NRA director Dick Fairburn blamed wounded personal pride for the board's refusal to shrink itself after a court ousted Wayne LaPierre and recommended a smaller body.

Fairburn supported President Bill Bachenberg's unconsulted plan to elect ten fewer directors each year until the total reached 46, viewing it as simple and aligned with his own views. He would have favored letting seats vanish through attrition had that option reached a vote.

Fairburn argued that a thicket of committees using parliamentary rules, more fitting a competitive shooting club than a group defending Americans' ability to own guns, routinely buries straightforward reforms, and members should vote with that in mind.