Frank Tait

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Frank Tait Rides Shotgun With Charlie

March 10, 2022 by

My good friend and fellow co-host of the Polite Society Podcast Charlie Cook has a series of videos called “Riding Shotgun with Charlie.” The series involves Charlie driving with a guest (or two) while he films his interview of them. It is the gun culture’s equivalent of Jerry Seinfield’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee or James Corden’s Carpool Karaoke.

Charlie’s most recent guest was Frank Tait who is running for the NRA Board of Directors. In this case, Frank really was riding shotgun as Charlie’s carry permits were not valid in Pennsylvania. While driving around Philadelphia, they discussed a number of things including how Frank got started in competition, how he became an instructor and training counselor, his work with Appleseed and Revere’s Riders, and, of course, his run for the NRA Board of Directors.

In full disclosure, I have endorsed Frank for the NRA Board and have encouraged people to “bullet vote” for Frank. He is the only person I endorsed for the Board and the only person who got my vote. If you are eligible to vote, I would encourage you to vote soon and to vote for Frank.

I got to ride shotgun with Charlie a few years ago. I think Frank’s interview is much better than mine!

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NRA Endorsement: Frank Tait

February 26, 2022 by

In years gone by, I have done a round-up of various endorsements for the NRA Board of Directors. This year there is only one person who deserves your vote for election to the NRA Board of Directors. That person is Frank Tait.

I have gotten to know Frank fairly well over the past three years. He has the qualifications needed to represent the members of the NRA on the Board. These qualifications include being a NRA Training Counselor as well as an impressive business background in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Even more important, he has stepped up seeking intervenor status when it was obvious that neither the NRA leadership nor the New York Attorney General’s Office was looking out for the membership in the dissolution lawsuit. That took courage and that took initiative. If that was the only thing he ever did that would have been enough to secure my vote.

It should be noted that Frank Tait is on the ballot by petition. He is the only petition candidate. That means he was put on the ballot by the members. The remaining 29 candidates on the ballot were put there by the Nominating Committee. That means they were all vetted as people who wouldn’t rock the boat and who would be good loyal “friends of Wayne.” Anecdotally, I have heard that when Judge Phil Journey made his motion for an examiner in the NRA bankruptcy case there were board members furious at the Nominating Committee for failing to ensure he would be a faithful “friend of Wayne”. I think they probably learned their lesson – unfortunately.

With the death of John Cushman and the resignation of Todd Rathner plus the 76th Director elected at the Annual Meeting, 28 out of the 30 people on the ballot will be elected. To increase the odds that Frank is elected, you need to “bullet vote” for Frank.

Jeff Knox explains it below:

By casting a ballot with only Frank Tait’s name marked, it leverages that vote, improving the odds of Frank’s election, and reducing the chances that any votes I might cast for other candidates might help push Frank down in the overall rankings, costing him a seat.

The February issue of the American Rifleman and Shooting Illustrated had an article by Jason Ouimet, Executive Director of NRA-ILA. In big bold red letters it said “Your Vote Matters.” While he was talking about the Virginia gubernatorial election, the same could be said here. The average NRA Board election has a 5-6% turnout of the eligible voters. That is pitiful and is a primary reason the same old “friends of Wayne” get elected year in and year out. If you want to see change, you need to vote and encourage your friends who are voting members to vote. Of course, that vote should only be for Frank.

Frank Tait will be one of 76 on the Board. That in and of itself won’t give him much influence. However, if elected, he can resume his motion to intervene in the dissolution lawsuit. He would have a statutory right to intervene and this time he could not be denied by Judge Cohen for not being a board member.

It is time to elect someone who is going to look out for the members and not him or herself.

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Intervention By Rocky Marshall Denied

February 16, 2022 by 1 Comment

Former NRA Director Rocky Marshall had filed a motion to intervene in the NRA dissolution case. His motion was filed in September 2021. He was still a director when he filed the motion to intervene. New York Not-for-Profit Corporation Law § 720 b (1) gave him the statutory right to intervene.

