Michael Cargill, owner of Central Texas Gun Works and NRA member, said his only reaction is that it was completely unsurprising the state of New York would start such an investigation. He added this is the NRA’s own fault — not for allowing alleged fraud or abuse, but for being incorporated in such a notoriously anti-gun state that would undoubtedly treat the group unfairly.
“That’s dumbest thing I’ve ever heard of in my life, and I had no idea. I assumed that the NRA actually had their documentation out of Virginia,” he said. But other than moving the organization to a pro-gun state like Texas or Georgia, Cargill’s only advice was to get it sorted out before the November election.
“They need to work through whatever this problem is, get it fixed, and get on target and get on message, because if we don’t, you know, this election season, you know we’re gonna get our clock cleaned,” he warned.
Other NRA members believe James’s lawsuit has nothing to do with the NRA, but is part of a broader scheme by Democrats to nationalize state and local elections. Mike Cox, political legislative director of the Texas State Rifle Association, a state affiliate of the NRA, told The Federalist most of his organization’s members are focused on marksmanship and competitions, not politics. According to Cox, many are unaware of the threats to their local politics from outside groups like the Mike Bloomberg-funded, anti-gun group Moms Demand Action.
“This is no accident that [James] filed that lawsuit less than 85 days until the election,” Cox said, decrying the amount of out-of-state money and strategy being poured into Texas House elections. “[Our members] are not political. They’re shocked when we tell them, ‘Do you realize we got more risk coming our way right now than we did when Santa Ana was coming up here to take our guns in 1836?’”
– Madeline Osburn in NY Attorney General’s Lawsuit Scares These NRA Members Much More Than NRA Spending