New York Attorney General Sues to Dissolve NRA

Is it honestly believed, on the part of yourself or others, that this move would actually serve to bring an end to the NRA?

Is it honestly believed, on the part of yourself or others, that if the NRA were to truly be "dissolved" that some other similar organization would not immediately rise up to take its place as the premier second amendment advocacy group in the united states?

Is it honestly believed, on the part of yourself or others, that if the NRA did not exist politicians would be free to support whatever firearm-related restrictions they wished, regardless of the fact they would never pass constitutional muster?

 

Great! RIP hundreds of thousands of people lost to guns in USA last two decades.

 

None of which the NRA has played any part in. Nor can evidence of such ever be presented on the part of yourself.

 

The NRA should be a single issue organization. The NRA is a lawsuit machine and this move will divert resources. Libs will exploit this to further erode the second amendment as they have done in CA.

 

Why think for yourself when it has been done for you.

 

Indict the officers of the corporation who committed the criminal acts.

But I get that this is political and not about criminal acts per se but about destroying an organization that mostly contributes to GOP candidates.

 

Before I comment on that statement here's a quick overview of the NRA, the board is elected to 3 year terms, 1/3 of the board is up for election every three years, each member has a single vote and the ballot is sent out in the magazine selected by the member to receive monthly, members can pool votes creating super members, these members are often people who will attend the annual meetings and they can combine the votes they hold to sway the board to cause the NRA to change course.

As for a single issue the NRA more or less is, it's incorporated as a education and training organization and that is what it remained as until the Revolt at Cincinnati in 1977, at that meting Harlon Carter and Neil Knox holding enough votes to turn over a large part of the board demanded the NRA become involved in politics, the NRA had avoided politics before that as the board and the EVP both concluded, it was someone else's job to worry about politics and let the NRA worry about shooting.

Membership understood this lack of action would result in a massive amount of draconian anti-gun laws getting passed, eliminating the need for a NRA because if their are no privately possessed guns, their is no need for education and training, therefore no need for the NRA anymore.

At that meeting the board got their heads handed to them, the EVP was fired and a number of hard core board members went with him, they bylaws where rewritten and voted into place and the NRA formed a separate for profit organization for lobbying, the NRA being non-profit cannot lobby under IRS rules, all they can do is advise members of pending pro or anti gun legislation.

The lobbying part became known at the NRA Institute for Legislative Action or ILA, being for profit they can collect as much as they wish and spend as much as they wish on lobbying,

The much maligned and hated by the anti's Wayne LaPierre is the go between the ILA and the NRA, he is on salary with the NRA as the EVP and CEO, but has a lot of control over who the ILA sends campaign donations to, if memory serves me correctly he was appointed to this position by Harlon Carter around 1992, just after he went to work for the NRA, he has a strong background in political activism holds a Master's degree in government and politics and was a board member of American Association of Political Consultants, American Conservative Union and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, as such he was a perfect fit for the NRA's lobbying force and that is one of the many reasons the antigunners so hate him, he is not only pro gun he is also pro hunting.

As for compensation he is paid roughly $1.00 per member per year, (not a lot of expense to the NRA), plus actual expenses which is SOP for any corporation, execs spend a lot of time away from home conducting business and not expected to lodge at Days Inn or dine at Burger King, expenses such a clothing, dry cleaning, meals and lodging are all normal expenses some paid in advance while others reimbursed on vouchers.

Per Wikipedia he and the NRA supports the following.

• Increasing funds for a stricter and more efficient mental health system, and reform of civil commitment laws to facilitate institutionalization of the mentally ill when necessary.
• Creating a computerized universal mental health registry of those adjudicated to be legally incompetent, to help limit gun sales to the mentally ill.
• Increasing enforcement of federal laws against and incarceration of violent gang members or felons with guns.
• Project Exile and similar programs that mandate severe sentences for all gun crimes, especially illegal possession. LaPierre stated, "By prosecuting them, they prevent the drug dealer, the gang member, and the felon from committing the next crime... Leave the good people alone and lock up the bad people and dramatically cut crime."
• Restriction on "bump-fire" type rifle stocks, in the aftermath of the Vegas shooting in 2017. 1.
  
• Bans on fully automatic firearms. 2.

