NRA Hits Back with Federal Suit v. James; Anti-2A Groups Exploit Lawsuits

NRA HQ Building
The NRA Headquarters building

U.S.A.-(AmmoLand.com)- Asserting that New York State Attorney General Letitia James’s lawsuit seeking to dissolve the National Rifle Association is “motivated and substantially caused by her hostility toward the NRA’s political advocacy,” the association has filed a countersuit in federal court and is asking for a jury trial.

The lawsuit was filed by attorney William A. Brewer III of New York in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in Albany.

The 19-page lawsuit names James as the only defendant, both in her official capacity and, significantly, as an individual. But the lawsuit clearly has other targets, not the least of which are New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, anti-gun billionaire former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety, a gun prohibition lobbying group.

“To create air cover for their campaign against the NRA (which had begun to attract bipartisan criticism),” the federal lawsuit alleges, “Cuomo and James coordinated actively with Everytown for Gun Safety (“Everytown”). Richly endowed by Michael Bloomberg, Everytown is an activist organization whose explicit political mission is to oppose the NRA.”

As if to underscore the allegation, Everytown wasted no time in the hours after James filed her lawsuit in New York Supreme Court by firing off a fund-raising email appeal to supporters. In that email, Everytown declared, “After years of contributing to America’s gun violence crisis and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people from gun violence, the NRA and its leadership deserve nothing less than the end of their malicious organization.”

“The real cost of the NRA’s corruption isn’t money; it’s American lives,” the message continues. “The NRA has peddled fear to sell more guns and fought lifesaving gun laws at every turn, doing everything in its power to preserve an America where gun violence is the rule, not the exception.”

Joining the effort to exploit NRA’s legal troubles—reported here by AmmoLand—the Seattle-based Alliance for Gun Responsibility, another billionaire-backed gun prohibition lobbying group supported by wealthy Evergreen State elitists, launched its own fund raising effort. In an email to supporters, the Alliance asserted, “For years, the NRA has had a stranglehold on our political system, blocking commonsense gun safety measures in Congress and endangering American lives. But they are finally being exposed as a breeding ground for corruption and illegality.”

One paragraph later in their funding appeal, the Alliance acknowledges, “This lawsuit is an opportunity to defeat them once and for all.”

The Alliance frequently gloats about passing two gun control initiatives in Washington—defeating the NRA in the process—to reduce so-called “gun violence.” But one look at homicide trends in that state suggests both measures have been failures. There are more murders and shootings, not fewer, according to annual FBI Uniform Crime Reports.

According to the website Law & Crime, one week before James was elected to the attorney general’s post in 2018, she asserted during an interview with Ebony that the NRA is “a terrorist organization.” The full remark to Ebony was this: “The NRA holds [itself] out as a charitable organization, but in fact, [it] really [is] a terrorist organization.”

The New York Post story covering James’s civil lawsuit against the 5-million-member organization noted, “James made a campaign promise to investigate the NRA’s legitimacy as a non-profit organization and carried that torch after she was elected for the AG post because she disagrees with its politics, the suit charges.”

The lawsuit also asserts, “James is maligning the NRA in the press (including by calling it a ‘criminal enterprise’ that merely ‘masquerade[es] as a charity’), and harassing the NRA and its business counterparties and stakeholders with invasive subpoenas, and the NRA has been and continues to be damaged by James’s actions.”

James’s lawsuit was filed almost simultaneously with a similar civil action in Washington, D.C. court by District of Columbia Attorney General Karl A. Racine. That action focuses on the NRA Foundation and how its funds have been allegedly mishandled.

The timing of both lawsuits, even though it was widely expected within the firearms community that legal action was coming because of the New York investigation, is already raising alarms among NRA supporters. Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham suggested James may be out to bankrupt the NRA.

“This moved against the NRA,” Ingraham said during a 9 ½-minute monologue titled “Gunning for Your Rights” that aired Thursday evening, hours after the lawsuits were filed, “is a test run for broader efforts to frighten and intimidate people for exercising their God-given rights.”

Fox News’ Sean Hannity, during an exchange on his program with frequent guest Dan Bongino, posed a rhetorical question: “Timing awkward to you, because it’s certainly suspicious as hell to me.” He suggested the lawsuits may be designed to eat up NRA funds that might otherwise be used to help during the national elections this year.

But could this effort backfire?

It was once written in the pages of a now-defunct award-winning outdoor tabloid—Fishing & Hunting News—that the NRA “fights best from behind circled wagons.” While there has been much discussion over the past 18 months on social media about NRA’s financial troubles, the alleged lavish spending by Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other organization officials, when the NRA is under attack, it translates to the Second Amendment being attacked. American gun owners have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to fight vigorously to defend their rights.

