This afternoon, the NRA announced that long-time leader Wayne LaPierre has resigned his leadership post at the NRA, effective January 31st. The move comes as his civil corruption trial starts Monday in Manhattan.
LaPierre, who has served in leadership at NRA since the 1990s after coming on as a lobbyist in the 1970s, has long made himself the public face of the nation’s oldest civil rights org. He claims that he’s resigning for health reasons, but aside from physical appearance changes resembling a cancer diet in the late 1990s or early 2000s, we’ve read about no health concerns of his before now.
At the same time we realize there’s nothing like a trial to clear one’s mind.
Here’s the announcement from the NRA.
The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) announced today that Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced he is stepping down from his position as chief executive of the organization, effective January 31. Long-time NRA executive and Head of General Operations Andrew Arulanandam will become the interim CEO & EVP of the NRA.
“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA,” says Wayne LaPierre. “I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”
During an NRA Board of Directors meeting today in Irving, Texas, NRA President Charles Cotton reported that he accepted LaPierre’s resignation. According to the NRA, LaPierre cited health reasons as a reason for his decision. The NRA continues its defense of a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General, and LaPierre is an individual defendant in that action. It is well-known that the NYAG vowed to pursue the NRA when she was candidate for her office and, upon being elected, filed a lawsuit to dissolve the Association in August 2020. Trial proceedings in that case begin Monday.
In March 2022, the NRA scored a major legal victory, when a New York court dismissed the NYAG’s claims to dissolve the organization. The court issued an opinion that vindicates the NRA’s position: the NYAG’s effort to shut down the Association ran afoul of common sense, New York law, and the First Amendment. Since then, the NRA maintains that it is committed to good governance. With respect to the NYAG’s allegations, the NRA Board of Directors reports it has undertaken significant efforts to perform a self-evaluation, recommended termination of disgraced “insiders” and vendors who allegedly abused the Association, and accepted reimbursement, with interest, for alleged excess benefit transactions from LaPierre, as reported in public tax filings.
LaPierre said, “I am proud of the NRA’s advocacy in New York and, through it all, determination to defend the Second Amendment. I can assure you the NRA’s mission, programming, and fight for freedom have never been more secure. What makes the NRA unlike any other advocacy organization is the depth and experience of its professional team, the unwavering support of its members, and its fighting spirit. I have enormous confidence in our board of directors, executive leadership team, and my long-time colleague Andrew Arulanandam. Andrew knows every facet of this organization and has stood shoulder-to-shoulder with me in every arena imaginable. Andrew knows how to help the NRA win – he’s been one of the key authors of our playbook for decades.”
Cotton said, “On behalf of the NRA Board of Directors, I thank Wayne LaPierre for his service. Wayne has done as much to protect Second Amendment freedom as anyone. Wayne is a towering figure in the fight for constitutional freedom, but one of his other talents is equally important: he built an organization that is bigger than him. Under the direction of Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA will continue to thrive – with a renewed energy in our business operations and grassroots advocacy. Our future is bright and secure.”
At Guns Save Life, we’re grateful for some of the things that NRA – or more specifically the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action has done to help gun owners fight against gun control in our state for decades. We also recognize their support in multiple successful Guns Save Life lawsuits seeking to overturn particularly onerous gun control measures.
In fact, Guns Save Life’s pending lawsuit challenging the FOID Act is just one such example of the NRA-ILA’s efforts behind the scenes to help roll back unconstitutional gun control measures in the Land of Lincoln.
NRA-ILA is still a decent organization for the most part, though they are far too timid in their defense of 2A these days compared to others like GOA and 2AF.
That having been said, no tears will be lost for Wayne the Grifter. He lived high on the hog for years and years on money specifically donated for the defense of our gun rights. He was and is nothing but a phony in a $2000 suit, who made mistake after mistake and squandered millions on get rich quick schemes rather than the core purpose of the NRA. Good riddance to this trash. I hope NRA takes this opportunity to bring in someone more hardcore 2A that gets back to what NRA is supposed to be for, and stops trying to push their cheesy merchandise over every other consideration.
For the record, I say this as an NRA Benefactor member.
Hey, buddy. That’s a goddamn $20,000 suit! How dare you insult WLP by saying he wears $2000 suits!? Don’t forget about his little favorite bang buddy, the hottie intern turned employee. Kudos to him for not flying with Jeffrey Epstein, but still. Seriously though, good riddance.
Good riddenace. And good riddance.
Rich Pearson might want to think about retiring soon too. From what I’ve heard, Pearson being in the WLP inner circle is why the NRA didn’t dump ISRA as their state affiliate about ten years ago.
