Brady email soliciting signatures for petition asking Congress to pass more gun control laws in an effort to promote gun safety.
A national gun control organization has taken responsibility for creating the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) legal problems, is setting its sights on a firearms industry trade organization, and is calling on people to join its fight.
In a March 14 email, Brady—formerly The Brady Campaign—solicited signatures on a petition for Congress to pass more gun control laws to end the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF).
Neither Brady nor the NRA responded to emails requesting comment by press time.
Mark Oliva, managing director of public affairs for the NSSF, said he is not surprised by the email. He said Brady is only one of several groups assaulting Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
“I think, if anything, [the email] is a testament to the effectiveness of NSSF and our ability to advocate for our industry,” Mr. Oliva told The Epoch Times.
He said he expects anti-gun groups to continue, and even intensify, their attacks.
“The National Shooting Sports Foundation … is the firearm industry’s biggest trade group … and, as the NRA crumbles in disgrace, they are poised to take on [the NRA’s] deadly ‘guns everywhere’ agenda,” the email from Brady reads.
The NRA has had many public issues in the past several years. Allegations of corruption, infighting, and misuse of funds tarnished the reputation of the organization that billed itself as “America’s oldest civil rights organization.”
As membership declined, the group’s political enemies found chinks in its political armor.
In February 2023, a New York jury found Wayne LaPierre, former CEO and face of the NRA for decades, liable in a civil case. He must pay $4.3 million in damages for the mismanagement and misuse of charitable funds.
The verdict resulted from a civil lawsuit brought by the New York Attorney General’s Office, accusing Mr. LaPierre and the NRA of questionable financial and administration practices during his tenure from 2014 to 2022. Mr. LaPierre, who had resigned weeks before the verdict, and the NRA said the lawsuit was a political witch hunt meant to kill the NRA.
