The Most Important Article I Have Written

The Most Important Ariticle I Have Written

May 31st, 2021

I recently classified Expert in Carry Optics at my local IDPA classifier. I had hoped to classify Master. In practice I was capable and commonly shot to a master level. When it came time to actually perform, I made two errors. I fumbled a reload on the very first string and I was short one round in my magazine on the last string. Whatever hope I had of recovering from the first string magazine fumble was gone after the “mike.”

Reforming the National Rifle Association has been a similar tale for many of us. The moment that we have the opportunity to make systemic, positive change it hasn’t gone the way we had hoped. The difference is that with the NRA… the failed leadership is entrenched, undefeated, and has a mountain of resources, that is about to change for the better or worse.

Right now the vast majority of NRA member dues and donations are being spent to keep Wayne LaPierre and his cabal out of jail. With the NRA solvent (able to pay bills and more) they will not be saving any money along the way. Certainly, their regime will spend every last cent in the NRA’s coffers if there is a chance they can avoid jail. Their secondary objective is to maintain control (as we saw with the Chief Restructuring Officer proposal). 

Those of us working on the NRA’s plight are fatigued. Most who were hoping to see the NRA reformed were introduced to this after placing hope in individuals such as Adam Kraut, Pete Brownell, Duane Liptak, Frank Tait, or (most recently) Phillip Journey. These people, and many more, have not let us down. Instead, the wrongdoers have been able to prevail time and time again. LaPierre, Meadows, Cotton, Lee, Hammer, King and more have accomplished what we all hoped to prevent: the obliteration of the NRA. 

It will not be a single individual who saves the NRA, and if the NRA is to be saved you (us) are the only one(s) who can do it.

Along the way, many have given up. They just want the NRA to die already. The LaPierre regime managed to excel at that waste, even giving millions of dollars, and control of the NRA legal representation to an attorney with a long history of donating to anti-rights politicians like Hillary and Beto O’Rouke. The fatigue that we experience is hard to overcome, especially when it has been a decades-long battle, but we absolutely must persevere  and overcome because…

Over one hundred million dollars in cash and assets that should have gone to the real fight for our rights have been wasted, and many millions more will not only be wasted but potentially go to our opposition if we are apathetic.

If the NRA is liquidated (by dissolution or chapter 7 bankruptcy), it could be that anti-gun groups become the recipients of the NRA’s assets, especially in a New York state court. Everytown, Brady, Soros, Bloomberg and more would love to inherit the NRA’s assets after seeing the NRA burned to the ground. That would be the most incredible victory for them, and no doubt something that they desperately desire. 

Fatigue or not, we must do everything in our ability to salvage the NRA if it can be saved. I can’t do it alone and neither can you. We need to come together. We need to not merely say we are Second Amendment supporters, we need to be Second Amendment supporters. Our last chance to make any sort of reform could be this Labor Day weekend in Houston. The NRA Members’ Meeting is where we can make our last stand. 

Please, help us get every single pissed-off NRA member to attend. Please join me. This is one pinnacle effort that might send millions of dollars and assets to the fight… or at least out of the hands of anti-rights groups. Join me. Help Save the Second.

I helped found Save the Second so that we could reform the NRA and thus have a much better shot at truly saving the Second Amendment. Join me at the NRA Members’ Meeting on Saturday September 4th. The NRA Annual Meetings and exhibits run from Friday, September 3rd – Sunday, September 5th at the George Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas. This is a reload we cannot afford to fumble. I hope to see you there.

Ron Carter
Save the Second

One Down, Four to Go

One Down, Four to Go

Today, I am proud to say that the NRA Directors finally have an attendance policy.

By Ron Carter
January 12, 2020

When we decided to create Save the Second we established five goals that would work to make the NRA’s leadership structure stronger, more effective, relevant and accountable to the members. One of the very first focuses was to establish a Director attendance bylaw amendment, since we had all been educated on the shocking lack of director attendance by Adam Kraut and his work on the matter.

