NRA

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2023 NRA Board Nominations Released

August 31, 2022 by 1 Comment

The list of people nominated by the Nominations Committee for the 2023 Board of Directors election has been released. Comparing the list below to the candidates who ran in 2020, you find 21 of the 2023 nominees are repeats. A couple more – James Chapman and Isaac Demerest – are board members elected in subsequent years.

It goes without saying that Frank Tait was not nominated. He has indicated he will not be running by petition this time. Also not nominated were Judge Phil Journey and Graham Hill. Given that Journey has been treated as a persona non grata since the bankruptcy filing, his not being re-nominated is not a surprise. It is surprising that Graham Hill who finished 8th in 2020 was not re-nominated as he had served on the board for 15 years and had been an Executive Committee member in the past. One rumor that I heard is that the NRA’s outside counsel didn’t want any attorneys on the board other than NRA President Charles Cotton.

Included as new nominees are Rick Ector and Amanda Suffecool who have done great work at the grass roots level. With the exception of Charles Beers III, I don’t know anything about the rest.

As to Beers, he was the person who offered the resolution at the Meeting of Members that declared “profound support for the past, present, and future leadership of its Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre.” If you read the review of the Annual Meeting in either the American Rifleman or Shooting Illustrated (page 57 in both), that is the only mention of the Meeting of Members. Call me a cynic, but it seems that if you suck up to Wayne big time and publicly then you will get your reward. That really is kind of pathetic.

As of now, I know of no one who plans to run as a petition candidate. If I do hear of anyone, I will post on it.

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Prof. Yamane Reviews Books On The NRA

August 12, 2022 by 4 Comments

Professor David Yamane just reviewed four books about the NRA. This was on his YouTube channel entitled “Light Over Heat with Professor David Yamane.”

Of the four books that he reviewed, I was only familiar with and have read Tim Mak’s Misfire. I personally found it a good book pointing out the controversies surrounding Wayne LaPierre.

David’s reviews takes on two persistent myths about the NRA. First that they only became political after the Cincinnati Revolt of 1977. Second that they are the most powerful lobby in Washington.

The other three books are Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force by political scientist Matthew J. Lacombe; Gun Crusaders: The NRA’s Culture War by sociologist Scott Melzer; and The NRA: The Unauthorized History by journalist Frank Smyth.

(You can also find links to each of the books on David’s blog page here.)

After listening to his review of all four books, I think Lacombe’s Firepower will be my next book to read on the NRA. He also has a number of academic articles out on the gun culture and the NRA according to Google Scholar. As a one-time grad student in political science, this has peaked piqued my interest.

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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.