Opinion
What do NRA members, former NRA members, and the general shooting public think about the NRA today?
That’s a question that I and many others have long believed we could reasonably answer, but are my beliefs accurate and justified? Do these folks really think and believe as I think they do, or am I just relying on an echo chamber effect?
Looking at the presidential race and the wide divisions between Republicans and Democrats, “progressives” and “conservatives,” I recognize that we all tend to live in an information bubble of our own making. As a lifelong “conservative,” I tend to gravitate toward Ben Shapiro, Bill Whittle, my community on X, and my favorite blogs and websites for political news and analysis, while my “liberal” friends tend to gravitate to MSNBC, “The View,” their community on X, and their favorite blogs and websites for theirs.
We all like to have our biases confirmed, our ideas echoed, and our beliefs supported. This is true for firearms information and firearms-related politics as well.
So how do I know whether I’ve trapped myself in a self-affirming echo chamber of my own regarding people’s thoughts and beliefs regarding the NRA?
How could I verify or disprove this idea? How could I determine what “regular” people (those not submerged in the intrigue) think about what’s been going on inside the NRA over recent years and decades?
I decided the simple solution was to ask them.
I’m a member of a wide variety of firearm-related discussion forums on the internet, though I don’t have time to frequent any of them with regularity. I looked at those forums and decided to focus on a couple that I thought would best represent the core membership of the NRA: a popular forum for collectors of Smith & Wesson firearms, and a forum dedicated to hunting and the outdoors. I went to those sites and posted a simple survey, asking the forum members to answer a few questions and provide some honest feedback.
Here’s what I posted; feel free to give me feedback on these same questions here in the comments below:
Your Thoughts on NRA Today?
First, thanks to all who supported my campaign for the NRA Board of Directors. Our “Four for Reform” slate came in 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 16th out of 26.
We’ve made tremendous headway on the NRA’s path to redemption, but there’s still much work to do.
It’s easy for us to get trapped in our own echo chamber, thought silos, so I’m reaching out to different groups to get a better grasp on what folks are thinking about the current state of the NRA.
I’d like to know your thoughts on where the NRA is now, and what you see as the most pressing issues that we (the NRA Board) need to address.
I particularly want to know:
1. Are you a current or past NRA member?
2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future?
3. If so, what convinced you to do so?
4. If not, what is holding you back? (Please be as specific and brutally honest as you can. We need to understand your issues.)
5. What internal issues (in priority order) do you think the NRA Board most urgently needs to address?Any other thoughts or feedback you’d like to share with me and other NRA Directors?
Thanks.
The responses largely confirmed my original beliefs, though not exactly.
Many of the respondents are or have been, NRA members and the broad consensus was that they felt betrayed and frustrated. A few of the current members, perhaps ten percent, expressed their continued faith and trust in the NRA and its mission in general while still expressing anger regarding the scandal. Most of the past and present NRA members expressed a desire to return to the Association but an unwillingness to do so now, preferring to “wait and see” whether NRA leaders could get the Association back on track. A significant number expressed their utter disgust and resolve to never support the Association again under any circumstances.
Many specifically named Wayne LaPierre in their comments, and most of those included “the Board” that allowed and covered up the misdeeds as targets of their wrath. Of those, none mentioned any Directors or other staff members by name, aside from one or two who mentioned Ollie North with mixed reviews and one or two others who mistakenly suggested that Doug Hamlin, our recently elected Executive Vice President and CEO, was somehow a puppet of LaPierre. (For the record, Mr. Hamlin was the “reform” candidate.) There were also a couple who mentioned exorbitant legal expenses, but only in a general context.
Many expressed the need for the NRA to be more resolute and uncompromising in defending the Second Amendment. Many expressed a need for more focus and involvement in Second Amendment litigation, while others looked for a stronger focus on legislative efforts or political activity. A few lamented the NRA’s intransigence on “commonsense” gun control and/or partisan activity, though these were a distinct minority. Still, others wanted to see more focus on competition, training, and hunting.
The respondents were fairly evenly split between “The NRA is dead to me” and “Maybe someday, but I’m going to wait and see.”
The broad consensus of the “wait and see” folks said it would take a lot to win back their trust. They repeatedly expressed the need for the leadership to “come clean” about past failures, apologize, remove all those responsible or negligent in the matter, and provide clear, third-party audit reports.
The Smith & Wesson collectors were, by and large, very civil, respectful, and orderly in their comments, while the folks at the hunting and outdoors site were much more raucous and aggressive. Language occasionally got “colorful.”
What struck me was the mishmash of information among the respondents. A few seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the whole affair, but even among those, there was some misinformation and much that was clearly missing. The majority appeared to have limited knowledge regarding details of the violations of Wayne and others, the trials, or the recent efforts to reform the Association. They simply knew that Wayne had abused his position, that members of the Board had allowed or assisted in that abuse, and that they held the entire Board responsible for failing to stop the abuse or taking decisive action to rectify the situation sooner. This led to the most often repeated suggestion for reform, which was a call to reduce the Board to a much smaller body. Other often repeated criticisms involved the incessant pleas for money and membership renewals through the mail and over the phone, as well as strong objections to the continued use of “cheap Chinese-made junk” as premiums for memberships.