Today a hearing was held on this motion in New York County Supreme Court. Unfortunately, Judge Joel Cohen denied Mr. Marshall’s intervention motion. I did not have an opportunity to listen to the hearing.

However, Stephen Gutowski of The Reload did cover the hearing and posted a series of tweets about it.

He wrote:

The hearing over former board member Rocky Marshall’s attempt to intervene in the New York suit against the NRA is happening. Marshall and others are trying to intervene as a way of providing an alternative representation of members. 

The judge seems skeptical of letting Marshall intervene without evidence he was illegitimately pushed off the NRA board. 

Marshall’s lawyers are noting they have different claims against the NRA than what New York has brought. They note that a big one is potentially trying to recover legal fees that the interveners believe are excessive. 

The judge says that sort of claim isn’t at issue in the New York suit and wouldn’t be decided there. So, an intervention isn’t necessary. Marshall’s lawyers counter that the NRA could be dissolved in this suit and they wouldn’t be able to make any claims at that point. 

The interveners argue NRA leadership, such as CEO Wayne LaPierre, has acted against the interests of NRA membership. They argue leadership has harmed the organization and they should be able to intervene on behalf of NRA members. 

The NRA’s lawyers are arguing, basically, what the judge had argued earlier. They say Marshall doesn’t have standing to intervene since he isn’t a director anymore. 

The NRA is arguing that because Rocky Marshall ran for NRA president during last year’s board meeting he has a conflict of interest in trying to invene (sic) in the case. 

The NRA is also arguing Marshall filed his intervention too late. The New York AG’s office also don’t want Marshall to intervene. They also argue he has no standing. 

The judge has denied former board member Marshall’s motion to intervene in New York’s case against the NRA. 

The judge says he does value the input of NRA members who don’t agree with how NRA leadership has run the organization, though. 

Judge says Marshall lacks standing because he is no longer an NRA board member. 

It will be interesting to see whether the judge has to decide this same intervention question for a third time if Frank Tait, who is another one of the interveners, is able to get on the NRA board. 

Well, crap! I thought Mr. Marshall had a chance to become an intervenor. As things stand now – and I hate to say it – the closest thing we as members have to someone representing our interests in the case is the NY Attorney General’s Office. That sucks.

Frank Tait noted in a post today:

Rocky’s attorneys made the point that the NRA is being bled dry and that this helps achieve the NY AG’s intent of dissolving the NRA.

That correlates with reporting in The Reload that analyzed the NRA’s finances and found that 20% of the budget is now going for legal expenses. Moreover, Wayne’s attorney Phillip Correll has billed the NRA approximately $175,000 in legal fees as of this past August.

One last thing that came out in the hearing today is that Susan LaPierre is also being represented by Phillip Correll. That leads to the obvious question is who is paying him to represent her – the NRA or the LaPierres?

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You Did It! Frank Tait Is On The Ballot

November 23, 2021 by 4 Comments

Thanks to everyone who signed petitions for Frank Tait, he beat the “margin of Wayne” and is on the ballot for the 2022 NRA Board of Directors election. He could not have done it without your help and the help of many others who want change at the NRA.

This means that instead of being forced to choose between voting for one of the hand-picked “friends of Wayne” or not voting, you now have a choice.

If you are a voting member, now is the time to start talking to your friends who are also voting members. A personal recommendation from you should mean a lot more than the usual propaganda that you see month after month in the official journal.

Remember it is our NRA and not Wayne’s NRA.

UPDATE: From Frank on getting on the ballot.

The petitions were “beyond the margin of Wayne” and I am on the ballot!

I have to get my approved 150-word biographical sketch in by December 17 so it can be included with the ballots.

This would not be possible without the support of many great people and organizations around the country including the participants at the IDPA Liberty Match, Bitter of Shall Not be Questioned Blog, and the members of Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, the participants of the Nineteenth Bi-Annual Machinegun Shoot at Eastern Lancaster County Rod & Gun Club, and the Montgomery County Federation of Sportsmens Clubs Trapshooting League.

