NRA Pulling Out Of Columbus Citing the City Council's vote to ban semi-automatic firearms, Excecutive Vice President Wayne LaPierre announced that the NRA was pulling its 2007 convention out of Columbus, costing the city an estimated $20 million in business. According to an NRA news release, LaPierre said the NRA would return to Columbus when the Ohio legislature enacts a preemption law that would override the ban.