My informal “survey” was sometimes conversational, as I answered some questions and corrected some misinformation along the way, including a widely held belief that NRA Directors are paid for our service (we’re all volunteers), but avoided arguing with anyone, reiterating that I wasn’t there to advocate or convince anyone of anything, but only to hear their opinions and ideas. Many thanked me for reaching out to them and suggested that other Directors should do the same. I wholeheartedly agree and am sharing all of this information with all of my fellow directors.
All in all, this was a very enlightening exercise. Clearly, the NRA is doing a poor job of communicating with our members, former members, and the shooting public, and we have a whole lot of work to do if we ever hope to restore their faith and trust.
Anyone interested in perusing the several pages of comments on these sites can do so by clicking the following links. Reading the comments is open to anyone, but you would have to be registered with the sites in order to leave a comment of your own.
Both are excellent, well-run sites with tons of interesting and useful information. I just wish I had more time to spend exploring them.
I will also mention that I considered posting a copy of the survey on the world’s largest firearm-related forum site, AR15.com, but decided against it, as past posts regarding the NRA have received almost universal derision and contempt there. This convinces me that the NRA must do a much better job of correcting the historical record and getting our message out, particularly to the younger, more tactical-oriented demographic represented on that site.
The NRA Board of Directors will meet on September 7th, 2024, to hopefully wrap up the final details of the New York v. NRA lawsuit and to set the agenda for continued progress as we head toward 2025. One of the key events of this meeting is the presentation of the Nominating Committee’s list of candidates for the 2025 Board elections. The judge in New York has instructed that he wants to see a more open process that provides an easier path for new candidates to get on the ballot. I am hoping to see a nomination list that includes at least an equal number of new candidates to the number of incumbents on the ballot. I’m also going to suggest that all incumbents should include their years of service on the Board at the top of their bio in the ballot issue of the magazines next year.
I think our members deserve to know how long each candidate has served on the Board.
As always, I’ll do my best to keep you informed, and if you’re a Voting Member of the NRA, please take the time to vote next year. Until then, I want to remind you that there are millions of gun owners who routinely don’t vote in federal, state, and local elections. This is the year that we must change that. Talk to your family, friends, and especially your shooting and hunting buddies to be sure that they all get to the polls in November. This one could be for all the marbles.
Read Related: Millions Of America’s Gun Owners Are NOT Registered To Vote. WTF!
About Jeff Knox:
Jeff Knox is a dedicated political activist and the director of The Firearms Coalition, following in the footsteps of his father, Neal Knox. In 2024, Jeff was elected to the NRA Board of Directors, underscoring his lifelong commitment to protecting the Second Amendment. The Knox family has played a pivotal role in the ongoing struggle for gun rights, a legacy documented in the book Neal Knox – The Gun Rights War, authored by Jeff’s brother, Chris Knox.
Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, The Firearms Coalition is a network of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs, and civil rights organizations. The Coalition supports grassroots efforts by providing education, analysis of current issues, and a historical perspective on the gun rights movement. For more information, visit www.FirearmsCoalition.org.
First, let’s get a few things in the open. EVP Hamlin has reformed nothing. And you Mr. Knox routinely fail to answer questions, and when you do, you say nice things in such broad and vague terms as to make them meaningless. You failed to mention the Board resolution calling for turning the Audit Committee into a Committee of the Board… Which would provide total secrecy and no oversight, and an immense amount of power to a very few members of the board? It would in fact turn it into the equivalent of the Special Litigation Committee, which has been… Read more »
Another question for Mr. Knox, is why didn’t you conduct your survey at a site devoted to NRA members, such as nraindanger.wordpress.com?
Afraid of too many hard questions?
Who down voted this? What did I say now that was SOOOOOO BAAAADDDD?
We’re catching you up, Nick!
Yes indeed thank you!
Truthfully, I’m not out to be a troll to Mr. Knox, though he and a couple others here think I am. I’m merely a NRA Life Member that is mad as hell the crooks have pissed away my money, and are raping and pillaging an organization that my Dad and Grandpa all thought was just short of sacred.
I want answers as to what reform is happening. And to be fair to Mr. Knox, if other NRA BoD and officers had a presence here, I’d be demanding the same from them.
Don’t hold your breath
I’m not. I don’t expect any of them to answer me. But, if I can give them a headache, that’ll do for now.
Oh and thanks again for the Sheriff Pusser info. I’ve put those titles you listed on the list for my next book order.
I glanced at the list and I apologize if I missed this name, but I see articles regularly at Truth Social concerning Buford Pusser and the exhumation of Mrs. Pusser by author Oakley Dean Haley. He has a YouTube channel where he’s rather prolific about Mrs. Pusser’s autopsy or as he states at Truth Social, mishandled autopsy.
It might be worth a look see. Once again I apologize if this is a repeat of tips you’ve already received.
Not at all! Never heard the name, thank you! It only took 2 days for them to notify me of your post. I appreciate you taking the time, and sharing the info!
