Editor’s Note: In response to a lawsuit calling on the National Rifle Association to shutter its doors for good, NRA’s Exec. VP Wayne LaPierre sent out the following letter to members and prospective members on Monday, Aug. 10, 2020.
The radical fringe of our country – now openly supported and cheered by anti-gun politicians, elites, and the media – is working to tear America down and tear our nation apart.
Our cities have fallen under a cloud of violence, mayhem, and destruction. Crime rates are soaring.
Anti-gun politicians are shuttering gun shops and doing everything in their power to deny law-abiding Americans our Right to Keep and Bear Arms – and at the same time, ordering the police to stand down in the face of criminal violence.
This is nothing more than a disgusting, brazen attempt by gun-ban politicians to shackle freedom and leave regular, law-abiding Americans defenseless.
And now, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James just launched yet another attack in their war on our freedom – one they’ve been plotting and planning for years.
THEY ARE SUING TO FORCE NRA TO CLOSE OUR DOORS FOREVER.
Even on the campaign trail when she ran for office, Letitia James made it clear that she hated the NRA and everything we stand for.
She vowed that, if elected, she’d use the full power of the Attorney General’s office to silence our voice – even claiming that NRA isn’t a charitable organization but a “terrorist” one instead.
The fact is, NRA is the oldest and most effective civil rights organization in America – representing millions of law-abiding citizens from all walks of life.
BREAKING: New York Attorney General Files Suit Seeking to Dissolve the NRA
But according to Letitia James, NRA members are “terrorists” because we support a freedom enshrined in our Constitution that she personally despises and wants to eradicate from the face of the earth.
And now, she’s deployed the full power of the Attorney General’s office to take down the NRA – with a lawsuit to revoke our New York corporate charter that’s been in effect since 1871 and dissolve our Association.
This isn’t politics as usual. It’s a vendetta – by despotic government officials who believe their power entitles them to muzzle and destroy opposing views.
They’re inspired by pure contempt for the law, and by an unbridled and burning hatred for the NRA.
They know that the minute NRA closes its doors for the last time, our nation’s first and most important line of defense for the Second Amendment will be gone forever.
Make no mistake. NRA is fighting back with every ounce of legal strength we can muster. And others have joined us – even the ACLU – because they know that if the government can weaponize its power to shut down the NRA, it can shut down any organization in America.
But we can’t win this fight without you.
That’s why I’m asking you to join the National Rifle Association TODAY.
This weaponization of government power is like something you’d expect to see in Communist China – NOT in the United States of America.
This isn’t simply a fight for the continued existence of the NRA. It’s a fight for the continued existence of American freedom as we know it.
This is a fight for the Right-to-Carry permit in your pocket that you’re sure to lose if and when NRA goes out of business.
This is a fight for the guns in your safe that are certain to be banned and confiscated if NRA is forced to shut down.
And this is a fight for your God-given right to protect your life and your loved ones against violent criminals – who will still have their illegal guns long after you hear that knock at your door.
So please, join NRA today. Add your VOICE, your VOTE, and your MEMBERSHIP to our FIGHT.
Let’s not allow Andrew Cuomo and Letitia James to shutter and silence our great NRA fighting machine that’s done so much for freedom’s cause. Let’s not allow Cuomo and James to destroy our right to peaceably join together under the NRA banner to fight for the Constitutional rights we cherish.
And let’s not allow Cuomo and James to weaponize government – and turn this nation into a place where those in power can shut down any organization or silence any voice they disagree with.
If we win this battle, we will score the biggest victory for freedom in the history of the NRA – and make a mark on the Second Amendment and the First Amendment that will be remembered for generations.
That’s why it’s important for you to join NRA today. And when you join, you’ll receive a $15 or more discount on your dues, valuable members-only benefits, plus a FREE GIFT of your choice.
But the best benefit of all is leading the fight to save your Right to Keep and Bear Arms…a fight we can’t win without you.
So PLEASE, let me hear from you today.
We need to fight back against this attack like we’re fighting for the Declaration of Independence and our freedom – because it’s ALL on the line.
In Liberty,
Wayne LaPierre
Executive Vice President