A second National Rifle Association (NRA) board member went on the record as the gun group faces its biggest internal rift in decades.
First-term NRA board member Julie Golob spoke with Washington Free Beacon staff writer Stephen Gutowski at the NRA's annual conference in Indianapolis.
The interview follows the news that NRA President Oliver North will not seek a second term.
That news followed mutual accusations of wrongdoing between North and NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. In a letter published in the Wall Street Journal late Friday, LaPierre accused NRA president Oliver North of "extortionist" practices intended to force LaPierre's resignation.
As previously reported at the Washington Free Beacon, LaPierre described a phone call from an associate of North, in which the associate demanded LaPierre support North's reelection as NRA president. The person on the phone also threatened to publish information that "was ‘bad' for me, two other members of my executive team, and the Association," should LaPierre fail to step down from the NRA.
The letter's authors were purportedly associated with Ackerman McQueen, an NRA vendor with whom the NRA is in litigation. According to LaPierre, North "has contractual and financial loyalties" to Ackerman McQueen.
"For me, I've always viewed this position as first and foremost about the second amendment," Golob said. "And second, the membership."
Golob, a world-class shooter and firearm advocate, was careful not to weigh in on the controversy before hearing the facts. The board is set to meet Monday.
"At the end of the day, I have to sit through and sift all of it," she said. "And that's the responsibility of every board member. We owe it to the membership, we owe it to America, to put it plainly."
North, who was expected to address the NRA conference's 80,000 attendees and meet with the board, did not. He was reportedly seen flying to Washington, D.C.
Fellow NRA members and former representative Allen West (R., Fla.) told the Washington Free Beacon that the issue would be addressed Monday at any cost. "We cannot meet on Monday and not having done anything, because that would be a failure," he said. "Failure is not an option."
Golob stressed that the NRA needed to remain an effective organization and that Americans' Second Amendment Rights would benefit from the eventual outcome. "I am 100% positive that every single board member, no matter what side they're on, who they're siding with, are passionate about this," she said.
"As a board member, I just have to look at all the angles and think of the best thing for our rights," Golob concluded.
The NRA convention continues Sunday.