New Jersey – -(AmmoLand.com)- I make no apologies for my 2019 AmmoLand News article explaining what has been happening inside NRA, despite new harsh criticism from Jeff Knox and his call to oppose my re-election to the NRA board in the current cycle.
By stating factual details of what was actually going on at NRA, and properly crediting Wayne LaPierre for spearheading corporate actions recently taken, I apparently wandered into a generational blood feud between the Knox family and LaPierre. That seems to have offended Knox, so he has now attacked my NRA board candidacy.
To summarize my 2019 article: When NRA got a head’s up from a former Attorney General that New York State was about to pursue NRA’s annihilation as a corporation, Wayne LaPierre insisted on serious self-examination and resultant course corrections to legally insulate NRA from attack (a New York law provides significant protections for corporations that do so). He hired counsel to lead that process and protect NRA. A comprehensive review of NRA’s finances and controls began.
The process was resisted by some insiders and NRA’s largest contractor, a media company. They tried to convince LaPierre that the examination was unnecessary. When that failed, and as alleged in pending litigation, the company tried to force LaPierre out, dangling a carrot in the form of a golden parachute, and threatening a smear campaign if LaPierre resisted.
At nearly 70 years old, LaPierre could have taken the easy way out, retiring with an attractive package, and abandoning the legal strategy to protect NRA. Instead, he refused, stood on principle, and continued the plan to protect NRA from an impending attack. The threatened smear campaign by the media company against LaPierre was launched, helping fuel New York’s plot to destroy NRA.
These are facts that I personally witnessed. They are not debatable.
My personal opinions about Mr. LaPierre are utterly irrelevant to my factual article explaining the course NRA chose to pursue. Whether you like Mr. LaPierre or not, it is an incontestable fact that he led a carefully planned strategic legal course to prepare NRA for a life-and-death battle with New York State.
I have known Jeff Knox for many years, and as he points out, he has previously endorsed me as a candidate for NRA board. It’s not easy to win his support, and that should tell you something about who I am and what I stand for. I have a two-decade-long track record of advocacy and achievement as the no-compromise leader of a state gun rights group in the most hostile territory imaginable. And I haven’t changed.
But because I have publicly explained an NRA legal strategy that happened to be led by Mr. LaPierre, I have (to Jeff Knox) committed the cardinal sin of “defending” LaPierre. I am therefore now tainted and unworthy of support in board elections. None of the work I have done for Freedom locally or nationally matters. In reality, that posture says more about Knox than it does about me.
Knox attempts to justify his sudden reversal on my NRA board candidacy by criticizing me for not addressing questionable “facts” or unrelated issues in my 2019 article. In Knox’s mind, I should have explained disputes between his father and Mr. LaPierre dating back to 1997, years before I even joined the NRA board. I should have explained issues related to NRA’s former treasurer, a former NRA president, NRA’s legal fees, and statements falsely attributed to LaPierre. But all of that was beyond the scope of my 2019 article, whose sole purpose was to shed light for members on the growing threat to NRA’s right to exist, and how it was being handled.
I respect Jeff Knox and the work his father did. But I do not appreciate it when he suddenly reverses his support for me as a board candidate, simply because I accurately stated current facts about someone for whom he has bitter feelings and severe prejudice.
Scott L. Bach is an NRA board member and Executive Director of the Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs. www.scottbach.com
Wayne La Pierre is the NRA’s “Bernie Madoff”. Every legal defense and financial move Wayne has made is all about protecting Wayne’s personal and financial interests. If Wayne had placed the members and organization’s best interests above his own personal greed the NRA wouldn’t be in this legal quagmire. When an organization is run from the top to bottom in good faith, with honesty, integrity, and transparency, there’s nothing to fear from any outside allegations. We don’t need Wayne’s NRA. Truth is we never did. We’ve just been subjected to decades of clever, flashy, and pricey marketing. Join & Support… Read more »
A board of directors is a group of people who jointly supervise the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organization, or a government agency. Wikipedia.
Since the NRA Board does not perform this function, what do they do ?
I am an endowment member who has stopped all contributions to the NRA until we learn the truth, which I suspect will only be revealed by the courts.
Any time someone claims “These are facts… They are not debatable.”, it’s time to analyze and debate them. Much like dems keep claiming that “the science is settled” every time they want to close down debate.
LaPierre declared bankruptcy without the board. If there was that much consideration that went into the bankruptcy decision then it shows how much LaPierre thinks of the board. And I agree with him, the board is pathetic and below any consideration.
Wayne needs to step down NOW. He has lost the faith and support of everyone but his hand-picked board members. Wayne cannot dig his way out of the hole he has dug.
I have been a member of the Board of Directors for a volunteer fire department and fully understand those responsibilities. There is a saying within the the military that “One awe sh*t wipes out all Atta-boys”. As an endowment member Wayne’s and yours are wiped out. My money has been going to SAF & FPC till Wayne’s gone.