ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, February 10, 1997 TAG: 9702100142
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: ARLINGTON
The head of the National Rifle Association staved off efforts Sunday by dissidents seeking his removal and gave a passionate defense of his five-year tenure, saying he brought the gun lobby back from ``almost certain collapse.''
For more than an hour, Wayne LaPierre, the NRA's executive vice president, defended his actions - from staff firings last summer and his advertising strategy to the organization's declining finances and membership - at an acrimonious meeting of the board of directors.
A proposed change in the bylaws that would allow the board's executive committee to discharge NRA executives by a majority vote fell only seven votes short of the two-thirds required, 39-30. Currently a three-fourths vote is needed to fire an executive.
After private discussions during lunch, the board agreed by voice vote to defer further bylaw questions until the next quarterly meeting in May.
- Associated Press
LENGTH: Short : 29 linesby CNB