Longtime NRA chief Wayne LaPierre is leaving the gun group in trouble but still powerful
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화요일, 1월 30, 2024
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Wayne LaPierre will resign from the National Rifle Association at the end of January 2024.
Key Points:
- Wayne LaPierre will resign from the National Rifle Association at the end of January 2024.
- During most of the 33 years he spent at its helm as its executive vice president, the gun group’s membership, revenue and clout grew sharply.
- The group announced his impending departure shortly before the NRA’s civil fraud trial began in New York City.
From defeat to victory
- He joined the NRA as a state lobbyist after working as a legislative aide to Virginia state Delegate Alfred Victor “Vic” Thomas, a conservative Democrat.
- Often described as bookish and quiet, LaPierre brought to the NRA his considerable skills as a political strategist.
- He also developed a pugnacious public persona, memorably calling federal agents “jack-booted government thugs” in a 1995 fundraising letter.
Fighting gun control
- Though it occasionally celebrated and supported hunting or shooting sports, it increasingly emphasized the importance of firearms for self-defense.
- With LaPierre at the helm of the NRA, congressional action toward gun control ground to a near halt.
- LaPierre also led the NRA through a sea change in the prevailing legal interpretation of the Second Amendment as its long effort to enshrine gun ownership as a constitutional right came to fruition.
- Those rulings have forced states to reassess gun regulations already on their books.
Losing members, waning influence
- All told, they allegedly misused $64 million of the funds in the NRA’s coffers.
- The NRA is reportedly hemorrhaging members, a key source of its operating revenue and the heart of its political power.
- For the moment, it’s still the largest gun advocacy organization, though the spending gap between gun rights and gun control groups continues to narrow.
No permanent replacement yet
- And yet his influence will remain in the short run, as longtime confidant Andrew Arulanandam will step into his shoes on an interim basis.
- The NRA’s board will decide on a permanent replacement in May, when the group holds its annual meeting in Dallas.
Cari Babitzke does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.