NRA

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Wit Davis Resigns As NRA Board Attorney

July 15, 2022 by 3 Comments

Wit Davis who replaced Steve Hart in 2019 as the counsel to the NRA Board of Directors has resigned. The announcement was made in an email to the Board this evening. NRA President Charles Cotton announced it and he had NRA Secretary John Frazer email his announcement to the Board.

To My Fellow Board Members:

I am writing to inform you that Wit Davis has resigned his position with the NRA.  I am sure he would want you to know he noted that “it has been an honor to serve this remarkable organization” and that he is available to help the transition to a new attorney.

The plan is for the Association to hire an attorney who will serve through the conclusion of the NYAG case and, if necessary, thereafter until a permanent replacement is found.  We do not want to rush into hiring counsel to provide advice to the Board. Therefore, an interim solution will allow us to conduct a more comprehensive search.

Please join me in wishing Wit the best.

Charles L. Cotton

There can be many explanations for Mr. Davis’ resignation. It could have been that he was forced out by Bill Brewer, Alternatively, it could have been they just didn’t have the money to continue to pay him. Another alternative and one any sane person in his position should have concluded was that life is too short to deal with this crap anymore. I’m sure whatever the reason we will find out more in the coming days.

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Marion Hammer Retires As Lobbyist (Updated)

June 16, 2022 by 3 Comments

Marion Hammer is retiring from her role as a lobbyist for the NRA in Florida. I presume that means she is also stepping down as Executive Director of the United Sportsmen of Florida. She has held this position for 44 years.

But don’t cry for Marion yet.

From the Tampa Bay Times:

Marion Hammer, who became a nationally recognized institution of gun politics in Florida, is retiring after four decades working as a state lobbyist for the National Rifle Association.

Instead, Hammer will serve as an adviser to the NRA, focused on gun advocacy beyond just Florida, according to a Thursday statement from the NRA.

For her service as an “adviser to the NRA”, Marion received $270,000 in 2021. This is according the Report of the Secretary given out at the 2022 Meeting of Members in Houston on May 28th. The payment was classified as “consulting expenses”. The minutes from the NRA’s 2021 Annual Meeting held in Charlotte, NC said this was for “issues affecting the NRA in jurisdictions other than Florida.”

It is my understanding that Marion has a 10-year contract with the NRA for “consulting services”.

Regarding his chief defender and enforcer, Wayne LaPierre had this to say.

“Marion Hammer’s name has become synonymous with the Second Amendment and with the NRA,” said Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO of the NRA. “She is a dynamic and legendary advocate who has led the way with many laws that started in Florida and then served as a blueprint across the country.”

I will grant you that Marion had some big successes including stand your ground and shall-issue carry permits. She has also had some major failures.

Again, from the Tampa Bay Times:

Following the Parkland shooting that killed 17, the Legislature and then-Gov. Rick Scott moved a bill that raised the minimum age for gun purchases, banned bump stocks and instilled a waiting period for gun purchase, provisions Hammer opposed.

I might also note that open carry is illegal in Florida with limited exceptions.

If I come across as a little cynical regarding Marion Hammer, it is because I am. She has opposed all moves to reform the NRA, she refers to reformers as “the enemy within”, and her chief job lately seems to be as the enforcer cracking the whip to keep most of the NRA Board in line with Wayne’s wishes. I see continuing payments to her as a payoff for protecting Wayne from being ousted in the 1990s and for continuing those efforts throughout the years.

UPDATE: Attached below is the release that the NRA sent out announcing Marion’s retirement as a lobbyist.

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Son Of Spies Advocates Dirty Tactics

June 7, 2022 by 1 Comment

Michael Bane calls it chumming for monsters. If you throw enough “blood” in the water eventually a monster will rise to the top. That is what Professor Michael Meeropol is doing in a commentary broadcast on NPR-affiliate WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

I propose that every member of the NRA board and every anti-gun safety member of the United States Senate no longer have the luxury of politeness. If I lived in Washington, I hope I would have the courage to stand up in the US Senate gallery and yell murderer every time a Republican got up to speak. I’d be happy to be arrested and try to get the jury to nullify my conviction.

