An internal NRA document submitted in the State of New York v. National Rifle Association trial on August 8, 2024, states that Larry Keane, the senior vice president and general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the gun industry’s trade association, “expressed interest” in replacing the NRA’s former CEO and executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre.
LaPierre resigned ahead of the New York trial, where a jury found the NRA and LaPierre liable for financial misconduct and corruption in February. In a more recent phase of the trial, a judge barred LaPierre from the NRA for a decade but chose not to appoint an outside monitor for the organization.
While the NRA board of directors ultimately tapped then-executive director of NRA Publications Doug Hamlin to replace LaPierre in May, Keane’s nomination is further proof that the NRA and gun industry are deeply intertwined, as discussed below.
the list of potential nra leaders
The newly uncovered trial document is a list of 21 candidates for the role of NRA executive vice president gathered by the NRA board as recently as April 26, 2024, along with the names of people who recommended them. The list includes several political figures, including former Representative Mick Mulvaney, former Representative Trey Gowdy, former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, and former Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker.
Another person on the list is Kristi Noem, the current governor of South Dakota, who stoked controversy by admitting that she “put down” a “less than worthless” dog, a “nasty and mean” goat, and three horses on her farm by shooting them.
In May, Axios reported that Noem had spoken to Wayne LaPierre last fall and offered to step down as governor to become the NRA’s CEO and executive vice president, but a spokesperson for Noem “unequivocally” denied that she had spoken to LaPierre. But according to the list of candidates, Noem recommended herself for the position. While other candidates have NRA board members as “Recommender(s),” Noem’s entry simply says, “Self-Recommendation.”
gun industry ties
According to the trial document, Larry Keane “expressed interest” in leading the NRA to one board member and was mentioned by a former board member, which is significant because of his role with the NSSF and the NRA’s deep connections to the gun industry. For example, gun makers donate to the NRA, sponsor NRA programs and events, and help recruit NRA members.
As Keane wrote on his LinkedIn profile, he first joined the NSSF as its general counsel in May 2000 and “played a key role in drafting and lobbying for passage of an act that protected [gun] manufacturers against municipal lawsuits,” referring to the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act of 2005, which provides broad legal protections for the gun industry.
In addition to lobbying for the gun industry, Keane has become the NSSF’s most vocal spokesperson. As discussed here, Keane has attempted to downplay the dangers posed by assault weapons and ghost guns, said that the best way to get kids involved in shooting sports is to “get the moms,” and called attempts to rein in the gun industry’s marketing practices a “misguided witch hunt” to “muzzle and silence our industry.”
In blog posts, Keane regularly rails against the Biden administration for what he calls “relentless rebukes of the firearm industry” and its “whole-of-government assault on freedom,” including the “‘zero-tolerance’ policy that has weaponized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to revoke [gun dealer] licenses for minor unintentional clerical errors and mistakes.” In reality, those licenses were revoked for willful violations of federal law that make it harder for the ATF to trace crime guns and disrupt trafficking rings.
Like an NRA surrogate, Keane provides biting political commentary and attacks “woke” targets. He has called those who support tighter gun regulations “anti-gun,” “anti-Second Amendment,” and “cozying with communists.”
Other members of the gun industry on the list of NRA candidates include Jason Vanderbink, the CEO of Vista Outdoor’s ammunition brands; Evan Hafer, the founder of Black Rifle Coffee Company; and Tom Gresham, the owner and host of Gun Talk Radio, who previously served on the NSSF’s Board of Governors.