Now, will my reply be censored, simply for saying “thanks”?…
I haven’t posted here recently due to the censorship. I actually have had one post about the corrupt Mayor of Aberdeen Washington completely disappeared. And just now, they snatched a post to you concerning author Oakley Dean Haley. So, I’m through, done, finished with this site and ridiculous monitoring tactics. They can kiss my ample ass.
Weird! And I just got notified of your post now, yet it says it posted 2 days ago!
This site sucks.
Glad to help, Nick! He is (was) my favorite living historical figure. That is, until his untimely death in 1974.
I wish we had lawmen like him, and Wyatt Earp and Hickok today. Things would be a lot different, and for the better.
Mr. Grigori,
NRA spies keep trying to silence me. I have a link here, regarding NRA BoD. I’m asking you to take a look at it. I’ve been assured by highly creditable sources, the men listed are the real deal, not… milk toast.
If after taking a look, you agree, and are so inclined, I’m asking you to help me spread the word, and the link.
Thank you,
Nick
https://taitnra.substack.com/p/the-nra-reformers-need-your-help?publication_id=321420&post_id=148367593&isFreemail=true&r=4cg4zh&triedRedirect=true
The Ammoland editor has photographic evidence that Mr. Kelner did in fact have an accidental discharge that resulted in himself getting injured, and that Mr. Schmeits knew about it. He has my permission to publish the photo.
Here is that evidence which the editor will not post…
the commies that troll Ammoland… Do you or I troll CNN, hell no, its too degrading.
If it were any other article I’d agree with you. But, curious things happen when I post on NRA related articles. Never do curious things happen when I post on non NRA related articles.
The NRA has spies here, and on other gun sites.
And true, I don’t troll CNN, and I’m sure you, and 9/10 people here don’t either.
After I gave you a thumbs up, someone gave you a thumbs down.
Is this the reason?
Mr. Knox: What struck me was an apparent assumption that the problem with the NRA’s relationship with their current and/or former membership is one of lack of knowledge or communication. Let me make a small comparison. Suppose you found out that your significant other was stepping out on you. Would more information about the details of their affair make you more likely to forgive and forget or less? What steps could they take to restore your faith and trust in them? What if they declared that they would be more forthcoming about their future activities, but they intended to keep… Read more »
You are right. So “reform” minded EVP Hamlin has done nothing to help. Actually the opposite. And Jeff Knox has become a PR man for the cabal.
The only chance the NRA has now is bankruptcy.
Careful… Mr. Knox will call you an NRA Hater! He’s called me that when I’ve brought up concerns, and complained to him that he didn’t answer my questions.
Sarcasm… Duh…
I’m a concerned member. Are you telling me I’m not allowed to voice my concerns?
If you disgree with me then so what? We can all roll our eyes at each other and move on.
I just up voted you!
i gave you one just in case.
Because he is. He sides with you, finds something you are in argument with and then goes on and on and on.
He has used the same MO on me three times and I have seen him use it on others too.
I quit wasting my time on him, he is anti Israel and pro Islam.
Almost makes me miss old Harold Hutchinson.
Almost, but not quite!
😉
Hold on, this site has been so screwy today. So glitchy, posts appearing, then disappearing, etc. I think everyone’s posts are getting out of order.
Can you please ask/say whatever your first point was?
Set me off? No. Just fishing and seeing who bites… The NRA? Or Brewer?…
Hey I’ll double down on the NRA.
NRA, care to comment on Mr. Kelner, the executive director of NRAWC and his accidental discharge which resulted in personal injury to himself, and how Mr. Schmeits, current chairman of NRAWC, past NRA president, and current NRA BoD, KNEW about it?
Why no comment from EVP Hamlin or the BoD?
Awesome analogy
Yes it was!
Mr. Knox, stop writing puff pieces, and START ANSWERING MEMBERS QUESTIONS.
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
Exactly… I wish NRA members would quit smoking off a crack pipe and believing the fancy suit CNN watchers.
I think the word’s gotten out. Have you looked at the financials? The NRA’s not only bleeding money to Brewer, but bleeding members/donations just as fast, or perhaps faster.
I doubt it’ll let me type the full address, you wouldn’t believe how many comments I have “awaiting approval”, I’d suggest you search nraindanger dot wordpress dot com… Lots of interesting info.
NRA IN DANGER DOT WORDPRESS DOT COM has just been “cancelled”. I wonder who could’ve ordered that?…
I’ve been a Life-Benefactor for 30 years, but haven’t given the NRA any money for a very long time. They had been going sideways on many issues in my opinion, under the (leadership?) of Lapierre, and being a voting member, I was never able to vote against him because his name was never on the ballot. It was like he was the President for Life and he abused his position to make himself very wealthy making back room deals with crooked politicians. So when he went down, he dragged our NRA down with him and stole our money. Piss on… Read more »
The NRA has siphoned off so much money from NRA-ILA and cut back it’s training and competition programs so much, as to make them in effect nearly non existent. Plus, the Executive Director of the NRA’s premier gun range, Whittington, recently shot his own finger off. And the current President of the NRA, Barr, years ago, at a campaign even when in Congress, had an accidental discharge and shot out a window. (GLASS LIVES MATTER!) Sound like competent people? You’re spot on about WLP. But all of his friends are still in place on the Board. And the new EVP… Read more »
I also have been a Life Benefactor for 20 years, and I agree with Alan in NH 100%, but I have to admit that I still donate money for the knives and flash lights. something to give to the kids.
