Earlier this month, it was reported that Marion Hammer, a longtime NRA board member, former NRA president and NRA lobbyist in Florida received “$270,000 for consulting services and legislative lobbying” the same year of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that left 17 students and staff dead. In response, Florida State Senator Perry Thurston and State Representative Anna Eskamani are accusing Hammer of “failing to disclose payments as required by Florida’s lobbying disclosure law.” The lawmakers have filed complaints with the state’s Commision on Ethics and also with the oversight committees in the Florida Senate and House to investigate Hammer.
In addition, Florida Bulldog, an investigative website, reported that Hammer “has not filed quarterly compensation reports as required by state law since at least 2007, despite receiving at least $525,000 in payments from 2014-16.”
The NRA opposed gun safety reforms passed after the Parkland shooting, which included raising the age to buy a rifle from 18 to 21, a red flag law and prohibiting the sale and possession of bump stocks.
The news of these payments comes amid weeks of devastating news reports detailing widespread financial mismanagement and alleged self-dealing at the highest levels of the NRA’s leadership, including Hammer’s longtime ally, NRA executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre. The reports have led at least two NRA board members to call for LaPierre’s resignation. The calls came after press reports about LaPierre’s lavish spending, including stays in the Bahamas, Italy, and Reno, Nevada and $275,000 in purchases from a high-end Italian clothier in Beverly Hills over a 13-year stretch. Just yesterday, former NRA president and current NRA board member, Pete Brownell announced his resignation from the NRA board of directors.