown in the fireplace). Sadly, it all leaves a bitter taste in my mouth now.

I will look to do some more Friends of the NRA events down the road if any are near my new home as I think that $$ mostly stays local and I enjoyed them in the past. But, I don't see me ever giving another penny to the larger organization.

Few months back I stopped at the museum. The gift shop is still closed, guess due to water leaks and the place as a whole seemed rather run down. Not at all how it was in the past.

Sad all around. Also, this mess has allowed the 2A community to split up into smaller organizations which I think may be bad in the long run. The NRA was the 800lb gorilla in DC when it came to 2A issues, and the politicians took them rather seriously. I am not denigrating the others which have come up in recent years (I am also life with SAF, JFPO and GOA), but that power getting spread out may be bad in the long run. However, that power (and $$) is what let Wayne shaft us all so maybe spreading it out is for the better.

 

[rust collector]

Money tends to distort things. We have all seen its effect on politicians. The NRA was for many years an important ally, although like many things there was much more going on than most of us knew about.

Power corrupts, and it is all about power. We can't change history, but we can learn from it. Do we have the will and the ability to drain that swamp? Time will tell. I will support it if I think the organic issues are fixed, but once trust is lost it's a long and arduous journey to restore.

 

[ms6852]

That explains the lack of phone calls and renewal notices. I gave up on them years ago and joined the Texas State Rifle Association instead.

 

[Insignificant bill]

Gun owners just need to do their duty as American citizens and stay on their elected officials about the 2nd Amendment. It's nationwide pressure that is needed by every single one of us.

 

[Basura Blanca]

Direct link to the post.

There's just so much wrong with that story. Sickening.
I had a chance to go to the museum around the time it moved into that location, maybe 2000? and it was incredible. I recall one of the exhibits contained a handmade 1911 pattern pistol that was apparently a seized Viet Cong piece. Of all the warts NRA possesses, at least the museum was decently managed and curated (or so it seemed). Now I can't even reliably say that about the organization.

 

[Miami_JBT]

Gun owners just need to do their duty as American citizens and stay on their elected officials about the 2nd Amendment. It's nationwide pressure that is needed by every single one of us.

Most gun owners are politically uneducated and apathetic.

It is estimated that there are over 82 million gun owners in the US. It is estimated that the NRA currently has 4 million members and that GOA is about the same right now, another 4 million. NAGR claims to have about 3 million give or take. SAF is around 200,000 give or take acccording to a number of sources.

So, between those orgs listed plus the others scattered about, you're talking about maybe 12 million gun owners are registered members in various gun rights orgs. And out of those numbers, a good percentage are probably double or triple dibbing as members in various orgs. I know I am, I'm a member of multiple orgs.

And out of the members, maybe 3% to 5% are politically active, meaning 600,000 do the bare minimum like open an email and send a message to a lawmaker. Out of that, maybe .5% to 1% are very politically active, meaning they go to the capitol, speak during committee meetings, door knock, etc.

There is a VERY SMALL cadre of pro-gun people in the nation as a whole doing a lot of heavy lifting in the 2A fight.

If the American public spent some time and energy to fight the fight, we wouldn't have the issues we've been facing.

 

[Basura Blanca]

There is a VERY SMALL cadre of pro-gun people in the nation as a whole doing a lot of heavy lifting in the 2A fight.

That's par for the course when it comes to any cause. And there may be 82 million people who own guns in the U.S. but that doesn't really translate into 82 million gun owners by the common definition of that term.

Besides that, there isn't a lot of heavy lifting to do in the first place. The major national RKBA outfits all practice the same sort of "activism", which is to pump their membership for donations which in turn bankrolls various litigation. That's about it. And with the exception of actual paid lobbyists, there's really no point in rank and file members showing up to yell at congress. This is stuff that's better served at the local level. To tie that thought back into the actual topic of this thread, it's easier for members to hold local membership organizations accountable and avoid the shenanigans which led to the NRA spoiling their own brand.