The NRA bylaws give term limits for the president and both VPs: they can be elected to two one-year terms, and no more. The only exception was Charleton Heston, and it took an amendment to the bylaws to allow him to exceed two terms.
There’s a move afoot to have the board pass a resolution allowing Charles Cotton to serve a third term as president, which would keep both VPs in their places also. In the words of the email: “As a competent and careful attorney, himself, Charles has been a steady helmsman during the legal battles in which we have been enmeshed during his term. These battles should wind down over the course of the next year and he should be there to serve our interests during this crucial period. He deserves our thanks not just for what he’s accomplished thus far but for his willingness to allow us to ask him to carry on for another year.”
The real reason for this is unknown. Is Cotton the only one they can count on to do whatever they plan to do? Has 1st VP Willis Lee been judged unsuitable? Is no one else (out of 76 people) suited to becoming the next 2nd VP? Or is it something else?
As far as the legal battles winding down, dream on.
Update: Either the members or the board can amend the bylaws. But if the members amend a bylaw, only the members can undo or amend that amendment. That’s why, in 2018, when the “leadership” wanted to make it harder to run for the board by petition, they had to put it to a vote of the members, because running by petition had been created by the members back at Cincinnati 40+ years before.
NRA in Danger 
I am far from a legal mind, and have no experience in the very complicated things that are going on with the NRA and the NY Attorney General lawsuit. But it seems to me that the worst thing to do when you are involved is an issue like this, would be to make a move that goes against the by-laws of your organization. That just looks like the AG from New York would jump all over it, saying ” See judge, how little concern they have for the rules! They don’t even play by them when they know they are under extreme scrutiny by both their own membership and the very court itself”!
The more I see, the more I think that the Gambino family was just a small business trying to make a buck. WLP makes them look like amateurs.
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Would the members vote on an amendment or just the board?
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Whatever is under foot my bet it is nefarious
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Cotton is a big part of the scandal as a blocker for LaPierre. He needs to go.
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This organization is in desperate need of a coup
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Cotton and Coy — the President and Second Vice President — have, between them, been Chair or Vice Chair of the Audit Committee for the past twenty or so years. The Audit Committee is responsible for making sure that everything regarding NRA finances and personnel is always on the up-and-up. They’re the watchdogs who are supposed to check the books, be on the lookout for conflicts of interest, and act on whistleblower reports. Time and again, under Cotton and Coy’s “leadership,” the Audit Committee has ignored glaring conflicts of interest, ignored serious financial breaches, and simply rubber-stamped LaPierre’s requests — often retroactively.
Since becoming First Vice President (effectively President under Carolyn Meadows), Cotton has blatantly lied to the Board of Directors on multiple occasions, and hidden critical information from them.
The bylaw amendment allowing Charlton Heston to serve additional terms as President, was improper and possibly illegal. A simple resolution is not enough to override the Bylaws. They must pass an amendment to the Bylaws, and there are procedures required to be followed in order to do that.
I have no faith in Willes Lee after his performance over these past 4 years, but There’s no way the Board should allow Cotton to remain as President. I’m now looking forward to the lawsuits from New York against individual members of the Board for their gross negligence and failures to fulfill their fiduciary responsibilities. Board members really need to realize that such negligence isn’t just a matter of honor and integrity, but is actually criminal under New York law. They are all at grave risk and Charles Cotton is leading them deeper into the muck and mire. A reconning is coming. Unfortunately NRA members, and the Association itself, will pay a heavy price for this corruption as well.
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I wanted to acknowledge your very well thought out and intelligent comment, but could not actually like it, due to the fact that I don’t like much of anything going on right now with the NRA. Or perhaps I should say, with things NOT going on with the NRA.
Here in Michigan, the Democrats are in the process of using their majority in the state to rewrite the gun laws to make things horrible for us, including not just the typical laws, but even making it so that our CCW permits won’t function as our NICS check, which the BATFE tried and were rejected by the courts.
The NRA should have been using the money spent defending lawsuits to help elect gun friendly candidates during the midterms. I will blame the loss in large part on their lack of engagement in state races.
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The N.Y. Court in Manhattan has ruled that NRA will not be dissolved. So that main threat has vanished. Cotton is chair of NRA special litigation committee. Oddly Cotton is the only lawyer on that committee. Cotton has voiced no objection to filing a bankruptcy petition which the bankruptcy court ruled was not filed in good faith. During the bankruptcy hearing NRA former treasurer invoked the 5th Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. That creates an adverse inference. Cotton has voiced no objection to NRA spending a total of about $80 million on legal fees and expenses. Cotton will soon be known as one of those NRA board members and officers who presided over the destruction of the NRA from within.
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Though the NY court has ruled that dissolution of the NRA by the court is off the table in the AG’s lawsuit, destruction of the Association by other means is still a real and probable eventuality. I believe the NY AG has intentionally allowed the suit to drag out, rather than demanding that the issues at hand be resolved in a timely manner. Her objective has always been destruction of the Association, and since the judge has nixed that idea as an order from his court, James can still be successful by just sitting back and letting the Association’s “leaders” destroy it for her. I think NRA is going to declare bankruptcy by this summer. If they don’t, it’s likely that their creditors will force it anyway. If they somehow avoid bankruptcy, when they finally get to court on the NY lawsuit, the NRA will lose. The judge will appoint a trustee to oversee reorganization of the Association, but, not only will the Association be bankrupt at that point, the members will refuse to support a NY-appointed trustee or “Special Master,” so the budget shortfalls will accelerate. If NRA does go into bankruptcy before going to court on the NY suit, that judge will put a trustee or Special Master in charge of reorganizing, and we get the same result.
Cotton and his crew like to refer to me as “the Enemy Within,” but they are the ones who have truly earned that moniker.
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