-The NRA is our best advocate in the fight against gun control
-Wayne LaPierre is corrupt
-Oliver North is conflicted by his relationship with Ackerman McQueen

All of these things can be true at the same time.

They really need to get their act together. As a Life member for quite a few years now, count me as another that has been a bit underwhelmed with their apparent efforts and management the last few years, especially here in Florida. They've had the opportunity to pass some legislation but have made some serious and repeated tactical errors. Legislation for certain issues that have had the ability to pass individually have otherwise failed because they lumped too many things together in one bill. I communicated with them a few weeks ago pointing out the obvious during this legislative session and about their lack of wins here in the sunshine state and never got a response until a couple of days ago after the expansion of the "guardian program" expansion legislation last week. The only problem is it is a somewhat empty victory because language was included to allow schools districts to be able to opt out of allowing teachers to train, get psychological screening, and background checks so that they could at least some of them could carry. In their infinite wisdom and political posturing, Broward county couldn't broadcast fast enough via robocall to all student parents that they would not be allowing any teachers or faculty to be armed even before DeSantis signed it into law. Miami-Dade county followed suit.

Not sure how many other schools districts will opt out so it makes this law a virtually useless "victory" to tout. As for the school districts opting out, they didn't even put any thought into it to be able to use this as a deterrent regardless of how some of them feel about this politically. They could have easily and smartly shared with parents and the general public that any implementation of the expanded guardian program would be on a case by case basis with input from individual schools and administrators and left it at that to at least serve as a deterrent to students and anyone else considering doing harm at a school. But no, they had to openly and loudly broadcast to everyone that no schools in the county would be allowed to participate and the fact they would continue to be easier targets than they should be. Even given the opportunity to make the best out of something they may not individually agree with, Duncie Runcie and whoever else is going this route rather make a political statement while continuing to be stupid with our children and their faculty. But I digress.

As for other legislation, the NRA had the opportunity to get two simple bills passed including the church property bill and another bill in particular which was A ONE WORD CORRECTION to another "give local school boards the ability to override state preemption law inclusion" when it came to having a firearm locked in a vehcile and parked on school property(HB 6005). Originally it was intended to allow schools/districts to restrict students from having firearms in their vehicles (high school students, as colleges are not school districts and are unaffected). But because they included an "and" in the final line mentioning students AND campus parking privileges, it ended up being interpreted in a stricter sense causing a problem for teachers and even parents that wanted/needed to park at school while on campus. So the way it reads, you can essentially drive through the school property with a firearm in the car as long as you don't park in the campus parking lot. They had the opportunity to correct that and while it quickly passed the Judiciary committee, they allowed it to sit in the Education committee for over a month and a half and died in committee without being moved forward to the floor for a vote where it would have likely passed.

It's things like this that are ridiculously frustrating, especially when the same issues and similar bills get introduced year after year with barely a half hearted effort to get them finally through. Makes no sense, almost like if done purposely so they don't get too many wins or small victories at once, for fear that they will run out of things to fight for and to be able to use for continued fund raising. Well, if you're not getting victories on the individual easy stuff without including opt out conditions, or making bills so all encompassing that you can't get legislative support for them, that's not going to do much for your fund raising from existing members or new membership drives either. While I will continue to support them, I am going to hold them even more accountable going forward when what should be the easier stuff doesn't get done, so my support is going to require results. There is obviously more to appreciate and support about the NRA than just the legislative activity, but they have not been doing themselves any favors lately.

quote:

Makes no sense, almost like if done purposely so they don't get too many wins or small victories at once, for fear that they will run out of things to fight for and to be able to use for continued fund raising.

--Dtech

"They need the issue, not the solution, to keep money flowing." --MNSIG

This is the other side of schtupping interns and 40 grand shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive-- when the top administrators of any organization become selfish, greedy and self-serving, the mission of the organization becomes corrupted, and weakened, as well.

At that point it is time to either clean house, or create a new organization. Because the corrupt one is only going to get worse.

I am benefactor life member. Until LaPierre is gone (at a minumun) I will no longer send them monetary support. It will go to GOA and my state organization. Unitl now I roughly split my money about 50% NRA, 25/25 to GOA/GRNC. Now it goes 50/50 GOA/GRNC.

They need to clean up their act.

