It is? How come they don’t open carry, or even carry, in Congress, or better yet, the SCOTUS
What makes you think that none of the SCOTUS justices arm themselves?
It is? How come they don’t open carry, or even carry, in Congress, or better yet, the SCOTUS
Why is the right to carry even in question? The 2nd is very clear.
If I want to hear this NEWS STORY, I would sincerely not want to hear it from a BIASED FOX NEWS source!
I think I would rather want to hear it from a non-biased local NEWS SOURCE who has no reason to fluff it up to promote NRA rhetoric in the matter.
OH MY GOD! A NEUTRAL OPINION! HOW DARE ME? RIGHT?
NEXT!
Exactly, SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.
The reason it's in question is because those who are evil - democrats - are constrained by an armed populace that is fully able to resist the dictatorship they promote.
When it comes to being stupid, you are the undisputed champ, there's just no one who can come close to your supreme foolishness.
I think I know enough about them already! You say I know nothing- Let me know if I missed anything! THANKS!
Over the past year, stories about the National Rifle Association (NRA) have spilled into the light of day, painting a picture of an organization in disarray. The NRA seems to be teetering on the brink, hemorrhaging both money and support. How did we get here? The trail is long and full of infighting, flirting with foreign governments, and cuts to the office coffee budget.
Illegal Campaign Conduct
FEC complaints. According to a broad range of election and advertising records, the NRA appears to have illegally coordinated with multiple political campaigns—violating federal law that prevents independent groups from synchronizing their efforts with campaigns. Four complaints filed at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) and Giffords accused the NRA of illegally coordinating with the campaigns of multiple GOP senate candidates in the 2014, 2016, and 2018 election cycles. [The Trace]
Shell companies and Trump. Giffords and CLC also filed FEC complaints documenting illegal campaign coordination involving the NRA and the Trump presidential campaign. The group spent $25 million, mostly on television ads, through the same companies—and often the same executives—who placed spots for the Trump campaign, violating well-established campaign finance laws. [HuffPost]
Giffords lawsuit. The FEC has dragged its feet on addressing these allegations, so Giffords and CLC sought to compel the agency to investigate these millions of dollars in illegal, unreported, and excessive in-kind contributions by filing a lawsuit against the FEC. In October 2021, a federal judge ruled that the FEC has 30 days to take action on the complaints. After no action was taken, on November 2, 2021, Giffords sued the NRA. [ABC News and Washington Post]
Financial Woes
NRA PAC donations plummeted before the 2022 midterms. Far fewer NRA members donated large amounts than previously, with the number of donations totaling more than $200 dropping 45% from the 2018 midterms. This slump is even more significant given there is a Democrat who supports stronger gun laws in the White House, which typically fuels donations. [The Trace]
Court ruling allows New York attorney general to seek hefty penalties from NRA. A judge has allowed New York Attorney General Letitia James to continue seeking two large penalties against the NRA: millions in back-salary from its CEO, Wayne LaPierre, and an independent monitor who would oversee the gun lobby’s finances. This is yet another blow to the NRA in Attorney General James’s two-year lawsuit. [Business Insider]
Judge dismisses claims that New York lawsuit is a “witch hunt.” Judge Joel Cohen swiftly dismissed the NRA’s claims that the New York lawsuit against it is a “malicious retaliation campaign,” allowing the lawsuit to move forward. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued the organization in 2020 over claims that top executives illegally diverted tens of millions of dollars for questionable expenditures, including lavish personal trips . [AP]
NRA member revenue hits 15 year low. According to a financial report released at the NRA’s latest convention in Houston, NRA member revenue has plunged to lows not seen since 2006. CEO Wayne LaPierre defended this drop by blaming gas prices and inflation, despite the fact that the most recent membership revenue decline began in 2018. Also included in the report is a staggering $52 million—or 21% of total spending—on legal fees and related costs in 2021 alone. [The Trace]
NRA withdraws federal lawsuit. The National Rifle Association has withdrawn its federal lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James, where it alleges she violated the organization’s constitutional right and asks for a jury to determine it’s been operating lawfully in the state. [CNN]
NRA bankruptcy case dismissed. A federal bankruptcy judge dismissed an effort by the National Rifle Association to declare bankruptcy on Tuesday, ruling that the gun rights group had not filed the case in good faith. [NPR]
