Gabrielle Russon
Marion Hammer was once a famous face fiercely fighting against firearm regulation for the National Rifle Association (NRA). Now, Hammer and the NRA are firing shots at each other over money.
Hammer has sued the NRA in federal court and is accusing the group of breaching her contract, smearing her reputation, and more, as their 45-year history of working together breaks down.
“Now after giving the fruits of her life’s labor to the NRA, she has been abandoned by the very association she’s so fearlessly defended,” reads her complaint that was filed in the Northern District of Florida. “As she has her entire life, Marion Hammer will now vindicate her rights.”
The lawsuit, filed last week, comes as the NRA faces declining membership and financial troubles, according to media reports. The organization did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
The NRA’s first female President from 1995-1998 is still described as “The Extraordinary Marion P. Hammer” on the NRA’s website.
But behind the scenes, Hammer said in her complaint, “the NRA is actively seeking to remove Marion Hammer from the NRA’s Executive Council and extinguish her membership in the NRA, as if she never existed.”
The history of the contract fight started in December 2017, when Hammer and the NRA signed a one-year consulting contract for $168,000. One provision stipulated that Hammer couldn’t accept other consulting jobs without the NRA’s approval, “because after all, (Hammer) had been so closely aligned and assimilated with the NRA for many, many years,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit said a gun control group that opposed the NRA offered her $5 million in 2018 to retire from the NRA. Hammer said she let the NRA know about the deal on the table from Brady: United Against Gun Violence.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other leaders then “developed a proposal that would assure (Hammer’s) continued involvement in the NRA through a consulting arrangement, while funding a retirement for her future,” Hammer’s lawsuit said. “Although the new proposal would pay less than half the offer from the Brady group, the proposal would allow (Hammer to) continue working with the NRA for years to come.”
Hammer’s contract was eventually extended for 10 more years and she was allowed to consult with others on Second Amendment issues, although the NRA still kept power over her “other engagements,” the lawsuit said. The NRA raised her annual consulting fee from $168,000 to $220,000, the lawsuit said.
Hammer was ready to retire in 2022 as the Florida lobbyist for the NRA’s lobbying arm. Hammer said in her lawsuit that her decision to step down was unrelated to her current contract fight.
“Marion Hammer’s name has become synonymous with the Second Amendment and with the NRA,” LaPierre said at the time. Hammer has been recognized as the force behind for Florida’s “stand your ground” law and other legislation.
That same year, the NRA unilaterally terminated her contract, she said in her lawsuit.
“No explanation was given for the NRA’s actions,” her lawsuit said. “The NRA has withheld lawfully due payments to Ms. Hammer, leaving her with only social security as income.”
Hammer said she is further aggravated that the NRA “claims to be reviewing the Contract (again) to see whether an excess was given.”
“Simply put, the NRA has turned its back on its namesake female pioneer while somehow claiming that an Addendum designed to preserve (Hammer’s) name with the NRA’s interests (and avoid competing engagements) ‘could be’ an excessive benefit. That’s as absurd as it sounds,” her lawsuit said.
She also accused the NRA of using her picture and name to raise donations and increase female NRA membership participation.
In her lawsuit, she is seeking punitive damages, a “reasonable royalty,” attorneys fees and more.
“This litigation involves a violation of Marion Hammer’s rights. Marion has spent her life zealously defending and fighting for the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” her attorney, Richard Coates, said in a statement Thursday to Florida Politics. “Now she is fighting for her rights.”