I am grateful for this tremendous support and am committed to reforming the board and management of the NRA

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“Beyond The Margin Of Wayne”

November 17, 2021 by 3 Comments

Frank Tait reports that people have come through in signing his petition to be on the NRA Board of Directors ballot. He received approximately 238% of the number needed to be put on the ballot. He had been advised to have at least double what he needed. Certainly some will be invalid. That said, I will flatly say that if he is kept off the ballot for not meeting the requisite number, it will be due to shenanigans. Because I don’t want to be sued by Wayne’s pin-striped legal wizard (sic) who just lost another case, I won’t call it fraud.

I’ll let Frank Tait give more details:

I submitted a total of 334 petition sheets. These sheets averaged 3.4 signatures per page. This is up significantly from the 2020 campaign. What made the difference this year is that people signing petitions got others to sign.

I received petitions from NRA members in 43 states. 41% of the signatures were from my home state PA. Significant numbers of signatures came in from Colorado, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Arizona, Georgia, Wyoming, Delaware, North Carolina, Texas, Maryland, California, Florida, Washington, and Wisconsin.

Social media contacts were the next largest contributor bringing in 36% of the signatures. Many NRA instructors and training counselors gathered signatures. 16% were from my home club, LPRGC. 24% came from the Eagle Arms gun shows. A certain group of “Deplorables” that meets semi-annually at the NRA Whittington Center brought in 13% of the signatures.

1,134 signatures would not be possible without the support of many great people and organizations around the country including the participants at the IDPA Liberty Match, Bitter of Shall Not be Questioned Blog, and the members of Falls Township Rifle and Pistol Association, the participants of the Nineteenth Bi-Annual Machinegun Shoot at Eastern Lancaster County Rod & Gun Club, and the Montgomery County Federation of Sportsmens Clubs Trapshooting League.

I am grateful for this tremendous support and am committed to reforming the board and management of the NRA.

To those of my readers who sent in signed petitions on behalf of Frank’s candidacy, I thank you.

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Frank Tait Just Needs 50 More Signatures

November 9, 2021 by

Frank Tait is gathering signatures to be a petition candidate for the NRA Board of Directors. He is at 94% of the amount needed and is down to gathering the last 50 petition signatures to get above the “Margin of Wayne”.

If you are a voting member of the NRA, you are eligible to sign his petition. A voting member is any one of the various classes of life members and any annual member with five continuous years plus of membership. Any break in your annual membership and the clock restarts.

Frank alone won’t be able to change the mindless direction of the Board if elected. You know it, I know it, and he knows it. However, it would give him legal standing to intervene in the NY Attorney General’s dissolution lawsuit as it has Rocky Marshall.

As Frank’s note below makes clear, time is of the essence. He needs those signatures now.

Many thanks to the Montgomery County Federation of Sportsmens Clubs Trapshooting League and the members of Lower Providence Rod and Gun Club for their signatures. Over 240 signatures have come in from social media contacts. This brings me to 94% of my target with 1 week to go. I need 50 more signatures to get to my target.

I need your help to get over the top and beyond the “Margin of Wayne” Last year, I had almost 300 signatures disqualified for various reasons and was not on the ballot. As a write-in – I only got a few thousand votes – on the ballot in 2020, I got over 55,000 votes. If I got that total in 2021, I would be on the board now working for reform.

The petition is here: http://cxoservices.com/images/NRA_Petition_Blank.pdf

The NRA requires “wet” signatures, so you have to print out the petition and physically mail me the petitions.

Mail to: Frank Tait, 425 W. Wayne Ave. Wayne PA 19087

I have to submit the signatures to the NRA no later than November 16. Please mail any completed petitions to me no later than November 10.

I ask that anyone interested in getting a reformer on the NRA Board print out the petition and legibly fill out the information. If you don’t know your NRA member number, I can get it from the membership office if I can read your name and address.

We need a person like Frank on the ballot. As I noted when I published the list of official nominees, it is full of “Friends of Wayne”. There is not one damn person on that list who will challenge the status quo. The Nominations Committee made sure of that. They are worse than the captain of the Titanic who ordered full speed ahead in iceberg-laden waters. At least, Capt. Edward Smith realized he was in trouble after they hit the iceberg. I can’t say the same for the Nominations Committee or the majority of the Board.