I believe NRA board members should be subjected to personal attacks. I am not recommending violence but certainly active civil disobedience and nuisance activities that might land oneself in jail are definitely called for. I think it would be great if these folks had red paint thrown on their front stoop, door, driveway, lawn. One does not have to resort to violence to make people uncomfortable.

No more NICE from our side. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!

While Meeropol says he doesn’t recommend violence (wink, wink), he is a well-educated person and knows eventually that someone will do just that.

If the name Meeropol doesn’t bring up any connections in your mind, his birth surname might. Rosenberg. Yes, that is correct, he is the elder son of convicted Soviet spies Ethel and Julius Rosenberg. They were convicted and executed for passing on top-secret information nuclear weapons and other military hardware to the NKVD. When the KGB archives were opened after the end of the Soviet Union, documents showed that Julius was guilty of espionage while Ethel had been an accessory as well as a recruiter of others.

The tactics that Meeropol advocates are more akin to what one would expect from Mao’s Red Guard than the KGB. As a self-described radical political economist, I don’t think that matters too much to Professor Meeropol.

I would call on WAMC, NPR, and all supporters of Northeast Public Radio to repudiate Meeropol’s editorial in the strongest possible terms. If they don’t, then they are complicit in chumming for monsters and the blood will be on their hands as much as on Meeropol’s.

H/T Roy H.

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Meeting of Members – Resolutions, Part IV

June 6, 2022 by

The final two resolutions were submitted by Jeff Knox.

The first of these resolutions was ruled out of order by Charles Cotton. He said after consultation with the parliamentarian that under Robert’s Rules of Order you could not have a resolution condemning someone after another resolution praising him had been adopted. Whether this is true or not, I don’t know since I’m not an expert of Robert’s Rules of Order. Even if I was, I’m sure Cotton would have found a way not to consider the resolution.

Jeff’s resolution is as follows:

After this motion was quashed, Jeff rose and requested that his next resolution be withdrawn. Cotton seemed to be a bit confused by that but it was done.

Then Jeff made a motion to adjourn because spending any more time of this travesty would have been wasted time.

The whole meeting was orchestrated from beginning to end. The only purpose seemed to check off a box, confirm that Wayne is the NRA, that the members really don’t count for squat, and quash any dissent. Board members are told to speak against resolution that challenges the status quo and for a resolution like the “we love Wayne” one. One board member confirmed to me that he slipped out early just to avoid being asked (or told) to do that.

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Meeting Of Members – Resolutions, Part III

June 6, 2022 by 1 Comment

The next two resolutions to be considered included one that I authored on the condition of the NRA Headquarters Building and another that called for email notification of members when a meeting was canceled.

I had conversations with numerous people who told me about the poor condition of the NRA Headquarters Building. Doug Wicklund, former senior curator of the NRA Firearms Museum, sent me the picture below.

Courtesy of Doug Wicklund

He noted that there were numerous patches for water damage in the driveway overhang as well as staining from rust on the window frames of the building. Another person who had been on the 6th Floor said there was lots of water damage from the leaking roof. In era in which real estate tax valuations rarely go down, Fairfax County lowered the tax valuation of the building by over $1 million from 2020 to 2021.

It is an embarrassment that the public face of the NRA is in such poor condition. After my resolution was introduced, I spoke in favor of it as did a gentleman from southwest Louisiana who said you don’t play around with leaking roofs. Speaking against my resolution was NRA Board Member Ron Schmeits of Raton, NM. He said the board was working on it, that there was no need to “waste money” on an independent inspection, and well, you know getting parts these days is hard. Frankly, I put in the part about an independent, third party inspection because I don’t trust the board to do more than pay lip service.

Of the few people remaining at the meeting, the majority agreed with Schmeits and voted it down.

I unfortunately do not have a copy of the next resolution nor the name of the person who introduced it. Basically, it noted that the last minute cancelation of the 2021 NRA Annual Meeting in Houston caused members to lose money on reservations and airfare. The resolution called a better notification of members when a meeting was going to be canceled. It asked that all members be notified by email in case of a cancelation and not just by a note on the webpage. After minimal discussion, it was voted down.

