"The NRA Foundation filed suit in Virginia federal court Thursday, alleging the NRA siphoned away foundation funds and used it as a 'piggy bank.'"

That money was earmarked for range safety programs, youth shooting sports, hunter education — the stuff that actually grows the shooting community at the grassroots level. If those funds got redirected to keep the lights on at headquarters or cover legal bills, that's not just bad optics, that's a potential IRS problem.

The piece makes a distinction a lot of shooters don't think about — the Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charity, the NRA is a 501(c)(4) advocacy org. Different rules, different legal obligations. Mixing those up on purpose isn't a bookkeeping error, it's the kind of thing that ends tax-exempt status.

"Whatever you think of the NRA's politics, this is exactly the kind of internal financial dispute that weakens an advocacy organization at a time when the legal battles over gun rights need a steady hand."

Hard to argue with that. Litigation is expensive and distracting, and the NRA is already fighting the New York AG on one flank. Every dollar going to lawyers is a dollar not going to Bruen follow-up cases or state-level fights.

Has any of this changed how you personally approach NRA membership, donations, or whether you direct your money toward other organizations like the Second Amendment Foundation or ISAA instead?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By Steve Duskett