NRA Loses

Dear Docs-
In Case you missed it the NRA or Wayne LaPierre’s attempt to get out of trouble with the New York courts by
moving to Texas failed. Spectacularly! This is the same NRA which had most US legislators walking away from gun injury prevention
legislation for years and arguably prevented federal research monies since the 90s is finally in a weakened state. The NYTimes story is below.
Maybe we can get some help with legislation on gun deaths.
Too many people have been killed or injured from our permissive approach to guns. A small step for us but a step.
Jerry
In Rebuke to N.R.A., Federal Judge Dismisses Bankruptcy Case

The N.R.A. filed for bankruptcy this year as it sought to end run regulatory action in New York, but a judge rejected the strategy.


Wayne LaPierre, head of the N.R.A., speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.
Wayne LaPierre, head of the N.R.A., speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York Times
Danny Hakim

By Danny Hakim
May 11, 2021

The National Rifle Association’s attempt to evade a legal challenge from New York regulators was tossed out by a federal bankruptcy judge on Tuesday, in a ruling that cast further doubt on whether the group’s embattled chief executive, Wayne LaPierre, would remain at the helm after three decades in power.

The ruling was a victory for Letitia James, the New York attorney general, whose office is seeking to remove Mr. LaPierre and shut down the gun rights group amid a long-running corruption investigation.

Mr. LaPierre, the face of the American gun lobby, now battered by the N.R.A.’s internecine warfare and revelations of extravagant personal spending, had sought to end-run Ms. James by relocating to Texas and filing for bankruptcy there. But the gambit instead proved a strategic blunder: The testimony over a 12-day trial only buttressed Ms. James’s contentions of corruption, and led the judge, Harlin D. Hale, to declare, “The N.R.A. is using this bankruptcy case to address a regulatory enforcement problem, not a financial one.”

Judge Hale, the chief of the federal bankruptcy court in Dallas, also said Mr. LaPierre’s move to file for bankruptcy without telling the group’s board of directors, or his own chief counsel or chief financial officer, was “nothing less than shocking.”
And he warned that any effort to revive the case was likely to lead to another unpalatable outcome: the appointment of an outside trustee to take control of the organization and its finances.

When Mr. LaPierre began bankruptcy proceedings in January, it was not because his organization was in dire financial straits. He conceded in testimony that it was because of a complaint Ms. James’s office filed last year seeking to shut down the N.R.A. and claw back millions of dollars in funds allegedly misspent by him and three other current or former executives.

While the N.R.A. argued in court that it was already undertaking a regime of self-auditing and reform and had cleaned up its practices, Judge Hale wrote that “some of the conduct that gives the Court concern is still ongoing,” adding that the group appeared “to have very recently violated its approval procedures” for large contracts, and that “Mr. LaPierre is still making additional financial disclosures.” He also mentioned continuing “issues of secrecy and a lack of transparency.”

Ms. James, in a teleconference after the decision, said that “the rot runs deep,” and noted that the decision cited “ongoing and lingering issues.” In a statement, she added, “The N.R.A. does not get to dictate if and where it will answer for its actions.” She also said the organization “cannot reorganize in Texas” without her office’s approval, which would not be granted amid a regulatory action.

Mr. LaPierre, in a statement, said that “although we are disappointed in some aspects of the decision, there is no change in the overall direction of our association, its programs or its Second Amendment advocacy.” The N.R.A. was noncommittal about whether it would appeal, but noted in a statement that “the court dismissed the bankruptcy filing without prejudice, meaning the N.R.A. does have the option to file a new bankruptcy case.