The National Rifle Association has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, as it seeks to leave New York and reincorporate in Texas, the gun rights organization announced Friday.
What are the details?
The NRA “will restructure the Association as a Texas nonprofit to exit what it believes is a corrupt political and regulatory environment in New York,” the group wrote in a press release.
The announcement comes months after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) sued the NRA in an effort to dissolve the organization entirely over allegations of fraud and misuse of donor funds.
James mocked the NRA over the news, tweeting, “The @NRA‘s claimed financial status has finally met its moral status: bankrupt. While we review its bankruptcy filing, we will not allow the @NRA to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and my office’s oversight.”
William Brewer III, an attorney representing the NRA in some of its legal battles, said in a statement, “Under this plan, the Association wisely seeks protection from New York officials who it believes have illegally weaponized their powers against the NRA and its members.” He added, “The NRA will continue to fight to protect the interests of its members in New York – and all forums where the NRA is unlawfully singled out for its Second Amendment advocacy.”
The Associated Press reported that “the coronavirus pandemic has also upended the NRA, which last year laid off dozens of employees, canceled its national convention and scuttled fundraising.”
Yet, the NRA claimed in its bulletin that the organization’s “move comes at a time when the NRA is in its strongest financial condition in years.”
Although the NRA was chartered in New York 150 years ago, the Second Amendment advocacy group is currently headquartered in Fairfax, Va.
The organization says it will continue to operate out of Virginia while it explores whether to move its headquarters elsewhere, too. Meanwhile, the NRA “has formed a committee to study opportunities for relocating segments of its business operations to Texas or other states.”
NRA CEO and executive vice president Wayne LaPierre said of the move:
“This strategic plan represents a pathway to opportunity, growth and progress. Obviously, an important part of this plan is ‘dumping New York.’ The NRA is pursuing reincorporating in a state that values the contributions of the NRA, celebrates our law-abiding members, and will join us as a partner in upholding constitutional freedom. This is a transformational moment in the history of the NRA.”