Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr.

Wayne LaPierre
Personal Details
Name	Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr.
Born	1949-11-08
Birthplace	Schenectady, New York, U.S.A.
Spouse	Susan LaPierre (m. 2012)
Marital status	Married
Parents	Father: Wayne Robert LaPierre, Sr. (accountant, General Electric) Mother: Hazel LaPierre (née Gordon)
Education	Siena College  (B.A.) Boston College  (M.A.)
Profession	Business executive Gun rights lobbyist
Known for	CEO & Executive Vice President, National Rifle Association
Controversies	Fraud, financial misconduct, misuse of charitable funds Response to school mass shootings Botched African elephant killing
Religion	Roman Catholic
Ideology	Anti federal government views Anti-gun control Pro-gun ownership Social conservatism

Background

Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. (born November 8, 1949) is an American gun rights lobbyist and CEO and Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association Activity of America (NRA), a position he has held since 1991.

Early Life

Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. was born on November 8, 1949, in Schenectady, New York, the eldest child of Hazel (Gordon) and Wayne Robert LaPierre, Sr. His father was an accountant for the local General Electric plant. The LaPierre family trace their patrilineal heritage to a 17th century French ancestor who emigrated from the Brittany region of France to New France (now Quebec, Canada). His family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, when LaPierre, Jr. was five years old, and he was raised in the Roman Catholic church.

Career

Wayne LaPierre has been a government activist and lobbyist since receiving his master's degree in government and politics, including positions on the board of directors of the American Association of Political Consultants, the American Conservative Union, and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

National Rifle Association Activity

Since 1991, he has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), the largest gun rights advocacy and firearms safety training/marksmanship organization in the United States. Wayne LaPierre joined the NRA in 1977 after working as a legislative aide to Democrat   Virginia delegate and gun rights advocate Vic Thomas.

In 2014, NRA contributions totaled $103 million and Wayne LaPierre's compensation was $985,885. In 2015, NRA contributions totaled $95 million. In that year, LaPierre received a $3.7 million deferred compensation distribution from his "employee funded deferred compensation plan," which was required by federal law, and according to the NRA raised his total annual compensation to $5,110,985.

On 2020-08-06, following 18 months of investigation, New York Attorney General   Letitia James filed a civil lawsuit  [local copy] against the NRA and Wayne LaPierre, as well as treasurer Wilson Phillips, former chief of staff and current executive director of general operations Joshua Powell and general counsel and secretary John Frazer, alleging fraud, financial misconduct, and misuse of charitable funds, and calling for the dissolution of the association due to chronic fraudulent management. The NRA attempted to have the case moved to Texas and the dissolution lawsuit dismissed, but federal Judge Harlin Hale of the Northern District of Texas ruled that the effort was made in bad faith. LaPierre's compensation and exorbitant corporate spending on personal items such as expensive suits, chartered jet flights, and a traveling "glam squad" for his wife, drew attention in the eleven-day hearing.

Views on Gun Rights

Wayne LaPierre has called for the presence of "armed, trained, qualified school security personnel" at schools. At a press conference in the wake of the 2012-12-14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, LaPierre announced that Asa Hutchinson, former Arkansas congressman and Drug Enforcement Administration chief, would lead the NRA's  National School Shield Emergency Response Program, saying "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun."

Wayne LaPierre blamed the Sandy Hook incident, and others like it, on "lack of mental health reform and the prevalence of violent video games and movies."

Wayne LaPierre has stated his support for the following beliefs.

Criticism

In 1995 in the aftermath of the 1993-04-19 Waco seige and the 1992-08-(21-31) Ruby Ridge siege incidents, Wayne LaPierre wrote a fundraising letter describing federal agents as "jack-booted government thugs" who wear "Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms to attack law-abiding citizens." The term "jack-booted government thugs" had been coined by United States Representative John David Dingell Jr., Democrat of Michigan, in 1981, referring to Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents, and came to be frequently repeated by the NRA. Former president George H.W. Bush was so outraged by the letter that he resigned his NRA life membership. In response to growing criticism, LaPierre apologized, saying he did not intend to "paint all federal law-enforcement officials with the same broad brush."