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NRA Petition Candidates

October 6, 2021 by 11 Comments

In normal years, a candidate for the NRA Board of Directors who wanted to be nominated by petition would have months to gather the needed signatures. This is not a normal year.

The window to gather signatures opened with the Annual Meeting on October 2nd and closes on November 16th. Thus, instead of almost six months, a candidate will have approximately six weeks to gather 477 signatures of NRA voting members. As a reminder, those eligible to both vote and sign such a petition are Life, Patron, Endowment, and Benefactor members and Annual members with 5 continuous years of membership. If you have had a break in your annual membership, the clock restarts.

Runners-up on the ballot including petition candidates are eligible to move up into board openings when sitting directors resign or die. As NRA Secretary and General Counsel affirmed to Frank Tait at the 2021 Meeting of Members, write-in candidates do not qualify.

Frank Tait is the only person I know who is attempting to run by petition this year. If you know of anyone else, please put their information in the comments.

I plan on signing Frank’s petition. I only wish there was an event in the next week or so where I could gather a full page or more of valid signatures.

If you would like a copy of his petition, it is available for download here.

Return the signed petition to Frank Tait at 425 W. Wayne Ave. Wayne PA 19087. He needs them in hand by November 11th. Mine will go out in the mail tomorrow.

Please do not sign a petition if you are not a voting member. You can find your membership number on the label of whatever NRA magazine you receive.

We need more people who represent the actual members of the Board and fewer who represent either their own interests or those of Wayne.

Take a look at the picture below. It was originally posted on the blog NRA In Danger.

I have labeled it to point out Frank and the security monitor that the powers that be assigned to follow Frank everywhere in the Meeting of Members and the Board Meeting.

How damn paranoid do you have to be to put a security guard on one dissident member when you’ve already stacked the meeting with the Board, their spouses, and staffers whose jobs depend on kowtowing to Wayne?

The worst part is that you and I paid for this travesty with our dues. Even the KGB and Guoanbu are more subtle than this bumbling Gang of Four.

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“An Amazing Celebration of NRA Fellowship and Freedom”

October 4, 2021 by 3 Comments

The headline come from a quote by newly-elected NRA President Charles Cotton regarding the NRA Annual Meeting held in Charlotte on Saturday.

If that was all you knew about the Meeting of Members held in Charlotte, you would be excused if you assumed the meeting room was packed to the gills, that members’ concerns were respectfully heard, and that every member of the Board of Director was there.

The reality is much different.

As you can see in this photo sent to me by Rocky Marshall, attendance was sparse. He counted 128 attendees and there were probably a few more by the time everything got underway. Even last year in Tucson during the height of COVID, the Meeting of Members had more attendees. I would say the majority in attendance in Charlotte were Board members, their spouses, and NRA staff.

With regard to having members’ concerns being respectfully heard, a concerted effort was made to suppress even a vote on the only resolution brought before the members in the meeting. Frank Tait submitted the resolution that expressed no confidence in Wayne LaPierre and the Board of Directors and which said Wayne, Meadows, Cotton, Lee, and John Frazer did not deserve to be re-elected. Friend of Wayne Joel Friedman raised an objection to the resolution and a vote was called on whether to consider it. The vote was an overwhelming majority to sustain the objection and not consider the resolution. With that, the meeting adjurned.

If there was a bright spot in this whole charade, it is that NRA General Counsel and Secretary John Frazer was forced to read the resolution in its entirety out loud and that it became an official part of the meeting records. There is no word whether Frazer gritted his teeth or whether his blood pressure started to rise in response.

Stephen Gutowski notes in his new publication The Reload that 28 members of the Board of Directors bailed on the meeting and the follow-up Board Meeting. That means only 48 or members of the Board bothered to show up.