All your money just goes to Brewer.
Got that right! Brewer is the epitome of the kind of lawyer that prompted William Shakespeare to write, “Hang all the lawyers”!
To be clear, I don’t want Brewer dead. I do want him disbarred and imprisoned though, certainly.
What makes Brewer more dangerous than your average money hungry lawyer is that he’s an ideologue. Look at his FEC reports. He’s given money for the last 25plus years, probably longer but that’s as far back as the reports go that I’ve seen to every anti gun nut politician I’ve ever heard of and plenty more I never had heard of.
And the NRA hired him. NUTS!
I wasn’t saying he ought to be hung, but rather the general sentiment that lawyers are the reason why we can’t have nice things. And that is what likely spurred Shakespeare to put pen to paper regarding lawyers.
I figured you didn’t mean it literally. I clarified my opinion on lawyers and hanging due to certain people are watching what I say, and very closely. And I’m not referring to the usual NSA spying on our internet/phones…
We respect your decision – thank u!
Same here, Alan. I’m also a lapsed Benefactor. It’s a shame LaPierre isn’t spending the remainder of his days in federal prison in Atlanta. Of course, the current board has no control over his future, but I’m very leery of giving any money to them at this point.
There has been zero reform. Nearly every member of the board now, was there under WLP and was complicit in his corruption.
Hamlin, the current EVP has done nothing to reform. The board has done nothing to reform. The corruption has gotten worse.
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
1. Are you a current or past NRA member? I first became a member sometime in the early 90s. Not sure when my first membership was bought for me or by whom. I am currently a Benefactor Member. 2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future? No, I am not contributing and I do not intend to in the future. 3. If so, what convinced you to do so? N/A 4. If not, what is holding you back? (Please be as specific and brutally honest as… Read more »
Excellent and honest response by you and I’m willing to bet the majority agrees with you.
Hopefully, Jeff et al and the entire board will extract themselves from the “echo chamber,” because you don’t need to go to other websites to get the same majority opinion!!!!!!
Your NRA experience is very similar to mine. It seems our opinions are identical when it comes to the NRA, and most especially 2A. Anyone who compromises on 2A needs to be either fired, if they work in the 2A movement, or if they’re a politician, they need a swift kick in the butt, and get replaced by someone who won’t compromise. I wish Jeff Knox would take the time, (I’m sure he reads, but just doesn’t comment) to read this, and offer a response to our concerns. As a side note, does anyone know if Jeff Knox is a… Read more »
Mr. Knox is paid for the articles he writes for Ammoland but that is income that is necessary to take care of his family. Please do not fault him for providing for his family!
I didn’t know that part. Fair enough.
Actually when I asked about whether or not he got paid, it was a sarcastic question. I’d assumed, and obviously wrongly that being an NRA Board member, Jeff writing here, would be the equivalent of a politician writing a letter to the editor/op-ed piece in the newspaper, which I believe are unpaid. I bring that up, since he appears to be writing as an official BoD, speaking on behalf of the NRA, not merely his personal opinions, and I don’t ever see him writing gun reviews, or something like that. Further, before he ran for and was elected, when I’d… Read more »
Well, I finally picked up on this comment by you, Nikkiboy. I think Knox has much better things to do than respond to a little twit, or maybe that should be TWAT- wannabe like you. I expect that you think he is YOUR waterboy. How can one man be expected to tear down the walls of Jericho, just like the NRA is, in four short months?.You are just a little puppy yapping at the heels of a Big ol’ Dog who has more sense in one little fingernail than you have in your whole brain.
If you’d like to debate, I’d be happy to. But if you resort to childish remarks, and get hysterical, then no. You’re not worth my time.
Oh, listen to the person talk that starts with the childish remarks. Man, how many personalities do you have?
I see you have grown tired of his antics too. Like 3 percenter said. Just a waste of time.
It did not like my link to the Washington, DC AG’s settlement terms with the Foundation, so I remove the link and here is my entire post in proper order: Jeff – your comment “We’ve made tremendous headway on the NRA’s path to redemption, but there’s still much work to do,” is subjective and indeed you “trapped myself in a self-affirming echo chamber!” When you, Doug Hamlin, officers will not answer simple questions, that only require a “yes” or “no” that membership has an absolute to know you et al are all in your own “echo chamber!” For example, and… Read more »
I agree fully, again! We have the right to know Mr. Knox!
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
You can visit as many websites as your desire nothing will change until the board gets out of their “echo chamber!”
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
I agree!
For example, and there are many more but why the NRA continues to refuse to answer this is unprofessional and no wonder there is distrust and will always be distrust.
Jeff – your comment “We’ve made tremendous headway on the NRA’s path to redemption, but there’s still much work to do,” is subjective and indeed you “trapped myself in a self-affirming echo chamber!”