Note.
1. The Bump Stock ban was a no win either way the NRA went, if they opposed the ban they would have been painted as supporting providing the tools needed to create more mass shootings like Vegas, if they went along with it they would be painted as becoming weak and ineffective.

Never mind the fact BATF had already declared bump stocks where legal, never mind bump stocks turn a semi-automatic into a gun that cannot be aimed properly, never mind bump stocks often results in feed jams, facts don't count in the PYSOP war against guns.

2. Neither the NRA nor LaPierre have supported bans on fully automatic guns, long before LaPierre came along the NRA caved to fully automatic restrictions, to cut short a attempt to ban all semiautomatic guns, they didn't think they had the support to save full auto's so they compromised allowing a more restrictive way to possess them, but they are not banned in the US.

None the less this latest action against the NRA is nothing more than Bloomberg trying once again to use money to change the landscape of the US and what a better way to do that then to eliminate the NRA.

Problem is Bloomberg has already demonstrated he doesn't think things through too well, yes eliminate the NRA and it will reform overnight as a new NRA minus the E&T and just go full force with it's almost 6 million members and nationwide network of chapters under a new name, and knowing progunner's I can guarantee existing membership will transfer into the new organization, new membership will rise as gun owners realize what just hit them, donations will rise greatly and LaPierre will still have a job running it with more fire driving him.

It's well known the membership of the NRA is only a fraction of gun owners in the US, however what is lesser known is almost universally NRA members have been effected by antigun actions, they didn't like what happened to them and for that reason they joined the NRA, the more damage the antigunners do to law abiding people, the more people seek out membership in organizations like the NRA, they understand even with all of their effort such as up in Virginia, they get steamrolled and they want a lobby who will support them and the NRA is one of the better connected on the hill lobbies, as for local efforts that's up to the state affiliates, the NRA will provide funding, but the locals must have funding to begin with for the NRA to match.

What happened in VA is the local state affiliate, while having a lot of supporters, didn't have funding needed to fight back, they lost and the NRA and others are using them as a call to arms for other states to not make the same mistake, getting involved is nice, but digging into ones wallet is what gets things done.

 

However this suit is civil, at least here indictments only come out of a criminal actions, not civil.

This is the same as you putting a dent into my truck and refusing to pay for the repair, I haul your butt into Circuit Civil and get a judgement against you, as much as I might like to see you bunking with Bubba, that ain't happening, all I can do is go after your assets while Bubba doesn't get to have any fun with your asset.

 

The NRA’s Fight in New York Is For All Americans

"This battle couldn’t be more important. That’s not only because of the salience of the rights at stake. They are supposedly vouchsafed by the First Amendment and Second Amendment. It’s also important because New York’s lawsuit is motivated by politics. The timing of New York’s case couldn’t have landed at a more mischievous moment, coming as it does on the eve of a presidential election. No doubt that’s intentional."

https://www.nysun.com/editorials/the-nras-fight-in-new-york/91213/

 

I appreciate you taking the time to post that. It is true that our dollar is more powerful than our vote.

 

Sad but true, which is why the NRA, being a law abiding gun owners lobby is so hated.

They are often misaligned by antigunners as a firearms lobby, but those who make that statement are revealing their ignorance about the reality of the firearms business, the NSSF is that lobby, their mission statement is "As the firearm industry's association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation works to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports."



https://www.nssf.org/



As stated, the NRA is a law abiding gun owners lobby and one of the best at the federal level of doing that job.

 

That's why I think this is simply political and they don't have evidence of serious wrongdoing. Otherwise they would have started indicting.

 

You are 100% correct, this is pre-election posturing to distract from the real issues people care about.

 

Really,?
Person X; 'I don't like the Mafia, or 'I don't like the New England Patriots' or 'I don't like boy bands'.

You: 'Really? Why do you hate freedom of association?'

 

The NRA stands between the anti-gun left and the unnecessary and ineffective restrictions they want to place on the law abiding.
Their actions here are a means to advance that purpose, and nothing else.

 

?

 

See TOG 6's initial response to the first post in this thread which both supported the case against the NRA and criticized it.

Point being you can think the prosecution of the NRA is a good thing or not (in TOG's case not). But how does criticizing a group (any group) mean by default you also then oppose freedom of association?

