The National Rifle Association has proven for decades, to be a critically important defender of American Liberty, primarily by way of its defense of the Second Amendment.

“The right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed,” is a foundational tenet of Liberty. As James Madison’s SCOTUS appointee, Justice Joseph Story, wrote in his definitive “Commentaries on the Constitution of the United States” (1833), that fundamental right “has justly been considered, as the palladium of the liberties of the republic; since it offers a strong moral check against usurpation and arbitrary power of the rulers; and will generally, even if these are successful in the first instance, enable the people to resist and triumph over them.”

Indeed, Madison himself wrote, “[T]he advantage of being armed, which the Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation … forms a barrier against the enterprises of ambition, more insurmountable than any…”

Unfortunately, the 153-year-old NRA has gotten itself into a bit of a hole. From its grassroots membership perspective, that hole is in part because of controversies associate with Wayne LaPierre, the longtime executive vice president who announced his resignation, effective January 31. The NRA has reportedly shed more than a million members since hitting nearly six million in 2018. Andrew Arulanandam, formerly head of NRA general operations, will take over and attempt to reinvigorate the organization.

Since 1991, LaPierre has been the face and strategic brain of the NRA, and he said in his resignation announcement that his “passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.” There’s no question the NRA has experienced great success over the last three decades.

The NRA’s statement said the 74-year-old “cited health reasons as a reason for his decision,” but we suspect the next sentence was the determining factor: “The NRA continues its defense of a lawsuit by the New York Attorney General, and LaPierre is an individual defendant in that action.”

New York’s leftist Attorneys General, Letitia James, promised when she ran for office that she’d focus on two things: nail Donald Trump for … something, and “dissolve the [NRA] in its entirety.” Those are explicitly political goals, not legal ones, which is entirely at odds with being the Empire State’s leading law enforcement official. But then, she is a Democrat, so she gets a pass…

Regardless, the timing of LaPierre’s exit came the same day jury selection ended for AG James’s NRA persecution. James predicted the trial outcome would be “an important victory.” In May 2022, our Mark Alexander gave this summary of the legal battle:

In August 2020, New York’s leftist anti-2A attorney general, Letitia James, filed a civil suit against the NRA, alleging fraud and misuse of charitable funds by some of its executives, including LaPierre. DC Attorney General Karl Racine filed a similar lawsuit against the NRA. In January 2021, LaPierre announced the organization was relocating to Texas and declaring bankruptcy, but a federal judge in Texas ruled that the move and bankruptcy petition “was not filed in good faith” but in order “to gain an unfair litigation advantage” against AG James, and to avoid being regulated by New York.

Fortunately, in March 2022, the state of New York ruled against James’s effort to carve up the NRA, finding it violated the rights of free speech and assembly of NRA members. But the court allowed her actions against LaPierre to proceed.

Yes, James is a political hack and she has yet to prove her case in court, but there’s reason to believe she’s not entirely fabricating the evidence. In 2019, then-NRA President Oliver North resigned, citing mismanagement of donor funds by LaPierre and others. “There is a clear crisis,” North said at the time. “It needs to be dealt with immediately and responsibly so the NRA can continue to focus on protecting our Second Amendment.”

Then-board member Allen West, who later unsuccessfully challenged LaPierre for his post, also declared, “The membership of the National Rifle Association deserves better when it comes to fiscal responsibility because they donate their hard-earned dollars, $25 or $50 at a time, for the protection of the Second Amendment, not the protection of the cabal of cronyism.”

For the record, no one should be happier with the alleged misuse of NRA donor funds than Letitia James. Every dollar spent on fancy suits, lavish vacations, and LaPierre’s $5 million salary is arguably a dollar not spent fighting James and her gun-grabbing ilk. LaPierre will be gone in a matter of weeks, soon after which a Manhattan jury will decide his fate and that of other defendants.

In the meantime, the Second Amendment faces threats as perilous as at any time in our nation’s history. American Patriots need the NRA to right itself and its ship, and stay focused on defending the “palladium of the liberties.”