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Meeting Of Members – Resolutions, Part I

June 6, 2022 by 5 Comments

I already wrote about the “we love Wayne” resolution that was passed at the 2022 NRA Meeting of Members. That was the first resolution considered and was intended to run out the clock. As far as the powers that be are concerned, no discussion of matters concerning the NRA and its operations is good discussion.

By my count, there were a total of 12 resolutions. The first was the “we love Wayne” resolution, eight that were ruled out of order, two were allowed to come to a vote, and one that Jeff Knox withdrew.

Robert Rhyne and Mitchell Martin introduced seven resolutions. They were resolutions two through eight. Each and every one of their resolutions was ruled by Charles Cotton to be “out of order” and were not considered. Mr. Rhyne was kind enough to send me copies of his resolutions and I will post them.

Mr. Rhyne is from Arkansas and appeared to me to be the solid, salt of the earth type of NRA member who just got fed up with the “Beltway Bandits”.

The first resolution called for settlement of the lawsuit brought by NY Attorney General Letitia James. The second said that after settlement, the NRA should be reincorporated in Texas.

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I Think I’ll Pass On This Suggestion

May 31, 2022 by 3 Comments

Facebook will often make suggestions on people to “friend”. It may be that you and that person share a number of mutual friends, have common interests, or the like. While responding to a new friend request this weekend, I got this suggestion yesterday.

I am going to have to pass on that one.

The list of reasons why I’d never friend him could go “to infinity and beyond” to quote the great philosopher Buzz Lightyear.

I’ll keep it classy and leave it at that.

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NRA Leadership Forum

May 27, 2022 by

The NRA Leadership Forum was meant to be Wayne’s big hurrah. I mean after all he was successful in getting former President Donald Trump to appear as the keynote speaker. Then an unhinged maniac decided to murder school children and teachers at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.

As of this morning, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has canceled his appearance in order to be in Uvalde and will send a pre-recorded message. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) has to be in Washington for “personal reasons” according to a report in Politico. Cornyn’s office insisted they had informed the NRA of this ahead of the murders in Uvalde. Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) who represents a suburban Houston district is reported still on a trip to Ukraine.

This leaves President Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), NC Lt. Gov Mark Robinson (R-NC) who is also a NRA board member, and Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD) as speakers in addition to Wayne and Jason Ouimet of the NRA-ILA.

As an aside, Sen. Cornyn has been tapped by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to be his negotiator with the Democrats on any gun control legislation that results from the murders in Buffalo and Uvalde. As I understand it, they will be discussing “red flag” law type of legislation.

As I don’t plan to be disarmed of even a knife, I plan to watch the speeches or some of them by video from the Press Room. It will be interesting to see if anything is said other than the typical stump speech.

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Allen West Agrees To Challenge Wayne

May 10, 2022 by 4 Comments

Lt. Col. Allen West (USA-Retired) has agreed to challenge Wayne LaPierre for election as the Executive VP and CEO of the NRA.

Now do I think he will be successful?

No.

The reason is that too many members of the Board of Directors mistakenly believe their loyalty should be to Wayne and not to the NRA. They have long ago forgotten their fiduciary duty – if they ever learned it to begin with. I have read the attacks by David Keene and Marion Hammer on the idea of West being the next EVP and it is obvious that they think their loyalty should be to Wayne. More on that in a separate post.

As Rocky Marshall notes in the press release embedded below, the leadership of the NRA will be changed. The only question is whether it will be in Houston by the board or will it be in New York by the judge. When I say leadership I mean more than Wayne. Both Charles Cotton and David Coy, due to their chairing the Audit and Finance Committees respectively, are in too deep for the courts to allow them to remain in office. As to Willes Lee then moving up to be President of the NRA, I feel the same about that as I would about Kamala Harris moving up to be the President of the US.

Below is the press release sent out today announcing that West had agreed to challenge Wayne.