In 2000, Wayne LaPierre said President Bill Clinton tolerated a certain amount of violence and killing to strengthen the case for gun control and to score points for his party. Clinton White House spokesman Joe Lockhart called it "really sick rhetoric, and it should be repudiated by anyone who hears it." In 2004, citing Democratic Party candidate John Kerry's history of authoring and supporting gun control legislation, LaPierre actively campaigned against the senator in the 2004 presidential elections.

In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, he connected gun violence with "gun-free zones," violent films and video games, the media, weak databases on mental illness and lax security, and called for armed officers at American schools in an effort to protect children from gun violence. Following the event, several in the media criticized Wayne LaPierre's statements, including the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette editorial board and The Atlantic's   Jeffrey Goldberg. Others also criticized the NRA's remarks, including Republican Party strategist and pollster Frank Luntz.

In response to the 2018-02-14 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, Wayne LaPierre delivered a speech on 2018-02-22 at the Conservative Political Action Conference held in National Harbor, Maryland, in which he criticized the Federal Bureau of Investigation the media and gun control advocates. "As usual, the opportunists wasted not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain. The elites do not care one whit about America's school system and schoolchildren. If they truly cared, what they would do is they would protect them. For them it is not a safety issue, it is a political issue ... Gun control advocates don't care if their laws work or not. They just want get more laws to get more control over people. But the NRA, the NRA does care." David Graham of The Atlantic questioned his reference to "elites," since LaPierre earns millions from his work. LaPierre also argued that the Constitutional right to keep and bear arms "is not bestowed by man, but granted by God to all Americans as our American birthright."

Botched African Bush Elephant Killing

On 2021-04-27 a video emerged of Wayne LaPierre shooting an African bush elephant at point blank range on a 2013 hunting trip in Botswana. The video drew criticism from conservation groups.

Personal Life

In 2012 Wayne LaPierre married Susan LaPierre.

Additional Reading

• See also 2021-04-27 The New Yorker story, The Secret Footage of the N.R.A. Chief's Botched Elephant Hunt.

---

In early fall of 2013, an export company in Botswana prepared a shipment of animal parts for Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association of America, and his wife, Susan LaPierre. One of the business's managers emailed the couple a list of trophies from their recent hunt and asked them to confirm its accuracy: one Cape-buffalo skull; two sheets of elephant skin; two elephant ears; four elephant tusks; and four front elephant feet. Once the inventory was confirmed, the email stated, "we will be able to start the dipping and packing process."

Ten days later, Susan wrote back with a request: The shipment should have no clear links to the LaPierres. She told the shipping company to use the name of an American taxidermist as "the consignee" for the items, and further requested that the company "not use our names anywhere if at all possible." Susan noted that the couple also expected to receive, along with the elephant trophies, an assortment of skulls and skins from warthogs, impalas, a zebra, and a hyena. Once the animal parts arrived in the States, the taxidermist would turn them into decorations for the couple's home in Virginia, and prepare the elephant skins so they could be used to make personal accessories, like handbags.

The LaPierres felt secrecy was needed, the emails show, because of a public uproar over an episode of the hunting show "Under Wild Skies," in which the host, Tony Makris, had fatally shot an elephant. The NRA sponsored the program, and the couple feared potential blowback if the details of their Botswana hunt became public. Footage of their safari, which was filmed for "Under Wild Skies" and recently published by The Trace and The New Yorker, showed that Wayne LaPierre had struggled to kill an elephant at close range, while Susan LaPierre felled hers with a single shot and cut off its tail in jubilation. Plans to air an episode featuring the LaPierres' hunt were cancelled.

[ ... snip ... ]


Wayne and Susan LaPierre ordered their hunted elephants turned into stools and a trashcan. The NRA chief and his wife had a long list of trophies shipped and taxidermied - all on a contractor's tab.
[Source]

Video of National Rifle Association CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and his wife - Susan LaPierre - killing African bush elephants - since 2021, listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List - in 2013 in Botswana.  [Source]

After the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, Wayne LaPierre, the head of the National Rifle Association of America, told Americans agitating for new gun regulations, "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." Less than a year later, LaPierre and his wife, Susan LaPierre, travelled to Botswana's   Okavango Delta, where they hoped to show N.R.A. members that they had the grit to take on a different adversary: African bush elephants, the largest land mammals on Earth. The trip was filmed by a crew from "Under Wild Skies," an N.R.A.-sponsored television series that was meant to boost the organization's profile among hunters - a key element of its donor base. But the program never aired, according to sources and records, because of concerns that it could turn into a public-relations fiasco.