When you, Doug Hamlin, officers will not answer simple questions, that only require a “yes” or “no” that membership has an absolute to know you et al are all in your own “echo chamber!”
Correct!
And Jeff must stop calling concerned members who ask questions, “NRA HATERS!” If we “hated” the NRA we wouldn’t be concerned and demanding answers!
I have been a NRA member for over 50 years. Worked my way up to Benefactor Member over the years. That being said I fail to understand why the Board of Directors and the Officers wont pursue justice. Years ago I owned and operated a small business, my book keeper embezzled money. It took some time and effort on my part but she was ordered by the court to pay restitution and spent time in jail. Now the NRA leadership is wringing their hands whimper and crying,while doing nothing. Someone needs to grow a pair and step up to the… Read more »
The difference between you, and your small business, and the “leadership” of the NRA is that you cared about your business, you were an honest businessman.
The reason the “leadership” does “nothing”, isn’t exactly true. They’re doing lots. They are, with one exception being Dennis Fusaro, all crooks.
And further, when someone like Jeff Knox writes puff pieces, and refuses to answer questions, that doesn’t help people gain confidence in him or the NRA. He whines about people saying he went over to the dark side or is a traitor. He’s called me an “NRA hater” when I tried to pin him down on a couple basic questions. An “NRA hater”? If I hated the NRA would I spend the time to read about the current state of affairs and ask questions? No. Again he whines about people not trusting him. Well yeah! He ran as a “reformer”… Read more »
Please read my comments from the bottom (my last comment) to the top (most recent comment) to put then in chronological order – thank you
Under the terms of the settlement, the NRA Foundation must: Adhere to its articles of incorporation and bylaws in all decision-making processes, in and outside of formal Board meetings. Conduct annual nonprofit compliance training for every Board member or officer. Form an Audit Committee to ensure Foundation’s financial affairs are in order and work with an external auditor. Establish a new conflict-of-interest policy. Adopt new policies governing grantmaking, loans, shared services, and other activity with the NRA to ensure transparency, Foundation independence, and adherence to the Foundation’s nonprofit mission. Report any Foundation policy changes to OAG within 30 days… Read more »
I think we the membership have the right to here from Jeff, or Hamlin or ideally all of leadership as to whether or not that settlement has been fulfilled.
Reasonable questions. It’s not as if we’re asking for people’s home addresses, or social security numbers. We want answers to NRA business/policy/legal questions. Not too difficult, Mr. Knox!
I realize the NRA will need paying members and donations to continue to do business, and a recovery, if ever achieved, will be slow in coming. Personally, though, I feel like the man married to a serial cheater. What, I should believe that THIS time, she really means she’ll be faithful? I should keep supporting her? I’m a Benefactor level member, so I guess I’m “married” for life, but as I’ve said repeatedly on this and other forums, I’ll never give another cent to the NRA until I’m relatively certain they have really been reformed. Somehow, they’re going to have… Read more »
There has been zero reform. Just look at the proposal that will be voted on at the board meeting, to make the Audit Committee a ‘Committee of the Board’, giving it all the power and secrecy that the SLC has.
That sound like reform?
How much does Knox make for writing these propaganda pieces?
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
GOOD OBSERVATION!
That made me chuckle, thanks!
1. Past member 2. Absolutely not. 3. n/a 4. Despite all the claims to the contrary, the NRA is not now nor has ever been a “Pro 2nd Amendment organization”. In fact, many of the current abuses’ of our 2nd Amendment rights had been authored by the NRA controlling Officers. The corruption is systemic and the mere existence of the NRA is diverting funds away from TRUE 2nd Amendment operations. 5. Dissolve the NRA. Bring charges of fraud and corruption against any and all members of the Board of Directors. Allow any current and/or past member to join a class… Read more »
I suggest you search David Dell’Aquila. He is leading a class action lawsuit.
Life member here…….deceived into buying multiple life memberships for family so wayne could live a lavish lifestyle at my childrens expense
NOT A PENNY FOR negotiating rights away.
FU$K bill barr, screw nra’s rubber stamp b.o.d. AND BS candidate ratings.
If I want to join a wine club, buy silver rounds or life insurance I’ll go elsewhere.
Second Amendment Foundation and GOA have done a better and more serious job of defending 2A since their first days. nra is rotted to the core from the inside…….seems irreparable
Don’t forget Hamlin, the EVP. Also, don’t you find it amusing, Jeff Knox ran as a “reformer”, then, wins a seat on the board and becomes the cabals, de facto PR man?
Jeff’s dad must be turning in his grave……a real let down of his fathers legacy
Yes, that fact’s often occurred to me. How his father could be such a hardcore reformer and Jeff… I don’t know what happened to him. But he’s clearly not the reformer he claims to be.
Jeff often whines to me when I criticize him or ask inconvenient questions, either here or on other forums, that he’s been at this for 40 years. Implying, that I’m nothing compared to him.
I haven’t wanted to bring up his late father, as it seemed punching below the belt. But now that Jeff’s seemingly NRA’s Minister of Truth…
Unfortunately, I agree with you regarding Jeff’s father.