As Alan Gottllieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation observed in reaction to the lawsuits against the NRA, “the strength of the NRA is not only in its leadership but in its members. Its members will not abandon the fight to protect Second Amendment rights.”

RELATED:

N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James Sues to Dissolve NRA

 


About Dave WorkmanDave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.

Dave Workman
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KDad

Since AG James stated publicly in a magazine with nationwide circulation, that the NRA is a TERRORIST ORGANIZATION, this assertion implicates NRA Members as TERRORISTS. This calls into question whether NRA Members have a legal basis to file a defamation lawsuit against the Attorney General. If we have legal grounds for a lawsuit, I as a NRA Member for longer than I can remember, would be interested in joining a Class Action Lawsuit. I am sick and tired of the “Gun Control Clan” running roughshod over law abiding gun owners and 2nd Amendment supporters.

nobodyuknow

KDad . . . I certainly would be interested in exploring that possibility. anyone who might be interested in exploring that possibility please get in touch with me at [email protected].

Gregory Peter DuPont

I’m a member. The corruption of WLP is part of why they became vulnerable to Letitia, Cuomo, Bloomberg et al .. hopefully this Dawn’s on the rest of the leadership the same way it has on most of us in the membership: that the rot of corruption weakens you and grants enemies BOTH an opening and a ” veneer of legitimacy”. That ” veneer” is merely a cheap and thin rattlecan paint job-” terrorist organization” apparently means something else these days-but is clearly aimed at the Low Information constituents in NY…. that overlap between the viewers of The View and… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by Gregory Peter DuPont
Finnky

@GPD – That tends to be the course of any organization which allows any degree of autonomy at the top. The more power the organization has, and the more control top people have, the faster the movement toward corruption and dictatorship. Best preventative seems to be dispersed power and broad membership veto power. Just goes to show how wise our founding fathers were when you consider how long and peacefully the USA has survived. Hopefully upcoming correction remains closer to violence of the civil war rather than the French Revolution

Random71

I dont care for the NRA based on its history of compromise on 2A and am vocal about that.

However, I am glad to see they are going down swinging, make those other corrupt bastards pay for it every step of the way.

hippybiker

For all my Firearm owning and freedom loving fellow Americans. Please read The Turner Diaries a book written in the 1970s by Doctor William Pierce. It absolutely predicted what is now going on in this country!

Dave in Fairfax

For those who haven’t read “The Turner Diaries”, here’s a description from the the Wiki. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turner_Diaries Read it yourself and make your own decision. Archive.org has a copy you can download. The Turner Diaries is a 1978 novel by William Luther Pierce, published under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald.[1] The Turner Diaries depicts a violent revolution in the United States which leads to the overthrow of the federal government, a nuclear war, and, ultimately, a race war which leads to the systematic extermination of non-whites.[2][3] All groups opposed by the novel’s protagonist, Earl Turner, including Jews, non-whites, “liberal actors” and politicians,… Read more »

Random71

No, Dave they havent, but it appears as thought they are guilty of misusing funds. Any AG worth their salt, should be able to handle a blatant embezzling case with ease. If the crime is there (and it looks like it is) they should go down. But then again that same AG should be on a yardarm, for what she has tried to do to our rights there, never mind any skulduggery that had to occur to get that office. I detest corruption anywhere even the NRA, however I’m glad to see them slicing away with their boot knife as… Read more »

Xaun Loc

The problem is that NY pays for their side with effectively unlimited funds from taxpayers, while the NRA will be squandering more millions of donated dollars launching a federal lawsuit to divert attention from the valid state lawsuit about corporate mismanagement. Basically the NRA position in the federal lawsuit is: Sure we’re criminals, but they are only after us because they don’t like us, so you should stop them. Both lawsuits are just political theater, but like-it-or-not the charges against the NRA corporate management are exactly the same problems that millions of gun owners have been lamenting for years now.… Read more »

Wass

Corruption within the ranks of the leadership of the NRA is a whole separate issue, hopefully to be resolved by it’s members. The real basis for a lawsuit by the organization should be (and this should have commenced years ago) the defamatory assaults on the NRA, which easily can be documented as verging on libel. Anything else is a distraction to be exploited by gun rights opponents.

Charlie Foxtrot

The charging document is quite precise on the violations of the law by the NRA: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf. You have any plan yet on handling the corruption and mismanagement in the NRA? We have been trying for the past 18 months to no avail.