The news concerning Adam’s work was further shocking to us when after suggesting that the directors attend board meetings, NRA Director Marion Hammer called those who agreed with that “The Enemy Within.“

Those of you who signed the petitions and called for accountability in the NRA are obviously not the NRA’s enemy! It seems most directors understand that despite the outlandish accusations levied by Mrs. Hammer. As a result of your hard work we completed one of our five goals yesterday! Today, I am proud to say that the NRA Directors finally have an attendance policy. 

I arrived in Tysons Corner, VA (the location of the NRA Winter Board Meeting) on Wednesday night. While the NRA Board Meeting was held on Saturday, the Committee Meetings started on Wednesday and I was eager to speak with our NRA Directors.

On Thursday, Director Todd Rathner spent around two hours total speaking with me about various topics. Director Scott Bach joined in on one such conversation, as they had been working together on our Attendance Bylaw Petition. That was news to me and honestly, I was a skeptic and initially viewed some of their claims as convenient excuses to delay ratification of the petition. They proved my skepticism wrong. During the Board Meeting, the Bylaws & Resolutions Committee Chair, Carol Frampton, brought it before the Board for a vote!

Now, there are a few things that are strange and amended from our original Bylaw Amendment Proposal by Petition of the Members. For example, they chose to make it a Board Policy instead of a bylaw. The reason they chose to do that seems to be a correction from the early 80’s when the bylaws went from 24 pages to 38 and the officer removal became five paragraphs instead of the previous one: not every little thing can be a bylaw, but it can be a policy. Ultimately, it is now the Policy of the Board of Directors that they show up. 

You might also be worried that the Policy has no “teeth” to swiftly remove those empty chairs with the excused absences, delegating to the executive council and deferring to the NRA President. Yes, this is a double-edged sword, and a fair one. We would all hate to see this policy abused and weaponized to remove a director who was calling for positive change. Similarly we would hate to see a director removed because he/she was out on the streets of Virginia, or anywhere else, fighting the real fight and couldn’t attend the meeting as a result.

There is a balance there that Scott Bach, Todd Rathner and Carol Frampton spent a shocking amount of time on and I think they got it right, perhaps not by my aggressive standard but by the standards of reasonable, prudent Directors that were in attendance at the Board Meeting. Please note that Marion Hammer failed to attend. Perhaps that is why this policy was voted for with no objection!

There is no doubt about it, this would have never been possible without your involvement. Everyone that sent a letter, email, tweet or message to their NRA Directors: Bravo!

To everyone who signed the Petition and spread the message: This would not have been possible without you!

To those of you who want to see the NRA address the problems, correct the problems and come out truly winning the fight for the protection and expansion of the Second Amendment: Do not stop now! We have four more goals to go!

NRA Director Attendance Policy

*Update:

Not only do Carol Frampton, Todd Rathner and Scott Bach deserve our thanks for their hard work on this policy, we just learned that Joel Friedman was instrumental in the drafts of this policy as well! What a breath of fresh air! A man who we had previously had such a sharp disagreement with fought for us and served the members well on this policy. 

What a pleasant surprise!

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

The January BoD Meeting Schedule

the January BoD Meeting Schedule

It is unknown if this is the latest relevant schedule, but at least it might provide some bearing for those members who are attending.

By Ron Carter on January 8th, 2020

Below is the schedule for events that we have been able to obtain. It is unknown if this is the latest relevant schedule, but at least it might provide some bearing for those members who are attending. I hope to arrive around 6:00pm this evening (if all goes well). I have underlined a few committee meetings that I hope to attend. Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, Jan 10th, 2020

