The National Rifle Association has lost over one million members since the corruption of its leader Wayne LaPierre was revealed. Firearms reporter Stephen Gutowski has exposed leaked internal documents and reports detailing the collapse of membership numbers at the civil rights group. The NRA now has fewer than 4.3 million members, down from 5.5 million, and has shrunk to its smallest size since 2012. The drop in members corresponded with a massive revenue shortfall.
Elections Have Consequences
The widespread news of Wayne LaPierre’s spending was sparked by the election of the NRA’s powerful enemy, New York Attorney General Letitia James. The Democrat called the NRA a “terrorist organization” while running for office in 2018, and a few months later, the organization’s lawyers warned she was coming to kill it. James filed a civil suit to abolish the NRA, a New York chartered non-profit, by court order. Her petition laid bare LaPierre’s profligate spending of members’ money. Wayne LaPierre accepted wildly expensive gifts from NRA vendors, regularly chartered private jets for family vacations, and paid for his wife’s “glam squad” traveling hair stylist.
Mr. Gutowski is a veteran firearms journalist who started The Reload independent site “dedicated to accurately reporting the details and nuances of big gun stories.” His recent work includes the leak of a 26-page memo to the NRA’s finance committee documenting the membership decline and multiple confidential sources confirming that LaPierre said they were down to 4.3 million members at the latest NRA board meeting. According to the leaked financial statements, a membership shortfall of 175,000 “left the group with a $14 million hole in their budget.” The story reports that “the group brought in $32.4 million less than anticipated from member dues during that time.”
NRA Loss Is GOA Gain?
LN spoke exclusively with Gun Owners of America (GOA) Senior VP and spokesman Erich Pratt about the leak. While Pratt was circumspect about directly criticizing NRA leadership, he did offer one observation that proves damning to the NRA; gun rights advocacy groups benefit when threats to the right to keep and bear arms increase. Mr. Pratt says that membership in his organization is up and has been steadily increasing, standing at over 2 million. NRA leadership can’t explain away waning numbers in the face of rising threats to gun rights. This is a crisis of confidence.
Pratt declined to attribute increases in GOA membership directly to any news about NRA finances or Wayne LaPierre’s compensation; however, the rest of us are free to deduce it. LaPierre’s continued leadership may prove more damaging to the NRA than any attack by anti-gun politicians or lobbying groups. Mr. Pratt, meanwhile, is focused on legislative battles in Congress and throughout the states. He said, “We are fighting the biggest anti-gun administration that has ever sat in the White House.” It’s GOA’s strategy to stop bad legislation before it passes rather than fight over laws in the courts. He said GOA “puts the heat on legislators; that’s what we do well.”
Can they right the ship? Mr. LaPierre has given no indication he intends to leave his position atop the NRA. However, he was forced to repay the non-profit for much of his personal travel. Perhaps he and his confederates have learned their lesson? Sadly, it seems the answer is no. According to The Reload, the NRA spent at least $1.2 million on private jets in 2022. This revelation will surely discourage Americans from sending any money to the group. Can responsible stewardship of the members’ money include regular use of private jets? While most civilized people must despise modern commercial air travel and TSA treatment, these expenses are ultra-luxuries; it’s no wonder people don’t want to pay for Wayne to enjoy them.
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