Wayne LaPierre
| Wayne LaPierre | |
|---|---|
Wayne LaPierre speaking in February 2017
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| Born |
Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. November 8, 1949 Schenectady, New York, US |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Siena College |
| Occupation | CEO and Executive Vice President of the NRA, author |
| Home town | Roanoke, Virginia US |
| Salary | $972,000 |
| Website | NRA.org |
Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. (born November 8, 1949) is an American author and gun rights advocate. He is best known for his position as the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association and for his criticism of gun control policies.
LaPierre was born Wayne Robert LaPierre, Jr. 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 family moved to Roanoke, Virginia, when LaPierre, Jr. was five years old, and he was raised in the Roman Catholic church.
He has been a government activist and lobbyist since receiving his master's degree 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.
Since 1991, he has served as Executive Vice President and chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the largest gun rights and small arms industry advocacy organization in the United States. LaPierre joined the NRA in 1977 after working as a legislative aide to a Democratic Virginia delegate, Vic Thomas.
In 1995, LaPierre wrote a fundraising letter describing federal agents as "jack-booted government thugs" who wear "Nazi bucket helmets and black storm trooper uniforms". The term "jack-booted government thugs" had been coined by United States Representative John David Dingell Jr., Democrat of Michigan, in 1981, referring to 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 didn't intend to "paint all federal law-enforcement officials with the same broad brush".
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Wikipedia