Trump Has Advice for NRA After Big Lawsuit

Move to Texas, he suggests
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 6, 2020 4:07 PM CDT
Trump Has Advice for NRA After Big Lawsuit
Wayne LaPierre of the NRA speaks in February to the Conservative Political Action Conference.   (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

As its future began to look even more litigious Thursday, President Trump had a suggestion for the National Rifle Association. "I think the NRA should move to Texas and lead a very good and beautiful life," he said. "And I've told them that for a long time." Trump was commenting on New York's lawsuit that seeks to bring an end to the organization. "That’s a very terrible thing that just happened," the president told reporters, the Hill, reports. The gun rights organization is chartered as a nonprofit in New York state and is headquartered in Virginia, near Washington. Trump said Texas would be "an appropriate place for the NRA." The NRA and Trump are staunch supporters of each other. Texas officials immediately endorsed the idea, per the Dallas Morning News. “Unlike Blue State NY, we support the 2nd Amendment," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick tweeted. "People who buy guns don’t vote for Democrats who want to take them away."

The NRA didn't say anything about moving, but it later answered New York's suit with its own—accusing Attorney General Letitia James of defamation and political prosecution of the group. Filed in New York, per Fox News, the suit said, "The New York Democratic Party political machine seeks to harass, defund, and dismantle the NRA because of what it believes and what it says." Also Thursday, a District of Columbia suit made accusations about the NRA Foundation's spending much like those made by New York's, per the Hill. "Donors gave money to fund firearms safety, firearms education and marksmanship training," Karl Racine tweeted. "Instead, that money was diverted to support wasteful spending by the NRA and its executives." Even if the NRA survives, it could be tied up in the legal fights for years. The NRA is already dealing with internal struggles and money troubles, the New York Times reports, and now will be consumed by a struggle for its existence. (More NRA stories.)

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