In a press release to Fox News Digital, LaPierre touted his almost half-century of service to the gun rights organization.
“With pride in all that we have accomplished, I am announcing my resignation from the NRA. I’ve been a card-carrying member of this organization for most of my adult life, and I will never stop supporting the NRA and its fight to defend Second Amendment freedom[s]. My passion for our cause burns as deeply as ever.”
The 74-year-old LaPierre cited health concerns as the reason behind his announcement. His resignation was accepted by NRA President Charles Cotton during the organization’s board meeting Friday in Irving, Texas.
While the venerable group decides on its direction moving forward, Andrew Arulanandam will serve as interim CEO and executive vice president. He is currently NRA’s executive and head of general operations.
More than any single figure, LaPierre blazed a trail across the gun rights legal landscape for over four decades. He was the face of the NRA as the organization celebrated milestone victories and fought against the might of Washington politics to preserve Second Amendment rights.
LaPierre began working for the NRA in 1977. He rose through the ranks to become CEO and executive vice president in 1991. His work touched every facet of defending gun rights, including constitutional carry laws.
A milestone in that fight was reached in 2023 when the U.S. became a majority constitutional carry nation.
Cotton acknowledged LaPierre’s unique contributions in the press release.
“On behalf of the NRA Board of Directors, I thank Wayne LaPierre for his service. Wayne has done as much to protect Second Amendment freedom as anyone.”
Cotton hardly stopped there. “Wayne is a towering figure in the fight for constitutional freedom, but one of his other talents is equally important: he built an organization that is bigger than him. Under the direction of Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA will continue to thrive — with a renewed energy in our business operations and grassroots advocacy. Our future is bright and secure.”
LaPierre is set to face a New York trial in coming days on what many believe are politically motivated charges. Controversial state Attorney General Letitia James (D) ran for office on the pledge of confronting the gun rights group.
She explicitly called the NRA a “terrorist organization.”
Now she is harnessing the Empire State’s might to take down LaPierre. James brought a lawsuit in 2020 accusing the leadership of the group — and LaPierre in particular — of diverting millions of dollars of funding to their own private use.
The NRA, of course, is not backing down. The nation’s largest and oldest gun rights organization slammed the prosecutor for utilizing the power of her office for a personal vendetta. They charged that she intended “to silence” their cause due to her hatred for the grassroots organization.
In a press release, the NRA noted “it is well known that the NYAG vowed to pursue the NRA when she was a candidate for her office and upon being elected filed a lawsuit to dissolve the organization in August 2020.”
The trial commences this week. And while most gun rights supporters realize it to be largely if not entirely politically motivated, they also recognize the enormous contributions made by LaPierre to the cause.
He took the NRA to greater heights than ever, and no critic can deny his footprint for the cause. LaPierre’s legacy will hardly be tarnished by an organized witch hunt, and the NRA he helped build will certainly survive and prosper.
