They were once considered the top group defending the Second Amendment.
But decades of sell-outs, dirty deals, and compromises with Democrats and RINOs have caused them to lose their luster among gun owners.
And now the NRA has lost more than a million members since these disturbing allegations were made public.
Formed in 1871 by two New Yorkers and former Union soldiers, the NRA was once considered the biggest defender of America’s Second Amendment.
But over the years they have lost some of that luster and are now struggling to even stay afloat.
A shrinking giant
The NRA was certainly the biggest of all the pro-gun Second Amendment groups.
During its heyday the NRA boasted more than six million members, and its head, Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre boasted in 2013 they would soon have ten million members.
Not only have they not reached that milestone, but the NRA has, in fact, lost members.
LaPierre told attendees at the NRA’s most recent board meeting the organization is down to 4.3 million members and dropping.
These numbers represent a loss of almost two million members since their high of six million members in 2018.
And the new numbers show a loss of more than a million members just since allegations of financial impropriety were leveled against LaPierre and other NRA leaders.
These numbers also show a corresponding severe decline in donations to the beleaguered gun rights group.
A January presentation for the group’s finance committee stated, “Membership/Contribution Performance has continued to experience softness through 2022.”
Shrinking bank accounts but increased spending
The same presentation shows NRA revenues down nearly $24 million, or 11%, between 2021 and 2022.
But shockingly, expenses in the same time period increased by more than $11.5 million, or 5.5%.
A $37.4 million, or 32%, drop in membership dues was the driving force in the revenue collapse.
And there was a $16.4 million overrun in legal expenses leading to the increased expenditures.
This had the once proud gun group finishing in the red for the year.
The financial statement shows the NRA added only 282,950 new members in the first eleven months of 2022, more than 175,000 lower than projected.
That lower number left the group with a $14 million hole in their budget.
The story was worse in membership renewals, where the NRA renewed 165,000 fewer than expected, leading to a $17.7 million deficit.
Other gun groups grow while NRA flounders
The NRA’s membership problems are coming at a time when political efforts to ban guns should be making them grow.
And 2022 should have been a year of major growth given both the attacks on the Second Amendment and the fact it was an election year where control of Congress was up for grabs.
Political non-profits tend to grow during election years.
But, instead of a surge in new members joining the NRA, the group experienced a tremendous drop.
Rocky Marshall, a former NRA board member who unsuccessfully ran to unseat LaPierre last year, had a blunt assessment of the group’s problems.
“This is a blood bath, and the NRA is desperately trying to stop the blood loss,” he told The Reload. “The current financial situation is untenable and is akin to bailing a leaking boat with a spoon.”
The NRA remains the largest gun group in the world but has faced increasing turmoil since The New Yorker and The Trace published leaked internal documents outlining damning accusations that LaPierre and others used NRA money to spend millions of dollars on lavish personal items with little to no oversight from the group’s board.
The personal purchases were usually made by funneling money through Ackerman McQueen, the NRA’s largest contractor.
The personal expenses included private jet travel, luxury vacations, and even custom suits for LaPierre and his family.
The revelations led to an internal power struggle after then-President Oliver North called for an investigation into the allegations and LaPierre’s resignation.
LaPierre ultimately survived the attempted ouster, and the NRA pushed out North, its top lobbyist, two different treasurers, and a crop of board members who criticized LaPierre and NRA leadership.
As troubles mount and the NRA continues to shrink, more principled gun owners are looking elsewhere.
In fact many Second Amendment supporters are moving to the more principled National Association for Gun Rights, known as the “no compromise” gun group.
Their website, https://nationalgunrights.org/ declares their unwavering position on the Second Amendment stating simply, “No Gun Control, No Deals.”
It also includes a quote from Congressman Thomas Massie, Chairman of the House Second Amendment Caucus, that says, “If you’re looking for a group that doesn’t compromise on the Second Amendment, the National Association for Gun Rights is it.”
Not only that, but its President even shot the Elisjsha Dickens drill on video . . . don’t hold your breath for Wayne La Pierre to attempt that.
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If former NRA members are looking for new groups gearing up to defend their Second Amendment freedoms, then the National Association for Gun Rights is ready to welcome them with open arms.
Stay tuned to Right News Wire for any updates to this ongoing story.