 

To feel deep in your American spirit what this New York State attorney general’s political move to disband the National Rifle Association is all about, do this: Imagine a rogue district attorney (DA) targeting you with outrageous, politically motivated charges. Picture this DA calling a news conference with the mainstream media. Now see this public official, who should know better, on the steps of a government building in front of the cameras, unjustly, unfairly and with partisan opportunism on their breath and in their power-hungry eyes, accusing you of fake charges, charges designed to shut you up, to harm your reputation and to cost you everything.

To fight back, even though you are right, you know you’ll need to spend a fortune on attorneys and to navigate a mainstream media bias that is mostly prejudiced against you and all you stand for.

As you struggle in this fight for justice, because you must, you know they really aren’t trying to win a legal argument. They are trying to drain your resources and attempting to stall and distract you at a critical time.

Now realize this is exactly what they’re doing to your NRA. For political reasons before an all-important election, they are attempting to bleed to death our nearly 150-year-old civil-rights association. They hate and fear the NRA because the NRA is made up of millions of like-minded Americans from all demographics who have all chosen to stand shoulder to shoulder for American freedom. They hate and fear the NRA because its many members vote.

This can’t be overstated. This is a blatant and political assault on American freedom. New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit is literally calling for the dissolution of the NRA. This is happening a mere three months before an election, an election in which your Second Amendment rights will be on the ballot.

These New York officials are openly trying to neuter the NRA, a major political force that stands opposed to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s (D) stated desire—and, in fact, the official positions of Joe Biden and even the official 2020 Democratic Party Platform—to ban and/or regulate our Second Amendment-protected rights out of existence.

As stated in the complaint, I was privately warned by then-NY AG Eric Schneiderman that Governor Cuomo was engineering an attack on the NRA,” said New York NRA Board Member Tom King. “I was told Cuomo would use every resource to pursue his lifelong dream of defeating the NRA, and an ‘investigation’ of our Association was on the horizon. I always expected better of the governor, and hoped he would rise up to honor the principles under which he was elected. I feel compelled to share this story today for all who hoped this state would put its people first—not use them as pawns to advance Cuomo’s partisan agenda.”

The background of this partisan agenda is also important to note, as New York Attorney General James has a record of attacking the NRA. In a 2018 interview with Ebony magazine, for example, James called the NRA a “terrorist organization.” Also in 2018, James actually vowed to “target the NRA” and “investigate the legitimacy of the NRA as a charitable organization.” She said this while on the campaign trail before spending even one day in office and without any evidence of any compliance failures.

This is why the NRA quickly counter-filed a lawsuit against New York Attorney General James in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York. This lawsuit notes that, under the guise of protecting New Yorkers and enforcing state nonprofit law, the NY’s AG has weaponized its regulatory and legal powers to harm the NRA because they see the NRA as a political adversary.

The NY AG undertook an investigation of the NRA immediately after assuming office and, not surprisingly, just a few months before an election she has filed an outrageous legal action against the NRA.

“To be clear, the NYAG’s actions are an affront to democracy and freedom,” says NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “This is an unconstitutional, premeditated attack aiming to dismantle and destroy the NRA, the fiercest defender of America’s freedom at the ballot box for decades. The NRA is well governed, financially solvent and committed to good governance.”

“We’re ready for the fight. Bring it on,” says LaPierre.

Right now, many in the mainstream media are treating the NY AG as a hero for “standing up” to the NRA. What they won’t say out loud is the reason the NRA has influence is because it brings millions of American citizens together to stand together for their hard-won freedom, as protected in the U.S. Bill of Rights.

https://www.americas1stfreedom.org/...email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ila_alert

 

Really, when former President US Grant was president of the NRA they were a trade lobby? They give a comparatively tiny amount to politicians, Planned Parenthood gives 10 times as much. They only became political when crazed Democrats threatened to take away our constitutional right to keep and bear arms.

 

No kidding, it's like blaming the AAA for drunk driving deaths.

 

Yes but haters gotta hate.

 

I find it offensive that you compared the NRA to a truly evil organization like the New England Patriots.

 

Or boy bands!

 

More pro gun people felt betrayed by Trump's bump stock ban and his view on red flag laws. Having the NRA not endorse him is probably low on the priority list.

 

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