Darkman

The NRA has followed the same path as the Government. In the beginning It had a Cause with the betterment of the citizens in mind. They worked to support the Rights of all citizens and make a place for all to safely prosper. As time went they began to be infiltrated by people who were more interested in the Power their positions gave them. With that Power came personal gain and influence in areas other than it’s original purpose. Once those people were able to reach positions of control and insert others with the same goals into positions that supported… Read more »

nobodyuknow

Any of the internal problems of the NRA will be handled by its members. We do not need the American Democrap Communist Party in the form of James and Racine sticking their noses in business that is none of theirs. Both of these P.O.S. Communists have tried to pick a fight with the MEMBERSHIP of the NRA! Well, they now have their wish! Both James and Racine had better tape their ankles ’cause they have done what the Japanese did when they attacked Pearl Harbor at the beginning of WWII. They have awakened the sleeping giant!

Charlie Foxtrot

You have any plan yet on handling the corruption and mismanagement in the NRA? We have been trying for the past 18 months to no avail: https://www.savethe2a.org

antisocialjustice

Okay it is a “devil you know situation” here at least for the time being.

It is simple: you have to oppose people like this prosecutor and the rest of them.

They are never called on their hyperbole and false claims. The membership of the NRA is the least of the threats our country faces.

The people these fools would leave with firearms are the people they are letting out of jail for covid, and the ones running wild when peaceful people are disarmed. Nice thought, huh?

Last edited 3 years ago by antisocialjustice
uncle dudley

I feel the lawsuit against the NRA is not only to destroy the organization but to destroy conservatives who make the up the majority of members.
With President Trump getting elected in 2016 with the help of the NRA and his attendance at the annual meeting inflamed the liberal gun hating democrats and many of the stab you in the back rinos.
Now millions of dollars will go to lawyers and not advertising in key races across the country in November for gun friendly candidates.

Core

I could care less about NRA’s leadership issues: the NRA is the oldest firearms organization and any attack on it will be viewed as an assault on the Second Amendment. I have heard a lot of hearsay, but seen little evidence to back it up. Second: the Governor and the AG are abusing their powers both obvious tyrants and enemies to the Second Amendment. #ArticleVI #MAGA2020

Charlie Foxtrot

The charging document is quite precise on the violations of the law by the NRA: https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/final_nra_summons_complaint_08.06.20.pdf

MBeach222

Yes, I read it. I have not seen the countersuit yet.

Charlie Foxtrot

Here is the laughable countersuit: https://freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/119.pdf. It basically says the NRA can’y be sued by the state because of the 1st Amendment. LOL

Realize that the suit and countersuit game is what Bill Brewer (the NRA’s lawyer who donated to Hillary in 2016 and Beto in 2018) makes his money in. The money you just donated goes to a Democrat lawyer in Texas!

JIAZ

Captain Wayne LaPierre Rearranges Deck Chairs As The Ship Sinks

JIAZ

If hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, membership dues, and general sales has resulted in the current state of affairs, the answer is NOT sending more money to “Wayne’s World”. “The NRA incurred legal costs of over $100 million in 2018 and 2019. A $17 Million post-employment contract for LaPierre. Current board members have allowed LaPierre et al. to bring it to its current weakened state. $165 million in planned giving have been held back and the NRA Board has done nothing. The NRA intends to fight back, filing its own suit against NY Attorney General and state officials.… Read more »

Coelacanth

WLP squanders hundreds of thousands of dollars on girly-man stuff and wants more of your money. What could go wrong?

Some guy

More nonsense. You guys sit around wasting time on this crap, when you should be caching supplies, identifying targets, and planning operations. Talking isn’t going to fix this, and some of us are going to die.

Random71

You are not incorrect. However it does us all well to heed the words of the ancient master Sun Tzu, for we are not is the death ground yet. Dispersive ground is more apt for several reasons. It is time to bolster and keep forces together, as well as build and stengthen alliances to prepare for when we must approach the death ground.

Charlie Foxtrot

Roger that! Operators operate operationally in their area of operations.

Your local MEAL Team 6 is on standby. (chest-thumping noises)

Finnky

Perhaps other civil rights organizations should submit briefs to the court and join in the circus. If a court is going to dissolve a charitable organization, it only makes sense for assets to be moved into other organizations engaging in the advocacy intended by donors who funded the failed institution. I expect James intends to seize and liquidate all nra assets, with proceeds going to the state (her office if possible). Any half assed court would recognize that donor wishes should be respected, and any value (including recoveries from embezzlers) should either be returned to individual donors or put to… Read more »

Finnky

Forget waiting for “the corpse” to cool before squabbling over the will. We don’t have time before the election to wait for death… we need to get on with political fight for our lives. I think this is probably the main point of James’s suit – divide and distract gun rights advocates during this critical period. She probably doesn’t care whether about suits eventual outcome, as long as it ties us up for now.

Charlie Foxtrot

This is just one of many suits the NRA is involved in. None of them will affect the NRA’s abysmal election spending.

In any case, what do you propose we do? Writing angry posts on the Internet?

