American attorney and gun rights advocate
Charles L. Cotton
(born November 28, 1949) is an American attorney and gun rights advocate who has served as president of the
National Rifle Association of America
(NRA) since 2021.
[1]
Cotton is also the moderator of TexasCHLForum.com, an online discussion forum about gun ownership.
Biography and education
[
edit
]
Cotton grew up in
Houston, Texas
.
[2]
Cotton stated that "grew up hunting and plinking".
[3]
He graduated with a
Juris Doctor
degree from the
University of Houston
in 1987.
[4]
National Rifle Association career
[
edit
]
Cotton is a trustee of the NRA's Civil Rights Defense Fund.
[5]
He chaired the NRA’s audit committee from 2017 onwards.
[6]
Cotton was elected President of the NRA in 2021, succeeding
Carolyn D. Meadows
.
[1]
He was reelected President on May 30, 2022.
[7]
TexasCHLForum.com
[
edit
]
Cotton is the moderator of TexasCHLForum.com, a gun rights forum. In 2016, he was reportedly criticized by
open carry
activists, who accused him of being insufficiently supportive of gun rights.
[8]
On a forum post, Cotton apparently lamented the loss of the
Confederate States of America
in the
American Civil War
, lamenting that it was “too bad we lost the civil war.” Cotton later posted that his view stemmed “purely from a states’ rights viewpoint and in light of the exponential growth of federal power after the war.”
[9]
On a forum post, Cotton criticized efforts to enact gun control measures in the aftermath of the
Stoneman Douglas High School shooting
, arguing that advocates were unfairly using “the sympathy factor of kids getting killed.” In a post, Cotton stated:
[6]
“Wake up people and see what’s happening!!!! Bloomberg and Hollywood are pouring money into this effort and the media is helping to the fullest extent. We’ve never had this level of opposition before, not ever. It’s a campaign of lies and distortion, but it’s very well funded and they are playing on the sympathy factor of kids getting killed.”
Personal life
[
edit
]
He currently resides in
Friendswood, Texas
with his wife Martha.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Charles Cotton Elected President as NRA Celebrates 150-Year Anniversary, NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre Re-elected"
. National Rifle Association of America. October 2, 2021.
Archived
from the original on October 3, 2021
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
"Board Spotlight ? Charles Cotton"
.
American Rifleman
. May 2014
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
[
self-published source
]
- ^
Silver, Stephen (2021-10-05).
"The NRA Is Getting a New President but Keeping Its Controversial CEO"
.
The National Interest
.
Archived
from the original on October 5, 2021
. Retrieved
2023-02-04
.
- ^
"MR. CHARLES L. COTTON"
.
State Bar of Texas
.
Archived
from the original on December 7, 2022
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
- ^
"Officers & Board of Trustees"
.
NRA Civil Rights Defense Fund
. National Rifle Association of America.
Archived
from the original on August 19, 2022
. Retrieved
August 25,
2022
.
- ^
a
b
Rohrlich, Justin (2021-10-06).
"NRA Promotes Two Execs Who Spread Bonkers Conspiracies"
.
The Daily Beast
.
Archived
from the original on October 6, 2021
. Retrieved
2023-02-04
.
- ^
Bolton, Alexander (2022-05-30).
"NRA reelects Charles Cotton as president, Wayne LaPierre as CEO"
.
The Hill
.
Archived
from the original on June 24, 2022
. Retrieved
2023-02-04
.
- ^
Kohrman, Miles (2016-01-26).
"Texas Open Carry Leader Jabs NRA Board Member for Fueling Backlash"
.
The Trace
. Retrieved
2023-02-04
.
- ^
Stahl, Jeremy (2015-06-19).
"NRA Board Member Blames Slain Reverend for Charleston Deaths, Lamented "Loss" of Civil War"
.
Slate
.
ISSN
1091-2339
. Retrieved
2023-02-04
.
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Presidents
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CEOs and Executive Vice Presidents
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See also
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