The powerful American gun lobby organization NRA has suffered a legal setback in the fight against its forced dissolution.
A bankruptcy court in the state of Texas on Tuesday (local time) dismissed a request from the National Rifle Association for bankruptcy protection.
The 38-page statement from Federal Judge Harlin Hale said it had come to the conclusion that the NRA had filed the motion to avoid trial by New York State Attorney General Letitia James.
That is not in the sense of bankruptcy law.
Proceedings in New York
James filed charges against the NRA last August in an attempt to have it disbanded. "Fraud and abuse" had been the order of the day for years, she said at the time. Among other things, leaders are said to have embezzled money for luxury travel and given orders to family members and friends. James wrote on Twitter shortly after the ruling in Texas: “The NRA cannot determine if and where to answer for its actions, and our case continues in a New York court. Nobody is above the law. "
According to its own information, the NRA filed for bankruptcy in January as part of a “restructuring” and announced that it would move its legal seat from New York to Texas.
The organization justified the move with the aim of leaving a “poisoned” and “corrupt” political environment in New York.
The NRA has not-for-profit status in the USA and is therefore subject to special requirements for the use of donations, charities and accounting.
It is considered a very conservative organization with great political influence and a loyal supporter of the Republicans and former President Donald Trump.
The August indictment had called Trump a "terrible thing" and advised the NRA to relocate to Texas.
Trump's successor Joe Biden - a Democrat - wants to tighten gun laws, which the NRA wants to prevent. The NRA is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. It can be legally prosecuted in New York because its registration as a non-profit organization is deposited there.