Big investment with few returns. Finances have long been a problem for the NRA as their returns on investment continue to flounder. Despite spending $9.6 million on lobbying Congress over the last two years, the top five bills that the organization identified as legislative priorities were not signed into law. [Bloomberg]
Excessive discretionary spending. News reports revealed that NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre charged more than $240,000 of travel expenses to the organization’s longtime ad agency, Ackerman McQueen, and that LaPierre received suits costing more than $200,000 purchased at an upscale clothing store in Beverly Hills, courtesy of Ackerman McQueen. [The Wall Street Journal]
Leadership payouts. Wayne LaPierre wasn’t the only NRA executive benefiting from large payouts from the organization. About one-quarter of the NRA board, a body that is supposed to be unpaid, collected money from the group through various contracts and agreements that have little to do with the NRA’s core mission. [The Washington Post]
Frozen pensions and underpaid employees. Compared to the seven-figure salary of Wayne LaPierre, rank-and-file staffers have been paid below market rate, and had their pensions frozen in 2018. [NPR]
Questionable transactions by leadership. In July of 2018, NRA accountants put together a document detailing issues that needed to be addressed by the association’s audit committee. The main area of concern was questionable transactions involving top NRA vendors and executives. [The New Yorker]
Investigation into misuse of charitable funds. In order to keep its finances steady, the NRA increasingly relied on cash infusions and other transactions from its foundation, with at least $206 million transferred in the last decade. This raised significant questions about whether that money was being used for charitable purposes, as required by law, and not to help finance the NRA’s political activities. [New York Times]
Conflicts of interest. The NRA’s charitable foundation also made undisclosed donations to a Northern Virginia organization called Youth for Tomorrow, of which Wayne LaPierre’s wife is a former president and current board member—raising questions about the group’s failure to disclose the donations and possible conflicts of interest. [The New Yorker]
Reduced funding for core activities. Despite the fact that the NRA is an organization founded on the values of responsible gun ownership, the NRA’s financial woes have forced it to cut funds for gun training. From 2017 to 2018, allocations for safety and marksmanship dropped from $42.6 million to $32.7 million. [Washington Post]
Expensive litigation. A lawsuit the NRA filed against the State of New York has come attached with a heavy price tag. In a fundraising letter sent to members, LaPierre warned that efforts by New York insurance regulators that stopped the NRA from illegally selling insurance could shut down the group “very soon.” In court filings, the NRA claimed to have “suffered tens of millions of dollars in damages” as a result of the insurance regulators’ enforcement actions. [The Daily Beast]
DC AG follows lead of the NY AG. The New York Attorney General has not been alone in investigating wrongdoing at the NRA: the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia issued subpoenas to the NRA to determine if the group violated DC’s nonprofit act as well. With the group spending $24 million in legal fees in 2018 and early 2019, and ending 2018 $10.8 million in the red, it’s not clear if the organization’s financial troubles will let up any time soon. [Washington Post]
Plans to buy Wayne LaPierre a mansion. Reports revealed that Wayne LaPierre feared for his life after the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, and determined that the solution was to have the NRA buy him a $6 million Dallas mansion, with Ackerman McQueen assisting in facilitating the transaction and maintaining the property after closing. While the deal ultimately fell through, had it not, the organization would have been a 99% owner of LaPierre’s residence. [The Wall Street Journal]
Expensive private flights. For years, Wayne LaPierre employed a California travel agent to book his private flights. Through a complicated financial web of retainer payments and Ackerman McQueen reimbursements, Gayle Sanford, an unregistered travel agent who was accused in a 2009 lawsuit of defrauding small-business owners out of money, arranged travel for LaPierre, as well as his wife and niece. [The Wall Street Journal]
Subpoenas issued to investigate suspected financial misconduct. New York Attorney General James continues to root out the secrets in the NRA’s cabinets. In a newly issued subpoena, the AG is examining at least four dubious practices of the group, involving campaign finance, payments made to board members, and tax compliance. Tax experts raised concerns based on the NRA’s recent tax filings showing the diversion of $36 million from the NRA Foundation to the NRA.The recent subpoena provides a hint as to where the eight-month investigation might be headed. [The New York Times]
