NRA leaders knock back liberal pols ‘who want to exaggerate our death’: ‘We haven’t lost a beat’

The National Rifle Association remains unwavering in its mission to defend law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights amid a civil corruption lawsuit in New York and repeated attacks from liberal politicians, the group’s president and interim CEO told Fox News Digital. 

“We’re gonna be as active, if not more active, than we’ve ever been. We’ve always been a grassroots organization,” interim NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Andrew Arulanandam told Fox News Digital in an interview this month. 

Arulanandam and NRA President Charles Cotton spoke to Fox News Digital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, earlier this month, where the gun rights group held its annual Great American Outdoor Show. The nine-day event reported record attendance of more than 200,000 people, and was joined by former President Donald Trump this year, who delivered the event’s presidential forum keynote address. 

The interview comes ahead of a verdict in a civil corruption case brought by Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James, and when the NRA has come under increased condemnation from critics under the Biden administration. 

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Interim NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Andrew Arulanandam (NRA )

“The New York AG is not trying to put any other organization out of business. No other organization is attacked on a near daily basis like the NRA. You go after the enemy that’s making your life miserable, not the one who has no impact,” Cotton, an attorney who has been fighting for Second Amendment rights since the 1970s, said of the attacks and court case in New York. 

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In August 2020, James filed a dissolution lawsuit aiming to break up the NRA over alleged corruption. A New York Supreme Court justice ultimately blocked James’ effort to dissolve the organization in a 2022 decision, saying the suit did not meet the requirements of ordering a “corporate death penalty” on the group. The judge did allow the suit against the NRA’s top officials, including former CEO Wayne LaPierre, to proceed. James accused officials at the NRA of “years of illegal self-dealing” with NRA funds that provided a “lavish lifestyle.”

NRA President Charles Cotton on stage with former President Donald Trump. (NRA)

The NRA, however, has hit back against the case repeatedly since it was first floated, arguing it is politically motivated and intended to silence the organization, pointing to James’ previous comments vowing to take on the NRA before her election as New York AG. 

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While on the campaign trail ahead of her 2018 election, James called the group “an organ of deadly propaganda” and “a terrorist organization” and vowed to investigate whether the NRA could keep its charity status. 

Cotton said during the interview that the case has had an impact on the organization, but argued James and other critics “want to exaggerate our death,” giving a hat tip to the late Mark Twain. 

Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a news conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

“That is exactly what the AG is trying to do. When she originally filed the lawsuit, she was seeking to have the NRA dissolved, which simply means we’re not gonna exist anymore. Worse than that, all of our assets would be seized by the state and given to other Second Amendment organizations – they didn’t even have to be pro-gun. And we know where the money would have gone. It would have gone to Bloomberg’s Everytown,” he said of the pro-gun control organization. 

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Now, James’ case focuses on the NRA, LaPierre, former CFO Wilson “Woody” Philips and general counsel John Frazer’s use of funds on luxury personal purchases and trips – not to dissolve the organization. LaPierre stepped down from the organization last month, citing health reasons, with Arulanandam soon taking the reins. 

The NRA has also repeatedly come under fire from critics who call the organization “racist” or say it promotes White supremacy, which Arulanandam shot down as “nothing … farther from the truth,” arguing the organization is focused on good vs. bad.

“The NRA is a colorblind organization. What we do care about is good and bad. And good and bad, there’s there’s no color. There’s good people across all race, color, creed. Same as bad. What we care about are the good people. We want to empower good people and we want to make sure that the criminal element in our country pays the price. And there’s nothing racist when you draw a line between good and bad,” he said. 

Following LaPierre’s departure, which took effect at the end of last month, Arulanandam said the mission of the organization has remained steadfast: defending law-abiding Americans’ rights to firearms and self-defense. 

Interim NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Andrew Arulanandam greets former President Donald Trump. (NRA )

“We’ve always been the leading organization to fight for self-defense laws, hunting rights, anything firearm related, anything self-defense related. We’ve been at the tip of the spear for decades, for as long as I can remember,” he said, adding that “we have a great team in place.” 

“People should judge us by record,” he said. “… 27 states now with constitutional carry – that’s like the gold standard as far as self-defense law. And we’ve done that in a relatively short period of time.” 

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Last year, the U.S. officially tipped as a constitutional carry majority nation, when 2023 closed out with 27 states having laws on the books allowing law-abiding residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, effectively eliminating the need for qualifying residents to ask the government for permission to carry. 

When asked how the NRA is working to grow, especially among youths, Arulanandam pointed to their teams at the NRA who interact with the public and produce viral videos of legal gun owners that reach millions of Americans. He added, however, that the media has “refused” to report on stories highlighting how guns can save lives from criminals acts, or on the training programs the NRA has in place for members. 

“We’re working. We haven’t lost a beat. We keep on putting scores up on the board. It’s just that the media refuses to cover it,” he said. 

Audience members at NRA’s Great American Outdoor Show. (NRA )

Cotton also argued the media has created a roadblock, and failed to accurately report to the public what the NRA does. He said when the average American thinks of the NRA, their minds turn to litigation, legislation and elections – not the nearly 200 programs offered to train and educate citizens on how to properly use firearms. 

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“I think it’s ironic to a lot of the young folks you’re talking about, even young folks on the other side of the issue, are coming to our side. And the reason they’re doing it is not frankly because of our efforts, but because, as Andrew said, the media won’t – in their viewpoint – advertise what all we do. So it’s ironic that they’re coming to us because of the lawlessness that they’re seeing in so many of the major cities.”

People walk past signage in the hallways outside the exhibit halls at the NRA annual meeting at the George R. Brown Convention Center, May 26, 2022, in Houston. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke)

“We’ll see stories about, ‘Well, why in the world is grandma getting a gun for the first time?’ or ‘Why is someone who just turned 18 or 21, depending upon the state, getting their first gun?’ And, unfortunately, it’s in reaction to the times and what we’ve seen in the increase in violence. So thank God, literally, that the NRA is there with our training ability with our 120,000 firearms instructors. We can answer the call with that,” he said. 

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The civil corruption case held closing arguments last week, with the jury expected to hand down a verdict in the coming days.