AmmoLand News has been speaking to several insiders on the condition of anonymity at the National Rifle Association (NRA) and NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) about the state of the historic gun rights organization since former Executive Vice President Wayner LaPierre and the NRA was found liable in a civil corruption case out of New York State. With the NRA Annual Meeting (NRAAM) coming up at the end of the month, many wonder about the health of the organization.
Recently, prominent figures inside the organization, like Marion Hammer, have had their pensions cut or have been forced out. Although some members see this as a possible “righting of the ship,” those on the inside claim it is a power struggle between the top brass at the NRA trying to protect themselves and former LaPierre loyalists. Since LaPierre left, insiders claim that lawyer William Brewer’s control over the NRA has grown by leaps and bounds. They claim he is pulling the strings of the organization.
Mr. Brewer is a high-priced attorney who practices out of New York and Texas. Brewer has had a long-term relationship with the NRA and has influence over the organization, which seems to have expanded over the past year, according to sources. Although Brewer represents the gun rights organization, he has also donated thousands of dollars to anti-gun candidates like Beto O’Rourke, Joe Biden, and Hillary Clinton. Insiders believe he has control over interim CEO and Executive Vice President Andrew Arulanandam.
Sources have reported that the NRA is forcing out those who do not comply. One of the first pushed out for speaking their minds was long-time board member Buz Mills, who wrote a letter to the Board of Directors in January calling the organization out for abusing the membership funds instead of being good stewards of the money given to the NRA by people concerned with protecting their gun rights.
“Again, I emphasize, it was not miscreant’s money, and it was not the facilitator’s money,” Mills wrote in his letter to the Board. “It was the MONEY OF OUR MEMBERS and the MONEY provided by the BENEVOLENCE OF OUR DONORS. There is something deeply wrong when you continually permit and encourage this serial abuse.”
Mills might have been one of the first to be pushed out, but he would not be the last to be exiled from the gun rights group. Our sources say other staff members have been fired for speaking out against alleged abuses by the organization. According to insiders, the State and local lobbying groups have been gutted, and the Southeast Director is leaving this month. AmmoLand News was told by former and current staff that anyone who questions the establishment thinking is risking their careers within the NRA.
One person who has questioned the NRA publicly was NRA Board member Willes Lee. Mr. Lee was in line to become the organization’s next President before questioning the NRA establishment. Several insiders told AmmoLand News that the NRA bylaws were changed to allow Charles Cotton to continue as President to avoid Lee from taking over the office. Many believe that the act was that of self-protection instead of protecting the NRA and Second Amendment rights of its members.
The NRA-ILA has always operated semi-autonomously from the rest of the organization, but that has changed in recent years. Insiders have told us that the National Rifle Association is calling the shots more than ever. The lack of autonomy led to Jason Ouimet’s departure from the head of the ILA. When Ouimet left, it was a sign to many lobbyists that it was time to get off “a sinking ship.”
Randy Kozuch is now running the ILA, but people on the inside complain about a lack of leadership and feel that NRA is handcuffing the lobbying wing. The ILA has also been having trouble fundraising, which has hurt lobbying efforts. Our sources inside the NRA also claim that the NRA has been filtering money away from the ILA and its lobbying efforts. Sources on Capitol Hill have also told AmmoLand News that the NRA’s influence is a shadow of what it once was, although other gun rights groups have stepped up their lobbying effort since there seems to be a power vacuum.
The leading lobbyist is a contractor named Raymond White, who is being paid as a consultant by the NRA-ILA. Mr. White and Kozuch have a long history of working together. Although acting and being paid as a consultant, we have not been able to determine the amount of money that the ILA is paying White. Morale at the ILA is at an all-time low, with many employees leaving or looking to leave the organization.
AmmoLand News has also been told that former Congressman Bob Barr will be the next President of the NRA. Mr. Barr is currently on the Board of Directors and is the only one that AmmoLand News knows of who has had a negligent discharge of a firearm. According to our sources at the NRA, Mr. Barr is a Brewer loyalist.
There have been talks about shrinking the Board, but our sources do not believe that will happen. Our sources state that at least 80% of the Board is more concerned about self-interest and self-protection rather than the overall health of the NRA. The bylaws would have to be changed to shrink the Board, and there is no will to change them. While some in the gun community think the court will appoint an overseer, and that overseer could be an anti-gun appointee, the members of the Board do not believe it will happen. Multiple sources have told AmmoLand News that many on the Board act like the NRA is there to cater to them instead of them working for the NRA membership and to further gun rights.
Not all hope is lost for the NRA. All four of the reform candidates have won seats on the Board of Directors. The only question is, will they have enough influence to change things at the historic gun rights organization, or is the NRA a lost cause?
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