Dtech, do you know if the lobbyists in Florida are NRA employees/volunteers or hired firms? It almost sounds like whoever's doing the lobbying wants to pay attention on an occasional basis and get paid big for hitting home runs or at least pulling off big package wins rather than being willing to constantly pay attention and pile small win on top of small win until they've got something big. There's more than a few good reasons why you don't necessarily hire a New York firm to make things happen in Tallahasee.

quote:

This is the other side of schtupping interns and 40 grand shopping sprees on Rodeo Drive-- when the top administrators of any organization become selfish, greedy and self-serving, the mission of the organization becomes corrupted, and weakened, as well.

At that point it is time to either clean house, or create a new organization. Because the corrupt one is only going to get worse.

Right.
Just to be clear:
The corruption isn't in how he spends his > $5 million salary, it's in burying his personal expenses in the billings of ad agencies and law firms.
I don't care if he goes on a 40 grand shopping spree on Rodeo Drive if he does it with his own money. But when they are asking me for donations I want to know that the money is spent honestly and efficiently to advance the mission.
If the organization is over-paying for services so Wayne and the Boys can live large (even larger than their large salaries) that's when small donors turn away.

quote:

Originally posted by Il Cattivo:
Dtech, do you know if the lobbyists in Florida are NRA employees/volunteers or hired firms? It almost sounds like whoever's doing the lobbying wants to pay attention on an occasional basis and get paid big for hitting home runs or at least pulling off big package wins rather than being willing to constantly pay attention and pile small win on top of small win until they've got something big. There's more than a few good reasons why you don't necessarily hire a New York firm to make things happen in Tallahasee.

Marion Hammer, the former NRA president seems to be the primary lobbyist spearheading the Florida efforts, but I do not know the specifics of her team, those under her guidance, or if she is currently using outside resources in the lobbying efforts here. I would need to dig a bit further and see what kind of transparency can be had along those lines, but that is another thing they should be forthcoming with and sharing with members on a state by state basis.

I do agree Lapierre needs to go. If for no other reason than to bring in new blood. And I'm not happy with the leadership of the NRA today. That being said, I did finish paying early for my life membership today.

Someone please tell us one thing Marion Hammer has done to advance 2A causes in Florida, during the past five years. What exactly does she do??

Please be specific.

Life Member / Patron of NRA and a life member of GOA.

I agree that NRA does a job, but I think they'd be far more effective without LaPierre

I won't be sending them any additional money until LaPierre is gone...I had high hopes with Ollie North was selected, and its sad that he's gone

thre is more to the story, there always is

quote:

Originally posted by 2Adefender:
Someone please tell us one thing Marion Hammer has done to advance 2A causes in Florida, during the past five years. What exactly does she do??

Please be specific.

You can search up your own specifics without much effort.

Here's (yeah, I know) a Wikipedia link to start you off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Hammer

Edit: OK, here's another from the opposition. The lead off statement made me grin.

"The Unchecked Influence of NRA Lobbyist Marion Hammer

Florida Republicans have allowed the relentless pro-gun operator to become a de facto member of government."

by Mike Spies

· @mikespiesnyc

February 23, 2018



https://www.thetrace.org/featu...ion-hammer-gun-laws/

Allen West, who is on the NRA board, called for a house cleaning, and moving on from LaPierre's leadership.

"“There is a cabal of cronyism operating within the NRA and that exists within the Board of Directors,” West wrote. “It must cease, and I do not care if I draw their angst.”

West said that he had called for LaPierre’s resignation before the organization’s annual meeting in Indianapolis in April, where some of the first signs of serious trouble at the organization emerged.

“It is imperative that the NRA cleans its own house,” West wrote. “If we had done so in Indianapolis, much of this could have been rectified.”

He was then joined by another board member, Timothy Knight. “What has been leaked to the press came as an unwelcome surprise to many of us,” Knight’s post reads. “And it erodes all confidence in management’s ability to lead the NRA. I do not support Wayne LaPierre continuing as Executive Vice President/CEO.”

Crooked LaPierre has to go, and it may be possible for NRA to clean house of the "cabal of cronyism" and get back, fully, to its mission.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politic...se/story?id=63031988

The Wall Street Journal
U.S.
NRA Ad Firm Seeks to End Contract With Gun Group

Ackerman McQueen wants to quit nearly 40-year relationship amid the partners’ legal dispute
The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre last month. The NRA in a lawsuit last week accused ad firm Ackerman McQueen of being behind an attempt to oust Mr. LaPierre, the gun group’s chief executive.
The National Rifle Association’s Wayne LaPierre last month. The NRA in a lawsuit last week accused ad firm Ackerman McQueen of being behind an attempt to oust Mr. LaPierre, the gun group’s chief executive.