  •  
  • 7:30 am NRA Office Opens
  • 7:30 am  Bylaws and Resolutions Committee
  • 9:00 am Publications Policies Committee
  • 9:30 am Clubs and Associations Committee
    10:30 am  Special Committee on Security Operations
    11:30 am  Official Family Luncheon
  • 1:00 pm  Clubs and Associations Committee w/ Club Awards Subcommittee
    1:00 pm Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee
  • 1:30pm NRA Foundation Investment Committee
  • 2:30pm Grassroots Development Committee
  • 4:00pm NRA Foundation
  •  
  • Thursday, Jan 11th, 2020 
  •  
  • 7:30 am NRA Office Opens
  • 9:00 am Education and Training Committee
  • 9:00 am Federal Affairs Committee
  • 9:00 am International Affairs Subcommittee
  • 9:00 am Range Source Book Subcommittee
  • 11:30 am Official Family Luncheon
  • 12:00 pm Audit Committee Luncheon Meeting
  • 1:00 pm Range Development Committee
  • 2:00 pm Investments Oversight Committee
  • 2:30 pm Legislative Policy Committee
  • 5:00 pm Jeanne E. Bray Memorial Scholarship Committee
  • 6:30 pm Dinner for Committee Chairmen and Executive Council
  •  
  • Friday, Jan 12th, 2020
  •  
  • 7:30 am NRA Office Opens
  • 9:00 am Disabled Shooting Sports Committee
  • 9:00 am Finance Committee
  • 9:00 am Women’s Policies Committee
  • 11:30 am Official Family Luncheon
  • 1:00 pm Protest Committee
  • 2:00 pm NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund
  • 2:30 pm Outreach Committee
  • 6:00 pm President’s Reception
  •  
  • Saturday, Jan 13th, 2020
  •  
  • 7:30 am NRA Office Opens
  • 7:30 am Official Family Breakfast
  • 9:00 am Board of Directors Meeting
  • 12:00 pm Official Family Luncheon
  • 1:00 pm Board of Directors Meeting

By Ron Carter

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

Are You Going to the NRA Board Meeting?

Are You Going to the NRA BoD Meeting?

Also, it will not be comfortable. We may wonder around lost not knowing many people as is the way those in power want it. They do not want transparency. They do not want member engagement. We must pioneer that change with respectful irreverence.

By Ron Carter

On Saturday, January 11th, 2020 the Winter NRA Board Meeting will be held in Tysons Corner, VA at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

While the NRA Committee meetings will take place during the week, there is no public itinerary. There probably won’t be signs. There probably won’t be anyone to help you navigate what is going on, where to go and what to do.

Par for the course. Like we experienced in September.

It is the privilege of all NRA members to attend these meetings (Per Article III section 6 [d] of the NRA Bylaws), except when in executive session.

Why go?

Because it is your NRA. The NRA Directors work for the members. You can tell them what you want them to do! The National Rifle Association of America needs the members to be informed, engaged and active more than ever before. The problems that exist in the NRA cannot be shrugged off any longer. They must be confronted and we must inspire our directors to confront these problems with prompt integrity.

What to bring:

  1. Your NRA Member Card (with member number).
  2. Identification.
  3. Pen and paper. Take notes!
  4. Your most professional demeanor. 

Be courteous and speak to as many directors as you are able. Attend the meetings for as long as they aren’t in executive session. Be courteous and respectable, do not be belligerent.

Please Remember that this is a board meeting, not a rally or protest. 

Also, it will not be comfortable. We may wonder around lost not knowing many people as is the way those in power want it. They do not want transparency. They do not want member engagement. We must pioneer that change with respectful irreverence.

Look for the Save the Second Facebook page and group for further details that will come as soon as possible. Together we can make our NRA strong, relevant, effective and accountable.

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

The End of the #76in76 Round Two

The End of the #76in76 Round two

Were you able to send each director a letter? I hope I am not alone in failing!

By Ron Carter
January 7th, 2020

This morning marks the end of our second 76 in 76 campaign. These #76in76 campaigns are meant to challenge you to contact all 76 of the National Rifle Association Board of Directors in the days leading up to the next board meeting.

Were you able to send each director a letter? I hope I am not alone in failing!

With so many directors it is incredibly difficult to find the time to write each one. If you succeeded, that is absolutely incredible! Well done!

If you failed, now is the time to do it. We need your help!