And there’s this…
The NRA took a blow due to bad leadership, but the core of the organization, namely American gun owners, is still intact.
The NRA’s had 30 plus years of bad leadership.
There’s a good chance, Jeff Knox will be apart of the last NRA Board, as with the way they’re bleeding, they probably won’t make it to the next years annual meeting.
Absolutely nothing missing in what you describe as the most common observation: “They simply knew that Wayne had abused his position, that members of the Board had allowed or assisted in that abuse, and that they held the entire Board responsible for failing to stop the abuse or taking decisive action to rectify the situation sooner.” Wayne absolutely did abuse his position in numerous ways, no one will ever have a complete accounting of all the ways he abused his position. No need for members to even try to parse the abuse into separate categories. It is sufficient to say… Read more »
I agree with you fully about the whole board, allowing WLP to be as corrupt as he wanted. They got paid too. What I would point out, is that most of the people who were on the board under WLP, are still there. The most powerful people in the NRA are all WLP’s cronies yesterday, and today they run the whole show themselves. Knox is a farce. Hamlin is a farce. Mills is a farce. Journey’s just disappeared. Fusaro is good, but as soon as he got on the board, and asked a couple inconvenient questions, they sandbagged him. Reform,… Read more »
Who keeps down voting my comments? That you Jeff? Can’t take a few questions? If you don’t like questions, resign your position on the board.
Down votes without comments come from liberal progressive democrats that don’t have the courage to speak to their objections or present a countering argument. Don’t get worked up about them. That is exactly what they want.
Oh I know that generally. But, there have been shall we say interesting occurrences when I post on NRA related articles. And just NRA related articles. Nothing interesting ever happens when I post on non NRA related articles.
I’m not worked up over it at all. I’m curious to see who bites. I’m fishing, and sometimes a chuckle along the way.
Curious things such as now “Sam” calling me a “troll” on this page, and encouraging people not to pay attention to me. On a previous page someone called “Jasper58” was overly sensitive to certain inconvenient truths I brought up, regarding NRA.
Now here this,
If the allegation is substantiated that it was Brewer or one of Brewer’s cronies that Brewer threatened WordPress with litigation our strategy will be the following.
Given the Vullo involved violating the First Amendment with coercion then we will get in touch with our contacts at The Trace, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Times to see if one of them is interested in addressing this story!
Brief survey answer: I’ve donated quite a lot, am angry to see how it was used, and have not seen enough internal reform or effect on our culture from the NRA to be confident that it is not still a “good ol’ boys’ club.” Thus, my current donations go to SAF and GOA.
I agree with you. I would encourage to take a look at my other comment here on this thread. Ammoland won’t let me post the link again. It’s about reformers seeking petitions to get on the NRA ballot.
Mr. Knox’s piece posted yesterday morning. When will he address any of our questions and concerns?
There is no rule that says he has too.
Neal, I hope you take the time to read all the posts here. Many are good and represent an investment of time by those who want to see a better NRA. 1. Are you a current or past NRA member? I am a Patron Life Member and NRA certified RSO. 2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future? I will send a small check, maybe $100, to your P.O. Box 303 address along with my message to the board. 3. If so, what convinced you to… Read more »
The Ammoland editor has photographic evidence from me, with my permission to publish, that proves Mr. Kelner had an accidental disharge that resulted in injury and that Mr. Schmeits knew about it.
That photographic evidence has been sent the NRA as well, Hamlin, BoD, Buz Mills, The NRA Secretary, and Kelner himself.
I do not know what Mr. Kelner’s alleged negligent discharge has to do with my post. I do know you and I differ in our opinions about the NRA. Everyone on this site knows yours; you tell us several times every day. I hope the (now) 212 lb. gorilla can be beaten into submission and retrained to be a functional and successful advocate for the “unqualified command” of the Second Amendment as well as the myriad other beneficial services it provides to our community and the nation as a whole.
It’s an article written by a current NRA BoD, who’s refused to even consider the matter, let alone deny it. Now there’s proof.
It doesn’t have anything to do with your post. The replier,(Nick) is so out of reality that he actually appears to be a sociopath. He can’t understand why folks downvote him when they are actually upvoting him. Paranoid schizphrenic?
Maybe
I fully and completely agree but the problem is, you don’t know which personality is going to respond when D does.
MM, I have issues with about half of the folks that are on here from day to day, mostly because we are divided from left to right. But with that being the case, I am mostly understanding why they think the way they do from a personal standpoint. I myself am pretty dialed in to the way I feel about something and I realize I get out of bounds, sometimes. I don’t feel that is the way I can deal with GET OUT and NICK. They are, IMO, both children .1) Get Out is a bonafide enemy of our Republic,… Read more »
Yep and others I don’t enjoy are DEE, where ever it is, Arizona lefty and JSNMGC, where ever he is and slipknot who is a leftist young brat still in mommy’s basement. For the most part, you can disagree with a lot of people here and they won’t be offended and get into childrens name calling but there are a few that WheW. It’s gonesville for them. I don’t like being corrected but hey, when someone points something out and has good proof I am man enough to admit I was wrong and usually thank the person for the education.… Read more »
Ammoland’s editor as photographic evidence of Mr. Kelner’s A.D. and injury, sent to him by me. I gave him permission to post.
