National Rifle Association (NRA) Chairman Wayne LaPierre.EVELYN HOCKSTEIN (Portal)
To his followers, Wayne LaPierre was an ardent defender of freedom. To his critics, he embodied the worst excesses of the firearms industry's influence on American politics. This Friday, on the eve of a civil court hearing, the head of the National Rifle Association (NRA), one of the most powerful lobbies in this country, announced his resignation over alleged corruption and citing health reasons.
The 74-year-old LaPierre's resignation was accepted by the association's board of directors and will take effect on the 31st of this month, the group defending the citizen's use of firearms announced. “I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom (the right to bear arms). “My passion for our cause burns stronger than ever,” the outgoing CEO, who will be replaced by current COO Andrew Arulanandam, said in a statement.
The NRA corruption hearing will begin as planned next Monday in New York. There, and after a three-year investigation concluded in 2020, prosecutor Laetitia James accuses the resigned leader of seizing millions of dollars from the interest group's accounts for his personal use, including flights on private planes, haute couture suits and others Luxury products.
“The NRA's influence was so great that no one monitored it for decades while top executives put millions of dollars in their own pockets,” James claimed at the arraignment. “The NRA is rife with fraud and abuse, which is why we are trying to dismantle it because no organization is above the law.”
LaPierre had reached the top of the organization in 1991, which he had turned into a bargaining chip in favor of laws favoring the use of firearms, with the ability to mobilize millions of people in defense of the freedom to bear arms, despite the incessant increase in shootings and victims over the last three decades. In 2023 alone, according to the NGO Gun Violence Archive, 656 incidents were recorded – almost two per day – in which at least four people were injured. Almost 19,000 people lost their lives there.
Under his leadership, the group's endorsement became sought after by candidates for political office, particularly in the Republican Party. An “A” or “Excellent” rating from the organization can determine whether a candidate is selected or not. But despite its close ties to the political world, its public narrative insisted on a populist message with which the ruling elites sought to disarm and endanger ordinary citizens. “They don’t like that the people who clean their floors, clean their clothes, and serve them food have the same protection as their armed bodyguards,” one of their 2016 campaign ads said.
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Its influence has skyrocketed since the beginning of the 21st century. The attacks of September 11, 2001 triggered the sale of weapons in the United States, particularly assault weapons, which were banned during the Bill Clinton era and whose veto is unthinkable in the United States today. A trend that increased during Barack Obama's term in office (2009-2017): By 2014, each gun owner owned an average of eight guns. There were more guns and revolvers in the country than people: 400 million of the former and 330 million of the latter. “The only thing that stops an armed bad guy is an armed good guy,” the association proclaimed, even though the data contradicted this: An FBI study found that of 160 gun incidents between 2000 and 2013, only one in 2008 was “good.” was “An armed citizen” was able to prevent a shooting.
The organization's advertising investments in 2016 provided a major boost to the entry into the White House of Republican Donald Trump, who as a candidate redoubled his efforts to portray himself as an enthusiastic defender of the right to bear arms.
Shootings of the caliber of the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012, where twenty children and six adults died, or at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people died and another 17 were injured in February 2018, which dealt a serious blow to the lobby's reputation.
By the end of 2018, states had passed three times as many gun control measures as in 2017. In that year's midterm elections, gun control groups had spent more money on advertising than the NRA, forcing the defeat of at least eight election candidates. The association supported its targeted A rating. In 2022, Republicans and Democrats agreed to introduce a bill that would impose certain restrictions on gun access and ownership.
Since its peak in 2017, when it had nearly six million members, the group has not stopped losing members and today has 4.2 million on its lists. His income has fallen 44% since 2016 while his legal costs have skyrocketed.
His loss of reputation in parts of American society was accompanied by internal disputes over allegations of corruption and fraudulent management, which brought James enough attention to launch an investigation into the club. Leaked tax records showed, among other things, that LaPierre billed the NRA $275,000 for expenses at a luxury boutique in Beverly Hills and nearly $250,000 for private flights to the Bahamas and Italy.
“The end of Wayne LaPierre's era at the helm of the NRA is an important victory in our case,” the prosecutor commented on social networks after learning of the defendant's resignation. “LaPierre’s resignation justifies our allegations against him, but does not protect him from being held accountable. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”
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