Now is the time for the board to confront the elephants in the room. Address the Corruption. Address the Self-Dealings. Address the utter lack of any accountability.

We need your help. The BoD plainly displayed their heads in the sand at the September Board Meeting. Surely with your letters and messages the NRA BoD will listen to their members! We’ll be attending the Board Meeting on Saturday, imploring the directors to act!

Please, make up where you missed all 76 and send an email to the entire board at:

nrabod@nrahq.org

 

Below is my letter to the Board of Directors. Hopefully, the directors will see it, read it and act!

Download a Printable PDF Letter Template here

Click HERE to download a standard, pre-addressed envelope template in PDF form

 

(Name of Board member)
NRA Office of the Secretary
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

OR email: nrabod@nrahq.org

OR call (703) 267 – 1021

Please include your name, membership I.D. number as only communications from NRA members will be forwarded.

 

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

January NRA Board Meeting ’20

January NRA Board Meeting ’20

From Save the Second’s Facebook Event for the NRA Winter Board Meeting We are six days away 

By Ron Carter
January 5, 2020

We are six days away from the January NRA Board Meeting with the Committee Meetings likely starting in just two days.

The NRA Board of Directors meet three times each year, January, April and September. These meetings also host many of the 37 standing committee meetings. One committee meeting in particular will be exceptionally important this year, the Finance Committee meeting on Friday, January 10th at 0900 in Regency Ballroom, 1st level.

The NRA Board has largely been quiet over the fall and winter months. Multiple subpoenas have been served to the NRA BoD, the latest round of subpoenas were likely served before Christmas. Merry Christmas Directors, right? Yikes.

Is this enough to spur change? Is this enough to address the failed leadership and lack of accountability in our NRA? Or is there nothing that will change those directors’ minds? Will they simply continue to allow the malfeasance and self-serving M.O.?

The list of candidates for the 2020 NRA BoD election points to the later with 37 of the 39 having been nominated by the Nominating Committee. Several candidates are only known in the firearms community as a result of acquaintance to Wayne LaPierre. Save the Second’s Guide to the NRA BoD Candidates will be published soon.

Even if the NRA leadership is not at fault for many of the transgressions they have allowed our NRA to be brought to a place where the entire organization is in jeopardy… and in one of the most important election years in our nation’s history. That is entirely unacceptable.

Poll From the Facebook group Friends of Save the Second

What can you do?

You can help by emailing the NRA BoD at nrabod@nrahq.org (please include your member I.D. number) and tell them what you would like them to do. The directors work for the members.

You can attend! You can be there and speak with your NRA BoD’s!!! If you can make it, please come out. As a NRA member you have a RIGHT to attend the NRA Board Meeting per the NRA Bylaws.

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

Find a Picture of the NRA President Holding A Gun

Find a Picture of the NRA President Holding A Gun

The first person to post a picture of the NRA President holding a firearm wins and will receive a $10 Chick-fil-a Gift Card!

By Ron Carter
11/19/2019

On Monday, November 19th, we put out a challenge on our Facebook Page.

 

A simple challenge. The first person to post a picture of the NRA President holding a firearm wins and will receive a $10 Chick-fil-a Gift Card!

 

Out of the hundreds of views of this video, no one can find a Picture of the NRA President, Carolyn Meadows, holding a firearm.

 

Google, Yahoo, Bing, Duckduckgo.com or use another method. 

 

No one has won, yet. You could win! Give it a try! It should be easy! Carolyn Meadows is, after all, the President of the NRA!

 

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

NRAAM 2020 – Get Ready

NRAAM 2020 – Get Ready

We need you to take back your NRA. Together we can do it. Together. That means with you. We’ll see you there on Saturday, April 18th 2020

By Ron Carter
11/14/2019

In 156 days NRA members will be in Nashville, Tennessee at the Music City Center for the NRA Annual Meeting. 

The Members’ Meeting last year sparked many of the calls for reform that we see today. During that meeting a resolution to remove Wayne LaPierre and more from the NRA was nearly passed. 

