Fourth NRA board member resigns amid leadership turmoil

Professional sport shooter Julie Golob on Monday became the fourth person in two weeks to announce her resignation from the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) Board of Directors, according to The Washington Post.

“I am proud to have had the opportunity to represent the members of the NRA but I can no longer commit to fulfilling the duties of a director,” Golob wrote on her website Monday.

{mosads}“Julie, a gifted shooter, will continue to support the NRA’s programs. We proudly welcome her ongoing support of our organization,” NRA President Carolyn Meadows said in a prepared statement.

While the NRA’s 76-member board predominantly continues to defend the organization’s leaders, Golob’s departure comes after the firing of ex-President Oliver North amid accusations from longtime CEO Wayne LaPierre that he attempted to extort him over the NRA’s finances.

Lobbyist Christopher Cox also left the organization in June, resigning amid allegations he was involved in a scheme to push LaPierre out.

While LaPierre triumphed in the leadership struggle, he has been dogged by questions about his handling of the organization’s finances, most recently in connection with an NRA proposal to buy him a $6 million Dallas-area mansion.

Former Rep. Allen West (R-Fla.), another board member who has himself called for LaPierre’s resignation, told the Post earlier in August that “The optics [of the mansion] ain’t going to look good to the membership.”

David Chipman, a senior policy adviser at the Courage to Fight Gun Violence organization, founded by former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.), said the turmoil indicated “the NRA isn’t really representing the values of gun owners and this has opened up a space” for gun owners who don’t feel the group speaks for them, according to the Post.

Golob’s departure comes as the NRA seeks to flex its lobbying muscle in the wake of two mass shootings in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, which led President Trump to announce his support for some form of stronger background checks. LaPierre reportedly reached out to Trump last week to tell him the NRA opposes such a move.