Doug Hamlin, who was elected the new Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association of America at the NRA Annual Meetings in Dallas this past May, is up to the task of ushering in a revitalized Association after the resignation of former CEO and EVP Wayne LaPierre.
NRA has always worked for its membership for its more than 153-year history, and its track record protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is undeniable, with 29 constitutional carry states. With Doug Hamlin steering the ship, this trend will continue.
“The return on the investment the members have made in the NRA is undeniable,” Hamlin said. “The clout that we have on Capitol Hill, it comes from our membership. The NRA Institute for Legislative Action is the gold standard in political lobbying in Washington. They win.”
Many of you don’t know much about him. I’ve known Doug since starting this job in 2015 when he was the executive director of NRA Publications, and was immediately impressed with him, as many others who have met him will echo. (Watch the video at the top of this article to learn more about Doug Hamlin’s background.)
Hailing from the state of Michigan, Doug became a U.S. Marine, subsequently working in the firearm industry. He worked for the Petersen Publishing Company, and later was at Guns & Ammo magazine for 14 years. Later, he worked as the publisher of MotorTrend. He came to NRA in 2014 after being recruited to be the executive director of NRA Publications.
As the head of NRA Publications, Hamlin ran a tight ship, and saved the NRA more than $30 million. One of his top cost-cutting measures was moving America’s 1st Freedom magazine production in-house, along with finding other efficiencies in producing NRA’s publications and websites. As the new EVP & CEO, Doug will take the cost-cutting measures applied to NRA Publications and spread this mindset throughout the organization. Additionally, under Doug’s leadership, NRA’s media reach has more than doubled, mostly through expansion of its digital properties.
Not long after getting the job as the NRA’s CEO, Doug hit the ground running in his new role. He began a series of interviews with the media, including Jim Shepherd of the Shooting Wire and Shooting News Weekly, Tom Gresham of Gun Talk and Michael Bane of Shooting Gallery fame. Shepherd noted in his interview with Hamlin that his “requests to interview Wayne LaPierre when he was the NRA’s EVP and CEO were routinely denied.”
Another key focus for Doug is improving the transparency of the NRA, along with maintaining its high compliance standards. He is committed to compliance and ethical business practices. In addition, at the 2024 NRA Annual Meeting, NRA membership overwhelmingly voted to create the position of NRA Chief Compliance Officer. Robert Mensinger was elected by the NRA Board of Directors to serve in that position.
For our part, NRA staffers are working hard to keep the NRA strong and maintain our presence as a gun rights juggernaut. When Doug was elected the new CEO, the mood of the organization—from the ground level to the top—immediately shifted for the better.
Despite the billions of dollars that have been spent to destroy the NRA, we’re still working hard to keep up the fight. With the current political climate, it’s more important than ever to support your National Rifle Association.
“There’s no question that we've contributed to society, and we will continue to do so,” Hamlin said. “Go to NRA.org, join, get your friends to renew their memberships, donate to our organization, learn about the programs that are available and support the organization. We need you to come home. We need you now more than ever before.”
To learn more about NRA and to join, go to membership.nra.org.