Of course, there was much resistance from the Old Guard. If concerned members had shown up, our NRA would be in a very different place than it is today. 

That is why, 156 days out, we are encouraging you to make plans to attend now!!! Be there!

Many have been discouraged about the inability for members to be unable to reform the NRA. Some have given up. This is our opportunity to rally.

 This is the event that, should we succeed, will make our NRA strong, relevant, effective and accountable! We need you to show up in order to succeed. 

We need you to take off work, to travel hundreds of miles. We need you to take back your NRA. Together we can do it. Together. That means with you. We’ll see you there on Saturday, April 18th.

 

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

NRA Board of Directors (BoD) Candidates

NRA Board of Directors (BoD) Candidates

What EVER you do. Don’t be one of the 94% of voting eligible NRA members that DIDN’T vote last year.

By Ron Carter
11/11/19

With 2019 coming to a close, the usual 26 seats on the NRA Board of Directors (DoB) will be up for election, however, we have had an unprecedented string of resignations from the NRA board. Eight directors and counting since May! While many of those vacancies were filled (per the bylaws) from last year’s runners-up (what is left of them), this year will include some 32 directors being elected (subject to change).

The list of candidates was sent out a few weeks ago shortly before Dan Boren’s resignation. If the trend continues, expect to see a few more resignations between now and the election. With only 39 candidates on the ballot, 82% will be elected out of the gate and that percentage will likely rise.

 

How does one get on the ballot for the NRA BoD?

 

The simple answer is that the NRA controls nearly all of that. In April 2019, while we were all shocked at Oliver North’s abdication, the board rapidly pushed through a bylaw amendment which introduced a new minimum qualification for BoD eligibility. They so hastily passed a “5 year lifetime membership” requirement that we watched them amend it further for clarification at the September Board Meeting.

Only by the petition of the members or by the blessing of the Nominating Committee can one who as a minimum of five years lifetime NRA member be placed onto the ballot.

Who is on this year’s ballot?

26 of the 39 are currently on the NRA BoD. That’s 66% incumbents on your ballot.

4 of the 13 not currently on the NRA BoD have been before! That’s 77% on the ballot who have been there and done that before.

37 of 39 are nominated by the Nominating Committee. That’s 95% of the ballot being controlled by who exactly?

2 candidates running by petition of the members soley.

1 candidate running by petition, not having served previously on the BoD – Mr. Frank Tait.

3 Directors w/Terms expiring on the NRA BoD and not on the ballot: Lance Olson, Heidi Washington and Melanie Pepper. They’re getting the boot, why?

33% of the candidates would be ineligible for the BoD if Save the Second’s Term Limit Bylaw Amendment Proposal By Petition is ratified.

What can I do?

 

You can be informed! You can vote wisely! You can make your voice heard! You can campaign for or against these candidates! You can be involved in your NRA! If you don’t believe that our NRA is in desperate need of reform check out our Why Reform page or feel free to jump into the discussion on our Facebook page.

What EVER you do. Don’t be one of the 94% of voting eligible NRA members that DIDN’T vote last year.

View the list of Candidates for NRA BoD HERE!!!

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

#76in76 Round Two Update

#76in76 Round Two Update

Today we are on day twelve of our campaign designed to give you the tools to contact all of your NRA Board of Directors.

By Ron Carter
November 5, 2019

Today we are on day twelve of our campaign designed to give you the tools to contact all of your NRA Board of Directors. In these past twelve days, we’ve seen some big news. First, the internal strife has produced yet another director, Dan Boren, to resign. Yesterday we found out that over $2 million dollars were spent on off-the-books travel for Wayne LaPierre (and there’s some very shady things associated with that).

We have been taking one director at a time on our Facebook page and if you have missed a day or two (shhhh, I have) you can easily make it up! The entire board needs to hear from its members. You need to make your voice heard.

