Chris Churchill
Attack on NRA an assault on the First Amendment, not the Second.
Wayne Lapierre, child of Schenectady and head of the National Rifle Association, is a loathsome fellow. That’s been obvious for many years now, but New York Attorney General Letitia James provided new evidence last week in a 164-page filing that contains detailed allegations of avarice and corruption at the NRA. The lawsuit paints Lapierre as a greedy selfdealer who has enriched himself on the donations of NRA members. His lifestyle is outrageously lavish, allegedly — complete with millions of dollars spent on private jets, trips to the Bahamas and luxury hotel suites.
That’s not all. The lawsuit accuses Lapierre of games that camouflage the full perks of his position, including the use of “pass-through arrangements” with outside companies to conceal personal trips and goodies. That may get the attention of the IRS — and if you’re an NRA
donor, you have reason to wonder at how your money is being spent.
But it’s important to note that no criminal charges have been filed. Instead, James is seeking to dissolve the NRA, an effort that, if successful, would silence one of the nation’s most effective conservative voices.
It’s an extraordinary move, and you don’t have to be a gun enthusiast to be worried about the consequences.
James, a Democrat, has long made her hostility toward the NRA clear, declaring it ”a terrorist organization” during the 2018 campaign. That makes the subsequent investigation and resulting lawsuit feel more like a politically motivated abuse of power than a good-faith effort to do right by NRA members.
It is also one heck of a publicity stunt. James billed her Thursday news conference as being of national significance — which it was — and the lawsuit she announced earned her praise and attention on MSNBC and other leftleaning voices.
But imagine the howls of outrage from those very same outlets if Attorney General William Barr announced a plan to cancel a left-leaning political group, especially if that group had pledged, as the NRA has, to spend heavily on the presidential race. (That James announced her lawsuit so close to the election doesn’t seem coincidental.)
Imagine the outrage if an attorney general in a red state had vowed to shutter Planned Parenthood, a powerful union or another organization that donates heavily to Democratic candidates.
The danger of James’ effort is that it could inspire copycats who do exactly that. It may convince other attorney generals to target their political enemies, free speech and civil society be damned.
None of this is to say that James and other legal authorities don’t have a role in cleaning up the NRA, assuming the corruption allegations are accurate. But there’s a big gulf between attempting to reform an organization (perhaps by sending its bad actors to jail) and trying to eliminate it.
When asked about a precedent Thursday, James pointed to her takedown of the Trump Foundation, which last year agreed to close and pay damages after a lawsuit filed by the attorney general also alleged financial malfeasance.
That won’t quell concerns about political bias. Are we to believe there isn’t a left-leaning charity incorporated in New York that mishandles money? Or should conservative groups alone fear ruinous litigation costs?
And, obviously, shuttering a smallish “charity” like the Trump Foundation is not the same as shuttering a 149-year-old organization with 5 million members and enormous cultural and political inf luence. There really is no precedent for what James is attempting to do.
I’m hardly alone in believing the NRA has used its influence irresponsibly in recent years, opposing even modest gun-safety measures while throwing gasoline on cultural fires. Lapierre, who graduated from Siena College in 1972 and became head of the NRA 19 years later, has not used his power for progress. He’s been a face of extremism.
James’ lawsuit may bring an end to Lapierre’s tenure, but it won’t have a meaningful effect on gun policy. In fact, she may provoke a backlash, rallying new donors to the NRA and previously unmotivated voters to President Trump. Gun sales, already at record highs, may rise.
If James’ effort has a lasting impact, it will be on free speech and political discourse. It’s another step toward authoritarianism in a country that feels increasingly bored by abuses of power and the politicization of justice. It’s new evidence of a political culture that, more and more, would rather silence opponents than win the debate.
New York’s attack on the NRA is an assault on the First Amendment, not the Second.