
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, April 16, 1991                   TAG: 9104160348
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: The Washington Post
DATELINE: SAN ANTONIO                                LENGTH: Short

NRA NAMES NEW CHIEF

The National Rifle Association on Monday chose its chief lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre, to oversee the organization, capping a yearlong internal feud marked by charges that his predecessor had mismanaged the group's finances and been too accommodating with foes on Capitol Hill.

The selection makes LaPierre, 41, the NRA's top Washington official. He will be in charge of a 450-member staff, an $87 million budget and an organization with a reputation as one of the country's most powerful political lobbies. He replaces Warren Cassidy, who resigned under fire over his stewardship last January.

Coming on the eve of a major battle in Congress over the "Brady bill" - which would mandate a seven-day waiting period for handgun purchases - the vote was seen as the final triumph of NRA conservatives.

As director of the NRA's lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, LaPierre has been known as an unyielding hard-liner on gun issues who has stirred the wrath of some lawmakers with highly charged direct-mail campaigns designed to defeat members of Congress who fail to support NRA positions.

by CNB