Moving on to the Board Meeting where officers and executives would be elected. The only surprise is that Wayne was not able to be re-elected by acclamation as Judge Phil Journey nominated Rocky Marshall for Executive VP and CEO. The vote on that was 44 votes for Wayne, 2 for Rocky, and 2-3 abstentions. They then went on to elect the full slate of officers and executives that were in the Nominating Committee recommendations that I posted on Friday night.

Such was the paranoia of the NRA that Stephen Gutowski was kept out of the Board Meeting because he was not an active NRA member. He had been allowed to sit in on other NRA Board Meetings in the past. Moreover, I was told by both Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall that they were shadowed throughout both the Meeting of Members and the NRA Board of Directors Meeting by a couple of security guards. Frank did note that they kept the CDC-recommended six feet away.

I have to laugh when I read the official statement by Wayne on being re-elected as Executive VP.

“The NRA is focused and energized–standing tall in the face of unprecedented attacks on our Association and constitutional freedoms,”…“I am honored by the trust placed in me by the NRA Board of Directors and the millions of patriots they represent. Together, we will continue to confront our adversaries and fight for our freedoms and values. We are resolute in our mission as America’s greatest defender of constitutional freedom.” 

The Board of Directors may have represented the members at one time but that time is past. If Wayne and his cronies were really the greatest defender of constitutional freedom they would have allowed consideration of Frank Tait’s resolution, they would not have obstructed the case that became DC v. Heller in its early stages, and they would have gone far beyond the legal requirements for notification of the Annual Meeting. On this last thing, they didn’t even meet the minimum requirements imposed by NY law.

We are beginning to see the impact of the willful ignorance of the Board of Directors. Membership is reported to have fallen down to about 4.2 million members from a high of 5.5 million. Moreover, I know of a very large gun club in Pennsylvania that will be dropping their 100% NRA membership requirement. Without such a requirement, you have to believe that a lot of annual members will start dropping off the roles. Finally, I am hearing on various forums that range from hunting to 2A activism that a large number of traditional donors are keeping their wallets closed. Now I may be just listening to the choir on this but I’m starting to see it in too many places to ignore.

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Motion To Intervene Hearing Today

September 9, 2021 by

The hearing on the Motion to Intervene on behalf of the members of the NRA in the dissolution lawsuit will be held this afternoon. Judge Joel Cohen issued a notice on Tuesday that the hearing will proceed as scheduled. It is set for 2:30pm in Manhattan.

In his letter to the court on announcing a sitting director of the NRA would be joining the Motion to Intervene, attorney Taylor Bartlett gave the court the option of postponing it as he expected both the NRA and the NY Attorney General’s Office would ask for time. Bartlett did note that they were ready to go.

We will know the name of the director or directors who will be joining the suit later today. Given a sitting director has the absolute right to intervene and thus has standing, it will be interesting to hear the arguments against allowing it.

If I can find an audio link to the hearing, I will post it.

Stay tuned!

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My NRA Board Election Ballot

June 10, 2021 by 10 Comments

In normal times, I might have supported a few more on this ballot. However, these are not normal times when it comes to the National Rifle Association. It is being sued for dissolution by the Attorney General of New York, it has wasted millions of dollars on needless litigation, it is has a mostly complacent board who has no concept of their fiduciary duties, it has a CEO who looks at the organization as his personal piggybank, and the list goes on. Its most egregious sin in my opinion is that the grifters have lost sight of who they serve. The consequence of that is to put my civil rights and yours at risk which is unforgiveable.

As you can see from my ballot, I voted for only one person nominated by the Nominations Committee – Owen Buz Mills. I also wrote in the names of Frank Tait and Rocky Marshall. All three of these men have run companies, have served the Second Amendment, and have put the members first.

My ballot arrived in my American Rifleman today. It must be received by the auditing firm by August 15th.

If you want to see the NRA change and improve, then vote for change and improvement. If not, there is not much I can say.

And yes, that is a Charlton Heston forever stamp that I used.

UPDATE: I just noticed that I misspelled Boerne, Texas. I put a “U” where it should have been an “E”. I hope my misspelling doesn’t cause it to be tossed.