Very well said, sir. I cannot argue with any of that.
1. Are you a current or past NRA member? Current Patron Life 2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future? No. 3. If so, what convinced you to do so? n/a 4. If not, what is holding you back? (Please be as specific and brutally honest as you can. We need to understand your issues.) Bill Brewer needs to go. The entire incumbent board needs to go. The entire executive staff needs to go. Wayne and company need to repay what the court says they do.… Read more »
Very well thought out points. Many good ideas. It’d be nice if Mr. Knox took note of what you wrote and brought your points/ideas up at the BoD meeting coming up in a few days.
These board members are no better than the money grabbing politicians in both the Democrat and Republican Party. I am A Life member of the NRA and still Yep, harassed about making more donations. These board members should not get paid in any manner. They should represent the people of the NRA when needed and not spend our donated money on parties and vacation across the world.!!!!!
Also a good way to protest is to not go to NRA events. The annual meeting is HUGE source of revenue for them. No donations and no events until there’s reform.
Mr. Knox, I’ve been a life member for 51yrs and have contributed in the past and will in the future as things improve in the organization. Your comment to not post your survey on AR15.com or any of the other groups that may be more outspoken, doesn’t help restoring our organization to all of our members. It’s easy to pick and choose which group to get feed back from. If you and the Board are serious about bringing change and unity to our organization, which I feel is the case, your going to have to bring all of the groups… Read more »
Knox either has his head in the sand or has been bought.
1. Are you a current or past NRA member?
2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future?
3. If so, what convinced you to do so?
4. If not, what is holding you back? (Please be as specific and brutally honest as you can. We need to understand your issues.)
5. What internal issues (in priority order) do you think the NRA Board most urgently needs to address?
Any other thoughts or feedback you’d like to share with me and other NRA Directors?
I am an NRA Benefactor member who had not contributed to the organization for many years. My only involvement was to vote for BOD candidates running on an explicit reform agenda. Since the successful election of the 4 reformers, including Mr. Knox, I have made a couple small contributions to the NRA PVF. To contribute further, I would need to see the following, at minimum: Dissolution of the Special Litigation Committee Expansion of Board candidacy selection paths to bring in new blood and broader professional experience Fully ending the relationship with the Brewer firm and replacing Audit Committee members who… Read more »
No reform has happened.
There is a proposal, which Mr. Knox failed to mention which will be brought up at the board meeting as to whether or not turn the Audit Committee into a Committee of the Board, making in just like the Special Litigation Committee, all powerful, no transparency, no oversight.
No Donations Until Real Reform.
And what about ongoing malfeasance at the Whittington Center and if the Foundation has abided by the Washington, DC settlement terms?
Oh my! NRA spies down voted my comment!
Good questions for a member of the board to answer!
One problem you bring up is that the cabal still has a iron grip on the nomination committee. No one who’s nominated by that committee can be trusted.
Mr. Knox’s article is full of bologna.
No donations until real reform. Fire the Brewer Law Firm. Fire all corrupt and incompetent officers,(David ‘I shot my finger off’ Kelner of NRAWC).
Bring NRA, the Foundation and NRAWC into full legal compliance.
End all financial abuse.
Then we can talk about donations.
Who down voted this? Anyone care to say what they object to or just cowards hiding in the shadows?
Go ahead, speak your piece. I can take it. Can you?
I don’t see any downvotes. What you talkin ‘ bout, Willis?
Willis? Like Bruce Willis?
You ARE young then. ‘Different Strokes’ actor Gary Coleman talking to his older brother.
Young? Depends on one’s point of view. My first car was a Buick Century, it’s been said that’s aged me some. But thanks to the modern marvel of imdb.com, I was able to find what you were referencing. Never saw the show. I don’t watch much tv. Movies are my main thing. John Wayne, is THE BEST. But I also enjoy William Holden, Michael Caine, Charles Bronson, Denzel Washington. As tv goes, my favorite is ‘Combat!’, I also like ‘Have Gun, Will Travel’, and ‘Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp’. And for music, my favorite is Eddy Arnold. ‘Make The… Read more »
Yep, young pup, never served, probably would run to Canada if he was called up and is anti Israel and a coward.
Lol!
Bruce Willis is the only Willis I’ve heard of!
You even git me – lol!
1/I was a regularly contributing annual member for many years. 2/I do not contribute to the NRA and do not plan to do so in the future. 3/see 2 above 4/Several things are holding me back including the lack of observed changes in NRA policy or practice since WLP was brought up on charges. Plus, organizations like GOA, SAF, CCRKBA and GRNC are doing the real work and have earned and deserve my support. 5/Restructure the entire board eliminating any and all members who were affiliated with the previous administration. The taint is too strong to allow them seats on… Read more »
Unfortunately, I don’t think Jeff Knox will take our concerns into consideration.
