The trial in New York, pitting the New York Attorney General against the National Rifle Association, is over, and the judge has issued a partial decision.

At the end of that decision, Judge Joel Cohen asked that the NRA and the AG sit down and try to cobble together a plan for remediation of some aspects of the Association’s governance going forward.  If they can’t agree on a workable plan, the judge will evaluate their various suggestions and devise a plan of his own.  In the end, agreed-to plan or not, the final decision rests with the judge, and he expressed his intention to issue that decision within a couple of weeks.

Rather than try to offer a synopsis of the judge’s ruling, with my own editorial spin and possible errors, I’ve decided to provide you with the whole thing as accurately as possible.  The only editorializing I will do is to “bold” highlight and bring attention to the judge’s words or sections I see as particularly important. As you read this, again, note that any added emphasis (BOLDING) is my doing, not the judge’s. Continue reading Judicial Verdict in NRA Trial: Accountability, Governance, & Future Implications →

The NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Dallas were held between May 15 and May 20, 2024, including meetings of various committees of the Board of Directors throughout the period, the Exhibit Hall with various seminars and presentations on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the Annual Meeting of Members on Saturday, and a meeting of the NRA Board of Directors on Monday.

The big news came from the NRA Board of Directors meeting on Monday, May 20, in which the leadership of the NRA changed hands.

With the exception of the presidency, reform candidates ran the table resulting in a new direction for the 153-year-old Association. First Vice-President Bob Barr beat out a strong challenge from Owen “Buz” Mills, a retired businessman and the owner of Gunsite Academy. The 1st VP chair was filled by reform candidate Bill Bachenberg. The 2nd VP chair went to reform candidate Mark Vaughan, and in the most surprising election, the position of Interim Executive Vice President and CEO went to reform candidate Doug Hamlin over popular firearm designer and manufacturer Ronnie Barrett. Continue reading A New Day Dawns at the NRA, Are Reform Efforts Paying Dividends? →

“As iron sharpens iron, so does one person sharpen another.” ~ Proverbs 27:17.

As I prepare to head out to Dallas for the 2024 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits, I’m thinking about the years I’ve spent banging my head against the stone wall that has been the NRA establishment and the frustration I’ve felt seeing good people shunned by the NRA Board and its “leadership” for having the temerity to question certain policies and activities within the Association.

Since my election to the NRA Board last month, I’ve noticed some shift in the way my soon-to-be fellow Board members deal with me. I don’t become an official member of the Board until the meetings in Dallas, but my election was a major milestone, and I’m ready for the difficult work to come.

The first order of business will be to convince my fellow Directors that I’m not the enemy.

Continue reading Mining for Iron in Dallas: 2024 NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits →

NRA election results are in. Not only were all four of our “Four for Reform” candidates for the NRA Board of Directors elected, each winning a 3-year seat, but we almost swept the top spots.

Ronnie Barrett, the founder of Barrett Firearms, came in with the highest vote count, as everyone expected, but he was followed closely by Judge Phil Journey and Rocky Marshall, both reform candidates who got on the ballot via petition of the members. The next seat went to Wayne Anthony Ross of Alaska, a former Vice President who’s been on the Board since 1980. I rounded out the top five. Our fourth reform candidate, Dennis Fusaro, came in at a respectable number 16.

All in all it was a stellar performance for complete outsiders with no internal NRA organization support.

As I said during the early days of the campaign, getting one “insurgent” candidate elected without the support of the establishment is extremely difficult, but getting two or three elected, much less four, is damn near impossible. The fact that all four of us were elected, with three of us in the top five, should send a loud and clear message to the Board that the members are ready for some serious changes. Continue reading All Four Reform Candidates Win Seats on NRA Board →

A settlement has been reached in the case of Washington, DC v. NRA Foundation. The case was set to go to trial on April 29 but was settled on April 17th, 2024.

The settlement agreement is very modest (embedded below), requiring the Foundation to create an Audit Committee to keep an eye on the organization’s books. Do annual training for directors and officers regarding their legal responsibilities to the Foundation, and institute stricter policies regarding conflicts of interest and any payments, grants, or loans to the NRA. It also requires some reporting to the court for a couple of years.

In the original complaint, filed back in August of 2020, at the same time New York Attorney General Letitia James filed her lawsuit against the NRA and several of its top executives, the DC AG summarized his accusations as follows: Continue reading NRA Foundation Dodges a Legal Bullet in Washington, DC Legal Battle →

Your Vote is Desperately Needed in this year’s NRA Board of Directors Election.

There are only four (4) candidates on the ballot who have been vocal advocates for reform within the NRA, and without your help, those four candidates will not win seats. Ballots must be received by April 28th, 2024, which means they must be in the mail by April 24 or 25 at the latest.

A brief window will open in July, during which a judge will decide what steps are needed to repair the damage of decades of corruption and failed leadership within the NRA.

Leading up to that judge’s decision, the NRA Board can take steps to help guide the reorganization of the NRA, stop the corruption, return power to NRA members, and restore the NRA.

Continue reading Time’s Running Out to Save the NRA, Voting Members Must Act Now →

Arguments were heard by the US Supreme Court on Monday, March 18, 2024, regarding allowing a lawsuit filed by the NRA against a New York state official to go forward.

The National Rifle Association won a procedural argument in District Court that would have allowed the case to proceed, but that decision was reversed in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Now the Justices will decide whether to reverse the Appeals Court’s decision and let the case go back to the District Court to continue to trial. The good news is that the SCOTUS Justices seemed to agree with the NRA’s position, challenging the assertions of the New York attorney, and nodding along with the presentation from the NRA’s attorney. In a surprise twist, the attorney representing the NRA is from the ACLU. He and his organization have disavowed the NRA and its mission, but say the case is more important than the organization. The Biden Justice Department chimed in, warning that siding with the NRA could limit regulators’ ability to influence companies, but conceded that the NRA had a solid case, at least in part, and that the case should be allowed to go forward.

BUT, don’t get this case confused with other NRA cases that are going on….

Continue reading Don’t Forget All The National Rifle Association’s Other Lawsuits…. →