There’s another whole can of worms there. ISRA. Now that’s a worthless organization. Where the hell have they been the last year of PICA hell?
What’s the ISRA been doing? I know they’ve been soliciting me for money for the legal fees for their lawsuit. But isn’t the Second Amendment Foundation paying for that suit?
WLP stepped down yesterday. Yesterday? It’s been at least four years since it was known beyond any doubt what he was doing with our money:
https://www.npr.org/2019/05/15/722960414/as-leaks-show-lavish-nra-spending-former-staff-detail-poor-conditions-at-nonprof
2019. Then it was known he was spending NRA contributors’ monies on HIMSELF. There’s another story out there about a trip to Botswana where he and his wife shot elephants, and the coverup that followed. All-expenses paid trip by YOU, to “advance interests in hunting, and bullshit bullshit bullshit…..” Imagine what a fun sweepstakes it would have been for the NRA to run a trip hunting elephant in Botswana! Nope, WLP and wifey got it. I guess she hadn’t found out about hottie intern/employee yet!
I think the NRA is despicable for allowing WLP to have ANY affiliation with it. In fact, this is WORSE than the piss-poor job they’ve done for firearms owners in the U.S. and, specifically, Illinois. I’ve seen their name on NONE of the big 2A decisions in the last TWENTY YEARS and, if it were, it was in a minor or amicus role only, purely. THat’s a DISGRACE!
I will never send them another dollar. I don’t care that WLP has stepped down; he’s been a self-helping, self-serving fraud for two decades and the board just let him get away with it. SHAME ON THEM!
*Epstein flew on LaPierre’s plane, not the reverse!
** Can we give Le-Titty-Uh James LaPierre and say “lay off our President?”
Good riddance. Most of the board of directors needs to go as well. Much like the ISRA, they seem to favor Negotiating Rights Away.
Que “Sharp Dressed Man” by ZZ Top.
I wrote this for another forum because a poster was constantly defending WLP, claiming the WLP disparagement was a plot by the NY Attorney General and we were all ignorant pawns for wanting him gone. I am cutting and pasting here:
t is a long and complicated story that involves the annual meeting in 2019 in Indy.
Oliver North was in his first year as President of the NRA and his pay was complicated in that it was mostly paid by an outside contractor rather than the NRA. When he asked questions about the situation he became uncomfortable with the answers he was given. That lead him to start an investigation that uncovered massive misuse of funds including finding ways to pay off Board Members to go along with whatever WLP wanted, as well as disguised payments for expensive clothing, an errant “intern”, and lavish travel in private jets and limos.
North was furious and tried to force a showdown with WLP two days before the Annual Meeting by showing his evidence to WLP and demanding that WLP resign quietly at the meeting. That was a mistake. Wayne told the outside vendor to take North off their payroll, effectively “firing” him and got the majority of the Board to actually promise to fire North at the Annual Meeting if he didn’t resign and leave town immediately.
Now, supposedly, the Life Members need to vote on certain things, but suddenly the actual meeting’s time and place changed three times on the day of the meeting. The place for Life Members to register to vote was changed and almost impossible to find. Those of us who managed to actually find and get admitted to the meeting had to wait for a long program of how wonderful WLP was and then any members who weren’t Life were asked to leave as was the media. Then a complicated set of rules on the ability to speak was introduced, limiting the number of Life Members allowed to speak.
When the WLP cronies on the Board didn’t like was being said, the meeting went into Executive Session, meaning only the Board could remain. They then delayed the remainder of the meeting until the next day which assured that any Life Members who wanted to remain would have to change their flights, hotels, etc to remain which almost no one else did.
They effectively have continued the same game plan through subsequent annual meetings.
I wasn’t there but I’ve heard basically that same information from three or four others, including a couple of five- and six-figure NRA donors. COVID gave at least one of them a chance to opt out of continued financial support. I haven’t asked the other about their giving.
An “errant” intern? You’re too kind, Mr. Chance. She was his little f*** toy. And hell, when I get to be in my 70s soon, I hope my wife lets me bang some hottie coed three or four nights a week.
I had forgotten about the Oliver North thing but you are absolutely correct on this one. I would love to see a real accounting of how much money WLP misappropriated over the years. As much as I loathe Letitia Soros, seeing WLP get taken apart isn’t going to upset me greatly, though its likely going to cost NRA a lot of money because of his mismanagement and outright corruption.
Good riddance by and large. Sure he did some good stuff over the years. But he acted more like a dictator for the last ten years or more it seems like. I couldn’t believe they ditched Oliver North. That was the final straw.