By Mark Maremont
Updated May 29, 2019 4:54 p.m. ET
Advertising firm Ackerman McQueen Inc. said it was moving to terminate its nearly 40-year relationship with the National Rifle Association, the latest salvo in a dispute that has embroiled the NRA in controversy in recent months.

Oklahoma City-based Ackerman McQueen has been the NRA’s ad agency since the 1980s and has been credited with helping to transform the gun-rights group from a grass-roots operation to a powerful national advocacy group. But the two organizations have had a falling out in recent months involving litigation and dueling claims that each has leaked confidential information about their relationship to the media.

The NRA in a lawsuit filed last week accused Ackerman of being behind what it called a failed coup attempt at its recent annual meeting, aimed at ousting NRA Chief Executive Wayne LaPierre.

Ackerman countersued, claiming the NRA was looking for pretexts to cancel its contract and seeking as much as $100 million in damages.

In the announcement Wednesday, Ackerman said it had formally provided a notice to terminate its contract with the NRA, claiming the agreement already had been “constructively terminated” by the NRA’s own “inexplicable actions.”


An NRA spokesman, Andrew Arulanandam, said after the Ackerman announcement that “the NRA can now begin transitioning various communications functions” and planned to return the focus of its messaging to its core Second Amendment issues.

The ad firm said it had implored all parties to stay true to the NRA’s membership, but instead was “attacked in frivolous lawsuits and defamed with made-up stories” peddled to the news media.

NRA Faces a Challenge From Pro-Gun Advocates (Jan. 25)
The dispute traces to a drive by the NRA to shore up its internal governance practices. The gun-rights group has said it demanded that all vendors submit detailed records to back up invoices to the NRA, and the only vendor that didn’t comply was Ackerman. The NRA paid the ad firm more than $40 million in 2017, the most recent year publicly available.

Ackerman has said it has complied with all authorized demands for records. It also sent several letters to NRA officials, saying it was unable to comply with demands for records related to certain expenses it incurred on behalf of top NRA officials without additional detail from the NRA itself.



Among the expenses was over $500,000 the ad firm said it allegedly incurred for clothing and travel expenses for Mr. LaPierre, which included suits from a Beverly Hills, Calif., boutique and travel to locales such as Italy and the Bahamas. The NRA has said the expenses were justified, but the letters leaked out after they played a role in an internal NRA board drama that led to the departure of then-NRA President Oliver North.

Ackerman produces the gun-rights group’s NRATV, a streaming venture that includes live video programming. It isn’t clear what will happen to NRATV once the ad agency no longer works for the NRA.


https://www.wsj.com/articles/n...un-group-11559145765

It's been reported that Chris Cox & his Deputy Chief of Staff have been suspended for participating in the "attempted coup" of Wayne LaPierre.
Link

[quote]A new lawsuit from the National Rifle Association alleges that Chris Cox, the group’s second-in-command, was part of former NRA President Oliver North’s effort to oust chief executive Wayne LaPierre.

The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday night, alleges that text messages and emails found that “another errant NRA fiduciary, Chris Cox — once thought by some to be a likely successor for Mr. LaPierre — participated” in what the gun-advocacy group described as a conspiracy.

Cox, 49, has worked with the NRA since 1995 and has led its lobbying efforts since 2002. He is a prominent figure within the association and the revelations will doubtless send a shock through the more than 5 million members of the group, according to the New York Times.

Cox, whose Twitter banner features a picture of him and the 69-year-old LaPierre on stage next to President Trump, denied the accusations in a Thursday statement.

“The allegations against me are offensive and patently false. For over 24 years I have been a loyal and effective leader in this organization,” Cox said. “My efforts have always been focused on serving the members of the National Rifle Association, and I will continue to focus all of my energy on carrying out our core mission of defending the Second Amendment.”

LaPierre, who has served as CEO since 1991, accused North of threatening to blackmail him in April. North threatened, through public relations firm Ackerman McQueen, to release damning information on LaPierre unless he stepped aside, LaPierre said. North soon left his role as president of the organization after the attempted coup was revealed."

I just got an email from Chris Cox three days ago for the NRA.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I just got an email from Chris Cox three days ago for the NRA.

Are you going to share it with us?

quote:

Originally posted by PD:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
I just got an email from Chris Cox three days ago for the NRA.

Are you going to share it with us?

Sorry, it had nothing to do with this. It was just a standard NRA solicitation email.

