From: [j--l--r] at [valerie.isi.edu] (John Walker)
Newsgroups: alt.politics.clinton,talk.politics.guns
Subject: Re: NRA Loses Over 300,000 Members Since
Date: 11 Aug 1995 08:46:27 -0700

How about hearing about it directly from the NRA.

Date: Wed, 9 Aug 1995 15:09:50 -0400
Subject: INFO: Standing Guard by Wayne LaPierre


                         STANDING GUARD
           by Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice-President
              National Rifle Association of America

To confuse you about NRA's leadership and fiscal health, some in
the national media have circulated distorted, deceptive and
downright false stories about the NRA's finances.  So before they
peddle any more misleading statistics and malicious theories, let's
set the record straight.

When the Board of Directors elected me to the helm of the NRA in
1991, our Association faced severe problems that genuinely
threatened our future:

*    Lack of support for our members' interests in the defense of
     our Second Amendment rights in legislative and political
     arenas.

*    NRA membership had plummeted, even while millions of dollars
     were being spent to recruit members. 

*    Millions more had been squandered to replace NRA's inadequate,
     obsolete computer system with yet another system that
     literally never worked.  

*    Our overcrowded, crumbling 40-year-old Headquarters building
     - which was built to serve 250,000 members, not twelve times
     that number - was in danger of being shut down for asbestos,
     life-safety and disabled access code violations.

*    And our Association had fallen victim to a bureaucratic
     mindset and lack of vision that threatened to make us
     irrelevant to American gun owners.

In short, NRA stood at the crossroads of its very existence.  With
the guidance and backing of the NRA Board of Directors, we set out
to arrest and reverse that disastrous course.  Today, I'm proud to
report our Association has been revitalized and rebuilt from the
ground up.

Since 1991, we've undergone the fastest, longest sustained growth
period in our history, gaining more than a million members to set
an all-time record in paid memberships.  Instead of relocating for
two years while our Headquarters was gutted and rebuilt - only to
relocate again - the Association bought a new Headquarters which
will serve NRA members well into the next century, all for about 30
cents on the dollar.

We've strengthened and streamlined our entire infrastructure, with
a computer system that works, and an inspired, visionary and
professional staff that works even harder.  And we've added
nationally-acclaimed programs like CrimeStrike, Eddie Eagle and
Refuse To Be A Victim . . . programs that answer the needs of
Americans today.

Did it cost money?  Yes.  Investing in the future always does. 
Will it break the bank?  Not by a long shot.

Today our Association has $52 million in cash and investments, plus
some $25 million in other net tangible assets.  We have a balanced
budget.  We're operating in the black.  And by whatever yardstick
you choose - politics, programs, fiscal integrity, membership or
resolve - we're stronger, more viable and better prepared to
protect your Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms than we
have been in decades, if ever.

Look at our phenomenal, unprecedented success in the 1994
elections, and all our state legislative victories since then. 
President Clinton said it all when he blamed the NRA for changing
the face of Congress.  Look at all the new NRA programs that are
touching the lives of millions of Americans.  Or listen to the
passionate support from the thousands of new members who join us
each week.

All of this momentum came with a price tag, and we paid it.  Today,
that sacrifice has been made.  Because the alternative was
unacceptable.  Stagnation means weakness.  And momentum lost is
very expensive to regain.  But growth means strength, as members
like you are our greatest asset.  Now we must stay the course.  Our
Second Amendment demands no less.  

=+=+=+=+
This information is provided as a service of the National Rifle
Association Institute for Legislative Action, Fairfax, VA.

This and other information on the Second Amendment and the NRA is
available at any of the following URL's: http://WWW.NRA.Org, 
gopher://GOPHER.NRA.Org, wais://WAIS.NRA.Org, ftp://FTP.NRA.Org,
mailto:[L--TP--C] at [NRA.Org] (Send the word help as the body of a
message)

Information may also be obtained by connecting directly to the 
NRA-ILA GUN-TALK Bulletin Board System at (703) 934-2121.