The second week of testimony in the New York trial of NRA, CEO Wayne LaPierre, Secretary and General Counsel John Frazer, and former Treasurer Woody Phillips wrapped up on Friday, January 19, 2024, and things are not looking good for the defendants. A fourth former executive, LaPierre’s former deputy Josh Powell, pled guilty days before the trial began.

Also, just days before the trial, LaPierre announced his resignation, effective at the end of January 2024, at an NRA Board of Directors meeting. Many spectators and even some participants have missed the delayed effect. He’s still technically in charge and, presumably, still having his legal bills covered by NRA members’ money.

In his resignation announcement, LaPierre said he was stepping down for health reasons. He is reported to be suffering from the debilitating effects of chronic Lyme Disease, a tick-borne bacterial infection that can cause a variety of serious health problems. Having struggled with Lyme Disease myself and had people close to me affected by the chronic form of the infection, I won’t join in the chorus that has suggested the whole thing is some ruse on LaPierre’s part. Continue reading Wayne LaPierre’s Brain is Shrinking, Yet He’s Still In Charge of NRA! …Why? →

Wayne LaPierre, longtime Executive Vice President and CEO of the National Rifle Association, announced his retirement today, citing “health reasons.”

LaPierre’s departure from the organization is scheduled for the end of January and surprised casual NRA members and outside observers. However, I had speculated that LaPierre might try to step out of the Association rather than wait to be forced out by a judge.

The question now is, how this might impact the NRA’s position in the trial that’s scheduled to start Monday in New York. Read my article posted yesterday for more background on the trial.

Having LaPierre out of office probably helps the NRA’s overall case somewhat, but it won’t get the NRA insiders and longtime Board members off the hook.

Continue reading Wayne LaPierre Resigning from National Rifle Association …Now What? →

Jury selection has begun for the trial between the NRA and the state of New York.

Not the one where the NRA is suing New York officials for encroaching on the Association’s First Amendment rights by using their regulatory authority to threaten and coerce banking, financial, and insurance companies to refrain from doing business with the NRA. That case has already been lost twice, once in the District Court and again in the Appeals Court, but it is on the docket to be heard by the US Supreme Court in the near future.

It’s an important case, and the NRA is absolutely on the right side of that one, and deserves to win.

The case I’m talking about is New York Attorney General Letitia James’ suit against the NRA and four of its current and former executives for misuse of charitable funds, self-dealing, cronyism, and nepotism.

Unfortunately, the NRA is on the wrong side of this one.

Continue reading The National Rifle Association is Heading to Court, One Way or Another →

Tombstone, Arizona – Elections for the NRA Board of Directors will be conducted early next year, and four self-identified reform candidates will be on the ballot.

Judge Phil Journey, Rocky Marshall, Dennis Fusaro, and [myself] Jeff Knox have all secured enough petition signatures from NRA Voting Members to have our names on the ballot in the 2024 Director Election, along with the 25 incumbents and three additional candidates that were nominated by the NRA Nominating Committee.

That means NRA members will have a total of 32 candidates vying for 25 three-year seats on the NRA Board, with the remaining candidates eligible to run for the one-year, 76th Director seat, which will be voted on by members in attendance at the NRA’s Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Dallas in May.

Each year, NRA members are asked to vote on one-third of the three-year seats on the Association’s ridiculously oversized NRA Board of Directors. In total, 76 Directors serve on the Board, with 75 of those serving staggered, three-year terms, meaning 25 come up for election each year in the mail-balloting, along with any seats that might have been vacated during the previous year.

As the Nominating Committee slate indicates, the NRA tends to keep the same group of people on the Board for extended periods of time – as long as they don’t make waves. Continue reading 4 Outsider Reform Candidates Nominated by NRA Members, LFG! →