 

To:

Alan
NRA Member ID:

From:

Chris W. Cox
Chairman

On June 30th – just 13 days from now – the second quarter of 2019 will come to a close and I’ll need to file NRA-PVF’s mid-year financial statement with the Federal Election Commission.

This report is a public document. It’s the first major status update on our readiness for 2020.

Everyone in the political world – our friends, our opponents, and especially the media – will be looking at it.

And they’ll all be asking one critical question:

Is NRA going to have the resources they need to fight in 2020?

Alan, it’s up to you and me to answer that question right now.

Support NRA-PVF Now!

If we file a WEAK REPORT with the FEC, it will send a dangerous message that NRA-PVF is falling behind – that gun owners are disengaged and haven’t yet recognized the critical campaign threat we now face.

It will show in plain black and white that NRA-PVF won’t have the resources we need to WIN next year’s make-or-break election battle.

And it will be celebrated in every gun-hating newsroom, in every Hollywood hypocrite’s posh mansion, and in the campaign headquarters of every gun-ban politician in America.

But a STRONG REPORT will send a LOUD and CLEAR message that NRA members are FIRED UP and ready to FIGHT LIKE HELL for our Second Amendment rights.

Help File a Strong Report Right Now!

A strong report will prove to any and all doubters that NRA-PVF is on track to once again organize, mobilize, and fully deploy the most powerful grassroots force in American politics.

And it will demonstrate for all the world to see that NRA-PVF will have the financial firepower to DEFEAT gun-ban candidates at every level of government – from the White House to the statehouse.

But, Alan, I can’t file a strong report without YOUR immediate help.

The fact is, to hit our goal for this mid-year FEC filing and stay on target for 2020, we need to raise at least $377,000 before this June 30th deadline.

That’s why I’m personally asking you to make an urgent contribution of $27, $36, $55, $100, or even more to NRA-PVF right now.

Give Today!

Make no mistake. Falling behind at this critical early stage of the campaign could mean certain defeat next year and the loss of our freedom.

Gun-ban politicians are already in control of the U.S. House of Representatives and have started moving forward with the most aggressive anti-gun legislative agenda we’ve seen in decades.

If they win the Senate next year, they’ll be pushing freedom-killing bills through the full Congress week after week and month after month.

And if they elect a gun-hating extremist like Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren, or Cory Booker to the White House, they’ll have the UNSTOPPABLE POWER to license, register, tax, ban, and confiscate your guns.

This is the DOOMSDAY SCENARIO we’ve always feared – the end of American freedom as we know it.

And the ONLY WAY to stop this Second Amendment disaster is to band together with our fellow NRA members right now and build the most aggressive, most comprehensive, and most powerful campaign machine in the history of American elections.

There’s not a single day to waste. We need to start right now. Not next year. Not next month. NOW!

Because the first big milestone of the 2020 election is less than two weeks away.

Contribute Now!

And I’m counting on every core NRA leader like you to do their part.

Only with your help today will NRA-PVF be strong enough to fight back against Michael Bloomberg’s massive $500 million campaign to install a gun-ban president in the White House.

Only with your immediate support will NRA-PVF have the nationwide reach to counter the dishonest media’s 24/7 barrage of anti-gun lies and propaganda aimed at creating a gun-ban landslide in next year’s election.

And only with your help right now will NRA-PVF be able to keep our message in front of tens of millions of gun owners in the key swing districts and states that will decide the outcome of the 2020 election.

Help NRA-PVF hit our goal!

This is going to be the hardest campaign fight of our lives. To win, we need to hit every one of our fundraising goals every week and every month from now to Election Day.

That’s why your decision to make a contribution to NRA-PVF today – to get involved in this election battle at this critical early stage – is one of the most important stands for freedom you will make in your entire life.

You and I have been blessed with a heritage of freedom that’s been handed down to us by generation after generation of American patriots.

Now it’s our time to answer freedom’s call.

Please let me hear from you before this critical June 30th deadline, and please support NRA-PVF with the maximum contribution you can afford right now so we can file a STRONG REPORT with the FEC and stay on track for victory in 2020.

We can’t win this election without your help, and we won’t keep our gun rights without your critical NRA-PVF support right now.

Please let me know that I can count on you.

I’m grateful for your help!

Chris

I think the NRA is being run like a Banana Republic.

Met him at the Dallas NRA - a real nice guy, I hope this does not pan out as true.

I wonder how many of the NRA problems - real or perceived, would go away if LaPierre just retired