Over 60 layoffs. On March 22, the NRA announced that it “would be implementing a number of permanent and temporary staff reductions along with other cost-cutting measures” in response to the COVID-19 crisis. [Politico]
20% employee pay cuts. One of the NRA’s cost cutting measures in response to the COVID crisis is having hourly workers cut back to four-day work weeks, and cutting salaried staffers’ pay by 20%. [NPR]
Exorbitant legal fees. In a brief filed in federal court, attorneys for Ackerman McQueen, the NRA’s former ad agency, allege that the NRA has paid attorney William A. Brewer III and his law firm over $54 million in the past two years, contributing to the financial strain that led to layoffs. [The Trace]
Failed attempts to challenge gun shop closures. A federal judge dismissed the National Rifle Association’s lawsuit challenging New York’s decision to close gun stores in the state in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. US District Judge Mae D’Agostino said the NRA lacked standing to challenge a March 20 executive order by Governor Andrew Cuomo requiring the closure of gun stores in the state because they were “non-essential” businesses. [Reuters]
Hollywood producer entangled in financial abuses. An Emmy-award winning Hollywood producer with longtime ties to the National Rifle Association has emerged as a major figure in the New York attorney general’s case alleging corruption and spending abuses at the nonprofit gun-rights group. A lawsuit filed last week by Attorney General Letitia James against the NRA alleges that the producer, David McKenzie, was the “principal stakeholder” in four large NRA vendors that together were paid $100 million by the NRA in recent years. [Fox Business]
Wayne LaPierre under IRS investigation. The Internal Revenue Service is investigating longtime National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre for possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal taxes, according to people familiar with the matter. [Wall Street Journal]
NRA fined $2.5 million by State of New York. The National Rifle Association agreed to a five-year suspension of its insurance business in New York State and will pay a $2.5 million civil fine to settle charges alleging that the organization offered insurance to members without a license and concealed the fact that it routinely kept some premiums for itself. [The Guardian]
Son of Tree of Life victims sues NRA. A man whose parents were killed in the 2018 Tree of Life synagogue massacre has sued the National Rifle Association, claiming the gun lobby radicalized accused shooter Robert Bowers with “white supremacist conspiracy theories.” [Trib Total Media]
NRA declares bankruptcy. Seeking an end-run around an investigation by the New York attorney general, the National Rifle Association said Friday that it was declaring bankruptcy and would reincorporate in Texas. The gun group was set up in New York after the Civil War. [New York Times]
Russian Ties
NRA delegation visits Moscow, sponsored by Russian gun group. In 2015, a Russian gun rights group, Right to Bear Arms, sponsored an NRA delegation to visit Moscow. Present on the trip were former NRA President David Keene, soon-to-be-president Peter Brownell, Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke, NRA donors Jim Gregory and Arnold and Hilary Goldschlager, and Jim Liberatore, the president and CEO of the Outdoor Channel. [The Daily Beast]
Links to foreign espionage. The Moscow trip was organized by Alexander Torshin, a Russian politician who ran Right to Bear Arms, and Maria Butina, a Russian gun rights activist who was sentenced in April 2019 for failing to register as a foreign agent. [Washington Post]
Email evidence. The trip involved NRA executives meeting with senior Kremlin officials. In the years since the visit, the NRA has attempted to distance itself from the visit and the group’s ties to Russia. However, uncovered emails revealed that NRA employees worked directly with Butina to coordinate travel arrangements. [ABC News]
Foreign donors. Though they deny the funds were used for election activity, the NRA admitted to the Senate Finance Committee that it had received roughly $2,500 “from people with Russian addresses” or Russian nationals living in the US during the 2016 cycle. [New York Times]
Congressional investigation. In her plea deal, Butina stated her goal was to “establish unofficial lines of communication with Americans having power and influence over US politics.” The FBI has reportedly looked into allegations that Torshin and other Russians may have funneled funds to the NRA as part of the $30 million it spent to support Trump’s election. Since these revelations, congressional investigators have begun investigating the full extent of the relationship between the NRA and Moscow. [The Guardian]
I've got more on request- BUT THIS WILL GET YOU STARTED!