Writing can be difficult. If you don’t know where to start, you can always use our template below:

Dear Director ___________,

My NRA has been unaccountable to its members. It has wasted our members’ dues and donations and has been driven to the brink of disaster thanks to the failed leadership of the NRA executives and directors in their negligence, irresponsibility, or malfeasance in,  

  1. The multi-million dollar Carry Guard disaster.
  2. The wasting of money on unnecessary luxury private jet travel. 
  3. The wasting of money on 1/4 million dollar suits for one executive.
  4. The wasting of money on an attempted mansion purchase.
  5. The wasting of money on a singular legal firm for little benefit.
  6. The inexcusable liability of a currently employed executive who has had repeated allegations of sexual harassment.
  7. The retroactive authorizations of expenditures for insiders.
  8. The lack of attendance and participation of directors.
  9. The multiple lawsuits against an advertising agency that made decisions on behalf of the NRA.
  10. The disregard of seeing passed any pro-second amendment legislation when the entire US Government had the political ability to do so.
  11. The demonization of the board candidate with the highest amount of votes in the 2019 director election.
  12. The demonization of the previous ILA leadership.
  13. The multiple potentially criminal investigations into our NRA.
  14. The multiple resignations of directors.
  15. The lack of the Board to hold anyone responsible/accountable for these habitual disasters.

It is my wish that the NRA board provide immediate reform of the NRA leadership, leadership structure, and bylaws to ensure that these destructive occurrences never happen again in my National Rifle Association. At minimum, an independent audit, conducted to show the value of our dues and donations which have been spent by the executives, must be conducted. The risks our NRA is facing far outweighs the blind allegiance given to a failure-ridden NRA leadership. The board cannot be accountable by being unaccountable to its members. I am the NRA and my NRA needs reform now!  

Signed,

_____________

NRA Member # ________________

Or Click here to download this Template in PDF form: Contact Your NRA Director PDF Template
Click HERE to download a standard, pre-addressed envelope template in PDF form

 

(Name of Board member)
NRA Office of the Secretary
11250 Waples Mill Road
Fairfax, VA 22030

OR email: nrabod@nrahq.org

OR call (703) 267 – 1021

Please include your name, membership I.D. number as only communications from NRA members will be forwarded.

 

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram

Someone is Lying and it Doesn’t Matter

Someone is Lying and it Doesn’t Matter

At this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. As members of the NRA who desperately want to see the NRA strong, relevant, effective and accountable this can only mean that our NRA leadership was at best derelict in its duty. At worst they are terribly corrupt.

By Ron Carter
October 28, 2019

Last Friday October 25th, the legal representation for the NRA amended a complaint against Ackerman McQueen in its on going series of lawsuits against its former long-time advertising agency which, among other things, had run NRATV. These lawsuits have allowed a public eye into the bitter resentment each party has for one another.

It is like watching a bitter divorce air all the million dollar dirty laundry for everyone to gawk at. Embarrassing. Unacceptable. Inexcusable.

On the one hand Ackerman McQueen says (in a statement via the Daily Beast) that “In the final 18 months, AMc [Ackerman McQueen] representatives progressively discovered that LaPierre and his executive team, with the board’s oversight and approval, were marketing false products and narratives to NRA members, covering up sexual harassment, attempting to intimidate public officials, disrupting internal investigations about Russia, spending member money for personal benefit and more.”

On the other hand NRA says in its amended complaint that , “…the NRA has acquired documents and information indicating that AMc fraudulently double-billed the NRA (and perhaps other clients) for professional time and equipment needs, among other things.”

Perhaps neither are being truthful. At this point, it doesn’t matter anymore. As an NRA member who desperately wants to see the NRA strong, relevant, effective and accountable this can only mean one thing. Either our NRA leadership was at best derelict in their duties, or at worst they are terribly corrupt. 

In either case, whether the accusations against the NRA were truthful or not, the NRA leadership is fully responsible for the state of our NRA. I wonder when we will see them accept that responsibility, apologize to its members and relieve those at the helm of their failed command. All we have seen thus far is their continued finger pointing. 

-Ron Carter

Follow Us

Facebook-f
Youtube
Instagram