The Trace and The New Yorker obtained a copy of the footage, which has been hidden from public view for eight years. It shows that when guides tracked down an elephant for LaPierre, the N.R.A. chief proved to be a poor marksman. After LaPierre's first shot wounded the elephant, guides brought him a short distance from the animal, which was lying on its side, immobilized. Firing from point-blank range, LaPierre shot the animal three times in the wrong place. Finally, a guide had the host of "Under Wild Skies" fire the shot that killed the elephant. Later that day, Susan LaPierre showed herself to be a better shot than her husband. After guides tracked down an elephant for her, Susan killed it, cut off its tail, and held it in the air. "Victory!" she shouted, laughing. "That's my elephant tail. Way cool."

For three decades, LaPierre has led the N.R.A.'s fund-raising efforts by railing against out-of-touch "élites" and selling himself as an authentic champion of American self-reliance and the unfettered right to protect oneself with a gun. But the footage, as well as newly uncovered legal records, suggest that behind his carefully constructed Everyman image, LaPierre is a coddled executive who is clumsy with a firearm, and fearful of the violent political climate he has helped to create. The N.R.A. did not respond to requests for comment.

The N.R.A. is weathering an existential crisis, which began with revelations of rampant self-dealing first reported in 2019 and extends to an ongoing legal fight with the New York Attorney General  [Letitia James, who filed civil lawsuit  [local copy against the N.R.A. on 2020-08-06] and a humiliating bankruptcy trial. Now, the video and other materials offer a glimpse of the stage-managed, insular, and privileged life of the N.R.A.'s top official.

The footage of LaPierre in Botswana first shows him walking through the bush dressed in loose-fitting safari attire and an NRA Sports baseball cap. He is accompanied by several professional guides and his longtime adviser, Tony Makris  [local copy], a top executive at the N.R.A.'s former public-relations firm, Ackerman McQueen, and the host of "Under Wild Skies." The heat, at times, causes LaPierre to sweat. As he walks, his wire-framed glasses slide down his nose. After a guide spots an elephant standing behind a tree, LaPierre takes aim with a rifle. As LaPierre peers through the weapon's scope, the guide repeatedly tells him to wait before firing. LaPierre is wearing earplugs, doesn't hear the instructions, and pulls the trigger. The elephant drops. "Did we get him?" LaPierre asks.

The guide at first says yes, but then, as he approaches the elephant, it appears that the animal is still breathing. The guide brings Wayne LaPierre within a few strides of the elephant, which lays motionless on the ground. He tells LaPierre that another bullet is needed. "I'm going to show you where to shoot," the guide says. "Listen, hold your rifle - I'm going to tell you when. Just hold it up." The guide pushes the rifle's barrel skyward as other men involved in the expedition move around in the distance. "I'm going to point for you where to shoot. Just waiting for these guys."

The guide walks over to the elephant, crouches down, and points near the animal's ear, telling LaPierre to shoot the elephant there. Tony Makris directs LaPierre to shoot low, accounting for the rifle scope.

LaPierre fires and a confused expression comes over his face. Once again, he shoots the elephant in the wrong place. It's still alive. The guide tells Wayne LaPierre to sit down and reminds him to reload, as he physically moves LaPierre into place. Now on one knee, the N.R.A. leader asks, "Same spot?" and then shoots again. The bullet misses the mark.

"I don't think it's quite done yet," the guide says to Tony Makris. "Do you want to do it for him?" The guide then says to LaPierre, "I'm not sure where you're shooting."

"Where are you telling me to shoot?" Wayne LaPierre responds, sounding frustrated. The guide again walks over to the elephant and points toward the ear. "Oh, O.K.," LaPierre says. "All right, I can shoot there." He takes a third shot at point-blank range.

"Uh-uh," the guide says, indicating that LaPierre has missed his mark again.

"No?" Wayne LaPierre asks.

As the guide chuckles, Tony Makris asks, "Do you want me to do it?"

"Go ahead, finish him," the guide says.

Tony Makris cocks his rifle and shoots. "That's it," the guide declares, before turning to the N.R.A. chief to congratulate him.