Charlie Foxtrot

Read the complaint against the NRA before posting.

“The office’s filing says that should it succeed in dissolving the NRA, it would request that ‘its remaining assets and any future assets be applied to charitable uses consistent with the mission set forth in the NRA’s certificate of incorporation.'”

https://reason.com/2020/08/06/is-new-yorks-attack-on-the-nra-meant-to-punish-the-gun-rights-cause-for-executive-malfeasance/

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Z

NAACP CAN BE SUED TOO AS CAN THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST LIBERAL PARTY TOO AS BLM ANTIFA NY IS OPENING A CAN OF WORMS…!!!!

Charlie Foxtrot

According to the NAACP tax forms, not a single NAACP executive or Board member makes money from the organization. In contrast to that, the NRA is a swamp full of corruption. BLM and AntiFa aren’t even corporations that could be dissolved.

HEY, LOOK AT ME, I CAN POST NONSENSE IN ALL CAPS!

MBeach222

Interesting point. Are they launching a probe against all non-profits, or are they just targeting the NRA?

Charlie Foxtrot

Do have other non-profits a vendor that took part in a corruption scheme and is now willing to testify in court about the non-profit?

MBeach222
Last edited 3 years ago by MBeach222
MBeach222

The NRA actually has an excellent chance of winning this suit, since only its Board can determine what spending is allowable. The state has no say over how much it pays a travel agent or how much secure air travel costs. The yacht and family events will be positioned as business meetings. NY has some excellent writers to make the slant sound as scary as possible. That is their job, and a trained eye (like a judge) can see through the hyperbole. In the end, the organization itself determines what spending is allowed. They will go down the list and… Read more »

Charlie Foxtrot

It appears you are still ill-informed. No, a non-profit organization can not lavishly spend money on pleasure and call them “business meetings”. Check out the Wounded Warrior Project on that! At least, they did the right thing and corrected the issues. Also, the Board retroactively approved most of these expenses, which means they weren’t authorized to begin with but approved afterwards to avoid legal problems. You do sound more and more like Marion Hammer (Marion at the Beach 222?). LOL NRA: “We wasted your money, but we aren’t criminals. Trust us, we got this! We have good lawyers!” LOL Staying… Read more »

MBeach222

Here are few of the NRA’s legal battles that protect every American gun owner, not to mention helping elect countless officials who fought constant waves of anti-gun laws. The NRA deserves our support. When Florida signed a post-Parkland knee-jerk reaction to ban guns for people 18-20 year olds, the NRA filed suit immediately.   NYC dropped its draconian anti-carry law and settled fast as soon as the NRA suit reached the Supreme Court.   The NRA secured the right to have carry permits in many states. Even the anti-gun Northeastern states have some type of permits, even if rarely ever granted.… Read more »

Last edited 3 years ago by MBeach222
Finnky

@ – So you are saying that NRA has sometimes worked for our benefit and sometimes to our detriment. Hardly the ringing endorsement which I think you were trying to make. Definitely pick up on NRA supported draconian regulations against hearing protections in 1934 act. Seems to me to have been a major oversight, even if one perceived machine guns, SBR and SBS to be particularly dangerous and/or associated with criminal activity. From all accounts suppressors were snuck in by a couple anti-rights individuals and ignored by everyone else including nra. Wasn’t it their job at the time to pursue… Read more »

Dubi Loo

Take your meds Marion, you and the upper echelon of the NRA have become a RICO organization.

Mikial

If all the keyboard commandos leaving anti-NRA comments below hate the NRA that much, then why don’t you just go ahead and join Bloomberg’s crowd . . . if you haven’t already. The NRA has fought and won more victories for us over the years than most of you could even count high enough to enumerate. Quit being the fools the Left manages to turn against the rest of us . . . divide and conquer . . . and start showing some solidarity for the 2A community.

Charlie Foxtrot

LOL. The clown show has arrived. Which victories has the NRA exactly fought and won? I am an NRA Life Member, so are many others criticizing the current NRA leadership. The NRA is full of corruption and mismanagement to the point that it is now at risk of being dissolved. Do you think it is OK to lose $80 million in member donations in a single year on litigation caused by corruption and mismanagement? Because, that’s what the NRA did last year! By the way, here is the charging document by the NY AG, outlining some of the corruption and… Read more »

Random71

Fought and won so youre ok with NICS? How is having to pay and get a background check be apporved and wait to get my arm constitutional? Shall not be infringed is pretty clear, and all of that has a cooling effect on exercising of a right thus infringement. Very pro 2A of them. From their own mouths: “In fact, the NICS – the National Instant Criminal Background System – was the legislation that the NRA supported at its very inception and has consistently supported since.” “The NICS – set up by the permanent provisions of the Brady Act, which… Read more »