The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF), which has been fighting in the courts of America on behalf of gun owners right next to, and lately more in front of, gun rights stalwart NRA, celebrates a big occasion today as Monday, Aug. 26, marks 50 years of the organization’s existence. While NRA still tends to get most of the antis’ focus and media attention when “the gun lobby” enjoys a legislative or courtroom victory, the largest and longest operating gun rights organization in America has struggled under leadership and lawsuit woes in recent years. Groups such as SAF, the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC), the Citizen’s Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA – say that three times!) and other state-level gun rights organizations have filled in the gaps caused by NRA’s sometimes wandering focus and struggles, provided momentum to challenges to overturn overly restrictive legislation and even provided a bold dose of leadership where needed in securing the right of all Americans.
Here’s the info on this huge milestone by the SAF itself:
From a landmark victory at the United States Supreme Court to triumphs in state courthouses, SAF has scored numerous successes in the past half century, including the all-too-important McDonald v. City of Chicago decision handed down by the Supreme Court in 2010. SAF’s win in McDonald has been critical to the fight against modern gun control, as it paved the way for legal action against states and municipalities for violations of the Second Amendment.
“The goal when I created SAF was to get a case all the way to the Supreme Court,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “We did that in 2010, and that momentum hasn’t stopped. SAF has been part of more than 260 lawsuits since our founding and we currently have more than 55 active cases across the nation. This includes one case – Garland v. Vanderstok – that will be argued before the Supreme Court in October.” Although SAF has won numerous critical pro-Second Amendment cases since 1974, the organization has shown no signs of slowing down. In fact, in 2022 SAF brought on board a new Executive Director – practicing attorney Adam Kraut – to lead the organization into the next half-century.
“When Alan started SAF 50 years ago, he laid out a comprehensive vision to fight for our right to keep and bear arms,” Kraut said. “Over time, he and those who joined him built a solid organizational foundation that was effective in winning where it matters. I think we continued to build on that foundation and have a tremendous team to lead the organization into the next 50 years. I’m looking forward to the challenge of continuing to build on the work Alan started.”
Over the past 50 years, SAF has been at the forefront of numerous legal battles, challenging unconstitutional firearms regulations such as “assault weapon” bans, magazine capacity bans, young adult carry laws, “sensitive places” restrictions, red flag laws, prohibited person and many, many more. Through aggressive, strategic litigation, SAF has successfully challenged restrictive gun laws across the nation, dismantling barriers that impede the right to keep and bear arms for all Americans.
Happy Birthday SAF. For more information about SAF and to see a full list of current legal action, visit saf.org
Wow 50 years! I had no idea. I’ll have to scrape up some $ & join!
They are behind or major contributors of a fairly large percentage of the various challenges in NY. Nothing bad to say given how little funding they are running off off comparatively.
According to the pearl-clutching antis the SAF is a brand new extremist group that suddenly appeared from nowhere.
Happy Birthday!