Tony Makris, ignoring his own role, praises LaPierre's marksmanship, "You dropped him like no tomorrow."

Later, Wayne LaPierre and the guide chat beside the dead elephant, a species that was declared endangered earlier this year [2021]. Wayne LaPierre acknowledges that his initial shot wasn't "perfect." The guide encourages him. "He went down, so that's what counts." Looking sheepish, LaPierre lets out a laugh and says, "Maybe I had a little luck."

[ ... snip ... ]

It is important to the N.R.A. that supporters view Susan LaPierre as a genuine member of the hunting and outdoor community. During the bankruptcy trial, LaPierre testified that his wife's attendance on the Botswana trip was "part of projecting her image for the N.R.A." Internally, some N.R.A. employees derided the Women's Leadership Forum as the "Susan LaPierre Life Legacy Project."

In the video footage from Botswana, Susan's hair is pulled back in a ponytail, her nails are manicured, and her large stud earrings sparkle in the sun. She walks through the dry vegetation, until two elephants come into view and a guide sets up a stand that Susan uses to steady her rifle. The elephant in front stares directly at Susan and the guide. "O.K., you want to do a front or you want to do a side?" the guide whispers. "Which one do you feel more comfortable with?"

"Well, right now I've got him right in the front," she says.

The guide tells her to aim for a crease between the elephant's eyes. When she fires, the bullet enters the creature's head, its trunk immediately flops toward the sky, and it collapses onto its belly before rolling onto its side. The elephant appears to be dead, but Susan, from closer range and at the guide's direction, fires one more bullet in its chest "for insurance."

"That was amazing," Susan says, patting her chest. "Wow. My heart is racing. I feel great." She walks over to the elephant. "That was awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome." She inspects the elephant, bends at the waist, and seems to think the elephant is still alive. "Aww, he's still there. Look at his eyes." She places her hand on her chest, laughs, walks around the elephant, and pats one of its tusks. "Beautiful animal," she says, and then, speaking to the elephant, "You're a good old guy. A real good old guy."

She grows emotional and appears to choke up, then asks a guide about the elephant's age."Must be close to fifty years old, I would say," the guide says. "You think so?" she asks. "That's exactly what I wanted. An old bull. Near the end of his age."

The guide tells her she's allowed to cry. "What an experience this is," she says. "Once in a lifetime." She rests a hand on the elephant's forehead. "I was practicing this shot all day long." She laughs again. "He wasn't sure what we were doing. Amazing. That's just incredible. Quite a day. Two beautiful African elephant in one day." Susan touches the animal's feet. "He's so wrinkly. . . . Wow. A podiatrist would love working on him."

Soon, Wayne enters the frame. He hugs his wife, congratulates her, and says, "I'm proud of you. That is really neat." A person off-camera asks Susan if the elephant looked like it was going to charge her, and she says no, but that the animal "was checking us out." Wayne responds, "But if he was looking at you like that, he could've charged."

Later, a guide invites Susan to cut off the elephant's tail, a ritual he says hunters performed in the "olden days" to claim their animal. Susan hesitates, but begins cutting the tail with a knife. "Oh, it's like a fish almost, with the center cartilage," she says.

Once the tail is off, she raises it in the air, and stretches out her arms, the bloody knife in one hand and the tail in the other. "Here in Botswana, in the Okavango Delta, with 'Under Wild Skies,' " she says, and then laughs again.

Hunts in Botswana can cost tens of thousands of dollars per person, and, according to testimony in the bankruptcy case, a company that belongs to Makris covered the LaPierres' costs. After the trip, in late September of 2013, footage of Tony Makris shooting an elephant on a different expedition aired on NBC Sports, which then hosted "Under Wild Skies." The episode caused an immediate public backlash.

The footage of the LaPierre hunt never aired, but records show that the couple still wanted their trophies. To avoid bad publicity - and at Susan's written request - body parts from both elephants were shipped to the U.S. in a hidden manner. A man travelled two hours to Johannesburg to remove the couple's names from shipping crates. The Master Airway Bill was in the name of a taxidermist, whom Tony Makris' company paid to turn the animals' front feet into stools for Wayne LaPierre and Susan LaPierre 's home.

Return to Persagen.com