by It took me a while to get a copy of the second resolution that was introduced at Meeting of Members at the NRA Annual Meeting in Indianapolis. The first resolution was to thank President Trump for withdrawing from the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty and the third resolution was an off-the-wall ode to Dana Loesch by some fan girl. You may have read about some of the fireworks that were associated with this resolution which condemned Wayne LaPierre as well as the Audit, Finance, and Executive Committees of the NRA Board of Directors. The resolution was ultimately referred to the Board of Directors for discussion.
Stephen Gutowski of The Free Beacon put up a short video that captures some of the dynamic of the meeting. On one side you had the old guard such as Marion Hammer, James Porter, and others who have served on the Board of Directors for many years. The other side might be called the insurgents. You had people like gun rights attorneys Adam Kraut and Joshua Prince along with a number from Pennsylvania. You had trainer Rob Pincus who now is the Executive Director of 2A.Org. Plus many others.
Below is the full resolution that was presented by Frank Tait who graciously sent me a copy.
Resolution submitted to the Annual Meeting of the National Rifle Association, 27 April, 2019
Submitted by:
WHEREAS, the National Rifle Association exists for the benefit of its members and has a long, illustrious history as the nation’s premier provider of firearms safety, training, and competition, as well as our country’s oldest and most effective civil rights organization; and
WHEREAS, the various missions of the NRA are dependent upon the hard work and generosity of our members and volunteers, who donate countless hours and tens of millions of dollars to our cause each year to help defend our rights and sustain our long tradition of shooting, hunting, and defense of self, family, community, state and country; and
WHEREAS, the NRA is chartered in the state of New York and subject to the laws of that state and the authority of the governor and attorney general of that state, who have declared their desire and intention to destroy our organization; and
WHEREAS, recent revelations of questionable business and financial practices within the NRA regarding their dealings with various vendors and contractors, who have received tens of millions of dollars from the NRA without clear accountability or oversight, leading to a lawsuit against one vendor, whom the NRA paid more than $40 million in 2017; and
WHEREAS, the NRA has filed a lawsuit against one of those vendors, admitting that they have paid large sums of the members’ money, without detailed contracts, proper invoicing, or any way to effectively determine what was received in exchange for that money; and
WHEREAS, very similar issues were raised over 20 years ago involving this same vendor, but were squelched and ignored; and
WHEREAS, Wayne LaPierre was the Executive Vice President of the NRA 20 years ago when these issues were originally raised, and actively opposed and blocked any investigation or corrective action at that time, and during his long tenure as EVP of NRA, has often supported and defended this vendor, their practices, and other vendors and contractors who have similarly reaped huge rewards from the NRA without demonstrating any substantial return on our investment; and
WHEREAS, these highly suspect practices and failures to properly safeguard the assets of the association and its members, have created serious vulnerabilities that can, and almost certainly will be exploited by the very hostile attorney general of New York, and could result in the dismantling of the entire organization; and
WHEREAS, the ultimate responsibility for this situation, which has been ongoing for the past 20 years, rests with the Executive Vice President of the association, Wayne LaPierre, who receives over $1.4 million from the association each year, and has been reported to have a clause in his contract obligating the NRA to continue paying him the same amount as a speaker and consultant after he leaves the NRA; therefore be it
RESOLVED, that, on this 27th day of April, 2019, the members of the National Rifle Association of America here gathered at the Annual Meeting of Members in Indianapolis, Indiana do hereby express our disappointment, frustration, and lack of confidence in Wayne LaPierre’s ability to guide the association out of the dangerous mess he has created, and call for his immediate resignation; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we, the members here gathered, also have no confidence in the members of the NRA Board of Directors who serve on the Audit Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Executive Committee, who were directly tasked with oversight of the operations of the organization and its finances and failed to identify and correct these long-running discrepancies that have cost our association tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of dollars, and put it in such a precarious position; and be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution, along with a brief description of its reception and passage by this body, should be prominently published in the Official Journal of the association within six months of adjournment of this meeting.