Longtime NRA Florida Voice Marion Hammer Suing Organization

For a long time, there was probably no person who had as much power on gun rights in the state of Florida as Marion Hammer. The voice for the NRA in the state’s legislature, it sure looked like nothing happened without her approval, at least when it came to guns, and this despite not being an elected official.

She was, to a lot of people, the NRA in Florida, but she was far more than just a power in Florida. She was seen as a staunch defender of the right to keep and bear arms and an important part of the NRA nationwide.

Now, she’s suing the organization she was once such a key part of.

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.

The alleged offer from Brady reportedly spurred a new offer from the NRA that would pay her for consulting work as well as provide something of a nest egg toward her eventual retirement. It wasn’t all that close to what Brady was offering her, but it was enough to keep her around.

Then, in 2022, as Wayne LaPierre was singing her praises publicly, she planned to retire. Before she could, the NRA abruptly terminated her contract, according to Hammer.

So far, she claims she’s not received payments due to her from the NRA.

The complaint itself is here, and the contract that’s in dispute is here.

I honestly don’t have a clue what’s going on. 

First, it seems absolutely bonkers that Brady would offer someone $5 million just to retire and stop being a thorn in their side. I suppose I can see the logic involved in such an offer, if it actually happened–I’m not saying Hammer is lying or not, I honestly don’t know, and I’m trying to maintain some healthy skepticism of both sides here–but it just seems odd.

Especially as it suggests that Hammer was considering it until the NRA made a counteroffer. Or maybe she just wanted to use it as leverage to get as much as she could from the NRA. 

Regardless, this is probably not what the NRA really wants to deal with as it tries to rebuild in the wake of the LaPierre disaster, especially since the allegations seem to stem from LaPierre’s actions.