The Constitution of the United States says otherwise. Not that you Stalinists have anything but contempt for the Constitution.
The plain language of the Constitution is clear.
That tyrants flagrantly violate the law of the land is irrelevant to the fact of the amendment.
An armed citizenry is an impediment to the establishment of tyranny. Hence, your fear and loathing of the free and armed populace. You know that all the federal troops in the nation cannot prevail over the armed citizenry - 75 million strong with some 500 million firearms. The largest standing army on earth. Your vainglorious plots to establish a totalitarian dictatorship are thwarted by the reality of this.
It's your money! Give it to the NRA all you want, or not.
And you are right, I have never attended a gun club. Guns are just a minor hobby for me. I hardly ever shoot anymore.
And Deer Hunting got to be so expensive here in Texas, i have pretty much given it up!
I recently purchased a new 357 and a 9MM that I haven't even fired once yet. So I would like to go to the indoor range and try them out!
Maybe this week!
I'm a life member, have been for 40+ years.
So you cannot make a judgement of the general membership.
The farms I hunted small game with my father have been turned into housing developments.
The farm I hunt deer on is still there but the owner died. His nephew posted it so there aren't
as many hunters to move the deer, but I still know where the trails are.
I would recommend shooting them to become familiar with them. I load for and shoot a few
of mine about every 2 weeks to keep in practice.
You need to cite your copy and paste, sploogy.
Your rant is copied entirely from,
https://giffords.org/blog/2022/05/nra-in-disarray-what-you-need-to-know-blog/
The plain language of the SCOTUS is clear. Write them a letter with your learned opinion, bitch. I’m sure they’ll give it all the consideration it deserves.
The plain language of the SCOTUS is clear. Write them a letter with your learned opinion, bitch. I’m sure they’ll give it all the consideration it deserves.
Yes, as the stuff I posted kept quoting Giffords.org sources throughout.
I just wanted everyone to read it.
Irrelevant - you presented it as if you had shit it out yourself, rather than cutting it from a notorious hate blog.
Don't be an old grouch!
Don't be a plagiarist.
I know, you want to be just like Quid Pro.
No need.
There are currently 4 Constitutionalists on the court, countering the 3 Marxists. Kavanaugh usually caucuses with the Constitutionalists, Hollywood John goes whichever way will get him in the best cocktail parties. Your chances to subvert the Constitution with the current court are slim, to none.
FURTHER, the side effect of you Marxists eschewing the rule of law is that you undercut any authority to impose your edicts. It is ONLY the law which provides legitimate authority for government to impose any rules. An armed society is governed by consent. Obviously this distresses you, democrats seek to rule by force and fear. But at this point, there is little that your Reich can do to impose your edicts.
Communist ruler Kim Jong Newsom attempted to reimpose Mask Mandates last April. This failed, utterly - as the public even in California simply refused to cooperate and rejected the authority of the ruling Communist party to impose their will.
This is the reality you cannot grasp - that your attempt to impose by force is doomed to failure.
You see your Reich as all powerful. We see you for what you are, a house of cards.
It was your conservative court, with Scalia writing the majority opinion in Heller, you fucking moron.
People as ignorant as you should avoid putting it on public display.
ROFL
Heller massively increased the civil rights of Americans. Did you actually think Heller was a big win for your Reich? Heller codified in the court the fact that "The People" in the second amendment are the same "People" in the first, fourth, and tenth. You of the anti-liberty left lost big with Heller.
You need a better hate blog to do your thinking for you, dumber. One that has actually read Heller.