I thought Jeff would make a difference but I think I’m wrong to think he would. I now know or think he is not the one for the job. If he was he would have all the former involved with WLP already gone. I don’t have confidence in him doing the job now. The judge needs to go ahead and do away with NRA altogether so the other (GOA and other) can get the money the NRA was wasting.
I agree, I mis-read Jeff as well.
To be fair, one man can’t move mountains, but what I had expected from Jeff was for him to take as much dirty laundry as possible and bring it out in the open.
Instead he’s making excuses for the crooks at NRA.
To the editor in chief,
Does Jeff Knox get paid to write these misleading puff pieces regarding the NRA?
Yes.
I wish he’d write useful information instead. Bring light to the corruption instead of waxing poetically over it.
More down votes! Who disagrees with me and why? Speak up!
Will you post the picture regarding NRAWC’s Mr. Kelner and Mr. Schmeits?
NRA opinion responses Dear sir: First off, I want to express my thanks for your taking the time to conduct this survey. I’ve been a member for about 30 years and this, by my memory, is the first time (other than Jeff Knox’s efforts.) that a board member reached out for feedback from the rank and file. A sad commentary on the recent past but a hopeful note for the future. 1. Are you a current or past NRA member? Yes. Life-Endowment member 2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do… Read more »
I wonder why Jeff Knox won’t comment on this… Nor will anyone else at NRA…
Mr. Kelner is Executive Director at NRAWC. The chairman is Mr. Schmeits, past NRA president, current NRA BoD.
Why won’t anyone comment on this? Not even a “no comment”?
And EVP Hamlin is saying “we’re righting the ship”, this is “NRA 2.0”.
This is one of many reasons I won’t donate, it’s a coverup,
Lets see if Mr. Knox has a comment,
Any comments?
Mr. Knox,
Is the NRA Foundation abiding by the terms of it’s settlement with Washington DC AG?
A blog which Mr. Knox frequents was cancelled for a time, and there are still glitches.
If the allegation is substantiated that it was Brewer or one of Brewer’s cronies that Brewer threatened WordPress with litigation our strategy will be the following.
Given the Vullo involved violating the First Amendment with coercion then we will get in touch with our contacts at The Trace, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and the Washington Times to see if one of them is interested in addressing this story!
Mr. Kelner, of NRAWC, their Executive Director had an accidental discharge, causing great injury to himself, and Mr. Schmeits NRA BoD and Chairman of NRAWC, knew about it.
The Ammoland editor had photographic proof to support my claim, and my permission to post it.
I wonder if Mr. Knox knows about a blog which he frequents, NRA IN DANGER DOT WORDPRESS DOT COM being terminated?
I wonder if he has any inkling as to why it was terminated?
I wonder if he’ll respond?
Ammoland censored this pic… Are they controlled by the NRA or Brewer?
I have good news to report, we now have a chance of putting real candidates on the ballot… If Ammoland will be so kind as to let me post, that is… https://taitnra.substack.com/p/the-nra-reformers-need-your-help?publication_id=321420&post_id=148367593&isFreemail=true&r=4cg4zh&triedRedirect=true The above link, lists reform candidates, bios and how to sign and mail a petition for them to be on the ballot. Each candidate needs at least 650 signed petitions per the NRA by laws. Given the readership here, I think that will be easy to accomplish. I have been assured, by multiple creditable sources these men are the REAL deal, and will FIGHT! Finally, we, the membership… Read more »
I got down voted instantly! My oh my, Brewer’s boys got Ammoland in their sites!
1. Are you a current or past NRA member? Benefactor Life 2. Have you rejoined or are you financially contributing to the NRA now, or planning to do so in the near future? Yes I have recently contributed to the NRA and the Whittington Center. Bankruptcy is the quickest to kill the NRA (Laticia James wins). 3. If so, what convinced you to do so? Realization that paying salaries, and the light bill was important to keep the NRA alive. Penalizing the members is not the way to save the NRA. The Members are the lifeblood of the NRA. 4.… Read more »
I’m a troll? Tell me what have I said, that you disagree with.
Please do not donate money to the NRA until tangible reforms are realized starting with firing the Brewer, bringing the NRA into full compliance, and addressing ongoing financial malfeasance!
You are incorrect regarding bankruptcy. The NRA could have legitimately entered into bankruptcy two years ago and if it had the entire mess would be correct by now!
A receiver would have been appointed who can make any and all decisions unilaterally, that is without any approval from anyone.
That means the board would be reduced, contracts would be cancelled or rewritten, etc., essentially reforming the NRA in two years.
What you have now with the corrupt Barr, Cotton, Coy, Brewer et al is only making it worst and will take many more years to reform the NRA!
I believe Sam is a spy, as he says I’m a troll, yet won’t debate me.
You don’t waste time debating the ignorant.
Hi Sam,
The Ammoland editor has photographic evidence that I sent him, proving Mr. Kelner had an accidental discharge and was injured. And that Mr. Schmeits knew about it.
The NRA has been emailed the same photographic evidence, Hamlin, the BoD, Buz Mills, the NRA Secretary, and Kelner himself.
Curious, no?…