The NRA Has a Lot of Work to Do Now That the New York Lawsuit is History

Six years and an unimaginable amount of NRA membership dollars later, the National Rifle Association and the state of New York have concluded their rancorous legal battle. Before even taking office, New York Attorney General Letitia James described the NRA as “a terrorist organization” and vowed to take them down.

She didn’t.

But that doesn’t prevent her from portraying what she did accomplish as a “win” (read the AG’s press release here). Neither did the new rules mandated by New York Supreme Court Judge Joel Cohen prevent the NRA from portraying the conclusion as a win for them, too (read the NRA’s release here).

In a way, both are correct. She wanted to disband the NRA. That didn’t happen. Point to the NRA as Judge Cohen ultimately ruled that goal a bridge too far.

In reality an avowed enemy of the NRA and her legal team have accomplished what millions of members tried and failed to do for years: remove a corrupt leader and a majority of his cronies from leadership positions of the association. AG James also convinced Judge Joel Cohen to mandate governance and compliance measures that go far beyond any “oversight” that was exercised during the 30-year tenure of Wayne LaPierre and his band of sycophants.

The truth is, however, there’s still a lot of work to be done. It won’t be done in the courts, but it should be done in a far more open manner.

While LaPierre loyalists still remain on the NRA board of directors and in key committee positions, Judge Cohen has mandated steps to remedy that. That includes changes in how board candidates will be nominated and elected going forward. Cohen also ordered the removal and placed prohibitions against the reappointment of any member of the Audit Committee who has served on the committee at any time between 2014 and 2022.

It’s now up to the membership, the new administration, and a court-mandated compliance consultant (chosen subject to the approval of the New York AG and Judge Cohen) to make certain the ongoing business of restoring the association is done openly and transparently.

The NRA’s current Executive Vice President and CEO, Doug Hamlin, summed up the past six years in a memo sent to NRA staffers . . .

The last six years have been difficult for NRA members, our Board of Directors, supporters, and especially, you, the NRA staff. With Judge Cohen’s ruling, we can now put this challenging chapter in NRA history behind us and focus solely on the business of the members and all law-abiding gun owners. The NRA is committed to transparency, compliance, and good governance going forward. Today’s outcome ensures that NRA members can support the Association, America’s oldest civil rights organization, with confidence.

We’ll keep you posted.